Chapter 219

Chapter 219

Amethyst knew she couldn’t go into the town. She would just get someone else killed, if they didn’t catch her first. Her only option was to run into the mountains, where she could hide until it was safe. Her arms and legs were covered in scratches from the branches of trees and her breath burned in her chest, but she didn’t dare stop.

Who is it that’s trying to kill me? Her mind kept cycling through all of the possibilities and it kept coming back to Alec. She couldn’t believe he would be that vindictive. She stumbled over a rock, adding some more scrapes to her legs. She stopped for a moment, her breath heaving and raspy. There was a tree nearby that had a cavity amongst its roots. Amethyst crawled inside, curling up to rest for a few moments before continuing on.

“I found a trail!” The voice echoed from the forest back the way she had come. They had found her already! Amethyst covered her nose and mouth to try and hide the sounds of her heavy breathing.

“I don’t see the trail any more. She must be hiding nearby. Search the area!”

There were sounds of multiple individuals moving amongst the trees, branches breaking as they searched every bush and thicket. Please! Let them give up and move on. Please, don’t let them find me! Amethyst clenched her eyes shut in fear.

“So, this is where you’re hiding!” Amethyst opened her eyes in panic to look into the face of a masked man peering down into the hole she had curled up in. She scrambled out of the roots on all fours, desperate to escape, but the men surrounded her.

One of the searcher’s twisted her arm behind her, making it impossible for her to break the strong man’s grasp. Her fight training shouted to her that there was always a weakness to exploit in any combat situation. She reacted quickly, twisting under her arm to face the man who had a hold of her, and slammed the palm of her hand into the bridge of his nose. He released his grasp as blood fountained from the broken mass of cartilage.

As Amethyst turned to run, another man blocked her path.

“Insolent until the end. You always were,” the man snarled at her.

Amethyst stared at the man in the mask. Did she know him? He clearly knew her. As if to answer her question, the man lowered the mask that was covering his face.

“Don’t you remember me? How rude. I never forgot you for a moment.” The man pointed at his pupils with his index and middle finger, then pointed those fingers at Amethyst. With an evil smile, he crossed his neck with his thumb. It was clear, the message he was giving: I’m watching you and you will die if you try anything. She had seen that signal before.

“Oh my god!” Amethyst gasped

“So, you remember now?” It was the knight she had expelled from the army. Was he seriously trying to kill her, just because she had proclaimed justice for the maid he had defiled? It didn’t make sense that he would go to such extremes.

“The punishment was fair!” Amethyst said to him. “Don’t blame me because you couldn’t control yourself with that maid.”

The man laughed “Is that so? I’m just following orders. Of course, the possibility of some revenge was just bonus.”

Orders? From who? Amethyst’s mind was in chaos, trying to figure this all out

“You know? I seem to be aroused. Perhaps it was because you never let me finish with that maid all those months ago.” In two quick strides, the man was upon her, pressing his body close to hers.

“Please, don’t!” Amethyst gasped. She struggled in his clutches, but he just held on tighter.

“They told me to bring you back alive,” the man whispered, his breath hot in her ear. “But they didn’t say anything about not touching you.”

Amethyst stared into the man’s eyes. Her vision was becoming bleary from the tears that were welling up. She needed to get away, but the man held tight with one hand as he attempted to remove her clothing with the other. He had her pinned against a rock, and the groping hand had now made its way underneath her shirt and was squeezing her breast. The pain made her wince as he bruised her sensitive areas. She was helpless.

“Don’t fight it. Soon you’ll be screaming my name in pleasure and begging me not to stop.” He moved in to kiss her, as his hand worked to remove his pants. There was a grunt and Amethyst’s vision turned red. Blinking her eyes clear, she saw the man looking in shock at a stump where his hand used to be. Blood was spouting in beating jets. The hand in question, now lay amongst the leaves on the ground.

Both Amethyst and the now one-handed man began screaming at the same time. Another masked individual stepped into their view, his sword drawn and dripping with blood. He was a large man, with light blond hair falling down his back.

It was Alec. All of Amethyst’s senses told her it was so. Her heart felt like it would explode from her chest. He had come.