How The Warrior Fell (Falling Warriors series Book 1) (44 page)

She would have been beautiful if it weren’t for the hideous jagged scar that ran from the top of her brow straight down to her chin. As if her attacker tried to cut her face in half.

“What is?” Leawyn asked finally, hesitant. Her eyes followed the strange woman as she walked towards her. Her steps were light and silent, the dirt underneath her bare feet not once making a sound. Leawyn shifted a step away from the woman as she came to a stop beside her, looking down to the bodies below.

“War,” the woman said in her rough voice that sounded like two rocks grinding together.

“Life is such a fickle thing,” the woman mused. “It can be created by both love and hate, and then destroyed for the very same reason which made it possible in the first place. It’s an ugly truth that is beautiful in a tragic way. Don’t you agree, Lady Leawyn?”

“Who are you?” Leawyn whispered, her voice thick with unease. “How do you know my name?”

“I’ve come to warn you,” the woman said in lieu of answering Leawyn’s question, her gaze still locked on the people below.

“Warn me from what?” Leawyn asked shakily, a chill going down her spine.

The woman met Leawyn’s eyes, and Leawyn gasped at what she saw reflected in her strange-colored gaze, stumbling back away from her. The look was pure ice; cold and lifeless. It instantly brought goose bumps to Leawyn’s skin.

“Death.”

It was at that very moment a shrill scream shattered the silence, the pain within it echoing to the depths of Leawyn’s soul.

“I can’t believe he betrayed us,” Tyronian said, nursing his cup of ale as he glared broodingly at the liquid. “That traitor,” Tyronian growled, launching his cup angrily. It shattered when it hit the ground.

“He made his choice, there’s no use lingering on the subject,” Xavier said, taking a long pull of his ale.

“How can you be so calm?” Tyronian asked incredulously. “He’s your brother!”

Xavier’s eyes narrowed at Tyronian. “He was my brother,” Xavier said darkly. “He’s not my brother anymore.”

Tyronian was silent, his heart heavy with pain and betrayal. Xavier took another big gulp of his drink, slamming it down on the table hard enough for the whole table to shake when he was done. He scanned the crowd, looking for Leawyn.

There were too many people; he’d have to go look for her. Xavier stood, looking down to his cousin as he did.

“He made his choice, cousin,” Xavier said again, the only form of comfort he could offer.

Tyronian sighed. “I know, I just—”

A scream broke out. Tyronian shot to his feet at the sound.

“What was that?”

“I don’t know but—”

There was a whistling sound, a brief moment of stillness before Tyronian’s pain-filled grunt shattered the silence.

An arrow lodged into his arm.

Everything turned to chaos around them.

“Ambush!” Xavier bellowed, his shout cutting through the air a sparse moment before arrows fell from the sky like raindrops. The air lit up with terrified screams of the women and children as hundreds of men swarmed around them with battle cries.

Tyronian broke the shaft in half, grunting once in pain before throwing it down on the ground in disgust as Xavier pulled his bow over his shoulder, aimed, and let the arrow fly, hitting its mark dead-on.

“Whoever shot me is going to pay,” Tyronian growled in annoyance, ripping his sword free from its scabbard with his other hand.

“Get the women and children to safety!” Xavier yelled out to the warriors around him, most of whom were already in the throes of battle. Xavier was rapidly shooting his arrows, one after the other, aiming for the archers on the other side

“I need to find Leawyn,” Xavier yelled to Tyronian as he reached for another arrow, swinging it back over his shoulder and yanking out his sword when he had none left.

Three men rushed them, each with swords raised high above their heads. They were wearing the same armor as the men who attacked Xavier the first time. Xavier and Tyronian wasted no time in dispatching them

“I need to find Namoriee,” Tyronian yelled back, dodging sideways as another man swung his sword at him. Not a second later, the attacker found himself dead on the floor.

“Go! I’ll find you when this is over.”

Xavier nodded before running and submerging himself in the heart of the battle, clinging desperately to the hope Leawyn was safe.

Leawyn had never been more scared in her life as she ran, dodging bodies everywhere. All around her was pandemonium. Men fighting against each other, the symphony of swords slamming against others, the yells of victory, pain, and the terrified screams of women would haunt Leawyn for the rest of her life.

She had to find Namoriee.

She had to get the children out of here.

More importantly, she 
needed 
to find Xavier.

A familiar scream had her head whipping to the right, her heart stuttering to a stop in horror.

Well, she found Namoriee.

Before Leawyn even registered what she was doing, her arrow was soaring through the air.

Leawyn ran to her friend, helping her push the corpse who had an arrow lodged in the nape of his neck off her. As soon as Namoriee was free, she scrambled back on her hands, staring at the dead body in shock.

“Get up, Namoriee!” Leawyn ordered, hauling her handmaiden to her feet. “We have to get out of here!”

Namoriee nodded quickly, and together they ran, trying desperately to maneuver past the fighting warriors.

They didn’t get very far.

X
AVIER WAS IN
his element.

His blades were a flurry of movement, striking down his enemies as effortlessly as breathing and leaving a trail of bodies with each step he took.

It was exhilarating, exciting, and Xavier loved every single second of it.

At least, he did, until he just happened to flicker his eyes upwards and to the left.

“What is she doing?” Xavier growled to himself, ducking from the spear aimed at his head distractedly. His eyes never left the scene a few feet away from him as he thrust his sword into the stomach of his attacker, discarding him to the side as if he were nothing more than trash.

There was Leawyn—and Namoriee, Xavier noticed—pointing the bow he gave her earlier that morning at a man who was twice her size.

As if she had a chance.

Xavier growled, attacking with a vengeance as he hurried his way to her. He hoped he’d get to her in time before she got herself killed.

Namoriee and Leawyn were running to what they hoped was safety, and then somehow she found herself a having a stare-off with a man who looked as if he’d never had a bath in his life.

It was comical, really, considering he had a hooked sword and all she had was her bow that was dangerously low on arrows.

“What you plannin’ on doing with that?” the man chuckled, grinning maliciously, his rotten teeth on full display.

Good question, 
Leawyn thought.

“
You care to find out?” Leawyn challenged instead.

Their attacker blinked at her dumbly a moment before he let out a howl of laughter.

“I might just have to keep you,” he chuckled, eying Leawyn in consideration. “You and your friend sure are pretty. Too bad I have strict orders to take you to my leader.”

It was Leawyn’s turn to blink at him dumbly, faltering.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

The man’s grin grew, and Leawyn felt more nervous than she did before.

“I think you know the answer to that.”

Leawyn’s expression grew grim. They’d been watching the Izayges. Of course they know who she was.

Without any kind of warning, the man charged at Leawyn, his grubby hands reaching for her. Namoriee screamed as he tackled Leawyn to the ground, her arrow flying off course as she crashed with a grunt.

They grappled for a few seconds, Leawyn desperately trying to get away from him with no success.

“No!”

Namoriee came flying at the man, attacking him with all her strength. He grunted when she landed a fist to the side of his ear.

“Get her,” the man growled, annoyed, pushing Namoriee away from him and into the arms of another one of his men who came up to them. He stood and threw Leawyn’s struggling body over his shoulder.

“Namoriee!” Leawyn cried out when Namoriee’s captor struck her across the face, effectively knocking her out and ceasing her struggles.

“Let’s go,” Leawyn’s captor ordered. “We have what we came for.”

Leawyn’s heart seized in terror.

Something told her if she got taken now, Xavier wouldn’t be able to find her this time, and she’d never see him again. Leawyn struggled harder as they began to move swiftly away and back towards the trees they came out of.

“Leawyn!”

Leawyn’s head snapped up, her eyes landing on Xavier, who was frantically trying to fight his way over to her.

“Xavier!”

“Damn,” Leawyn’s kidnapper muttered when he turned to look over his shoulder and saw that Xavier was getting closer to them. “Take him out!”

Leawyn watched as more men rushed Xavier, causing him to stop his advance as he took them all on at the same time.

Leawyn was getting farther and farther away.

“Xavier!” she screamed, her voice ringing with panic and despair as she was thrown onto a horse sideways, her captor quickly hoping on behind her before she had the chance to throw herself off.

“Leawyn! No!” Xavier roared, viciously stabbing the men attacking him and shoving them away. His desperation to save her evident.

“XAVIER!”

But he was too late.

“No!”

All she could do was watch helplessly as Xavier got farther and farther away as her attacker rode off, taking her with him.