Awakening (Born From Shadows #1)

“I am not saying anything,” the Prince growled at the man who held a sword to his throat. He was surrounded by a group of men and Ida was nowhere to be seen. She was so diverted by the wolf she didn’t hear that anything was wrong. She wasn’t able to avail him.

“A rich, pretty boy like you? It shouldn’t take much to get you to talk,” one of the men laughed sadistically.

“I will ask you one last time. Where is the Elf?” the man with the sword authoritatively mandated. Tatianna was sure that Nik would betray her, his life was in jeopardy. Any sane person would give up someone else’s life for their own. The wolf bedside of her commenced growling, as if able to understand the man’s words. She prayed they didn’t hear the soft grumble coming out of its throat or else she would be found.

Nik remained mute, not saying anything to reveal her location. She knew he couldn’t see her nor could the men as she was obnubilated in the tree line. Why wouldn’t Nik rat her out? Tell them that she was with him.

The man raised a knife and plunged it into Nik’s thigh causing him to scream out in pain. Tatianna watched in horror as his blood poured out of his leg, suddenly she didn’t care about staying hidden. She didn’t care about not getting caught or the fact that their weapons could kill her. All she wanted was to see the men bleed. Have them beg for mercy as she ripped away their lives.

Leaping from the tree line, Tatianna brought her dagger down onto the man that was the closest to her, striking him straight through the back. The man fell to the ground immediately paralysed. She then grabbed his sword and sliced open his throat. The wolf charged with her, jumping up and biting down on a man’s face causing him to scream out in agony.

Tatianna ran towards the four remaining men, her dagger in one hand and the dead man’s sword in the other. Everything around her seemed to slow down, the men coming towards her moved like snails. She blocked two of their attacks then slid onto the ground striking at their knees. She then pushed the weapons forward to the last two men standing driving it straight through their stomachs. Withdrawing the blades, she looked around and saw the white snow floor turn a deep shade of red.

Tatianna slowly sauntered back over to the two men that were still alive, clutching onto their legs that she had just slashed. “How many of you are there?” she asked.

“To live too long is to live no more,” they both said and grasped the hilt of their blades, stabbing it through their hearts. Tatianna looked on in shock as the two fell by their own hand.

Her shock didn’t last long when a male grown caught her attention and she looked towards Nik attempting to place pressure on his wound. Tatianna ran to his side and looked down at the stab wound. It wasn’t lethal, but she needed to stop the bleeding and find a way to clean it before it got infected. She reached over and tore off a piece of a dead man’s apparel and wrapped it around Nik’s thigh.

“Why didn’t you just give me up?” She asked him, staring at the wound.

“Because,” he struggled to get out, “what kind of friend…friend would I be if…if I lead them to you?” His breathing was staggered.

“An uninjured one,” she replied. “Now come on. You know where Ida went?” She asked, letting him swing an arm around her so he could stand from the ground.

“When I saw them approach, I tied her to a tree…and tried to hide. They had already seen me though. The-they recognised the horse from before. That’s how they knew you were with me,” he explicated and pointed to a tree in the distance. Sure enough, there was Ida tied safely to it. She helped him walk towards the horse who immediately commenced to panic at the sight of the wolf.

“Hey, calm down, calm. It’s alright, she’s a friend,” Tatianna told the horse, patting her free arm down the side of the horse’s body.

“Why didn’t you just run?” Tatianna asked Nik referring to their conversation.

“Same reason I let them stab me, you’re my friend and friends don’t leave each other. They protect each other,” he replied. His breathing was getting more even as the minutes flew by. As warming as those words were to her, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of pain when he said the word friend. She thought at first it was because of how every amity she has had, had ended deplorably, but that wasn’t it. It felt as if it was because she was craving to be more than just friends.

“Where did you find the wolf?” Nik asked after she remained silent.

“I don’t know…its weird,” she replied not knowing how to describe the unorthodox connection she had towards the wolf. “Anyway, I’m assuming you can’t ride with that leg, nor can you walk so I guess we have to wait for it to heal up a bit.”

“And if their friends come looking for them?” he asked looking back at the pile of six bodies.

“Then they will meet the same fate,” she replied coldly.

“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” he joked.

“What do you mean? I thought you were already on it,” she smiled back at him.

Nik frolicsomely frowned at her, “that’s mean. I just risked my life for you, and you put me on your bad list.”

“I don’t have a list of people,” she replied.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you did,” he chuckled but it ended up sounding more akin to a groan as he moved his leg. She pulled him up the minute hill into the forest. One hand was around his waist while her other hand was holding Ida’s reins.

“I’m sorry,” Tatianna said, her smile gone, “I am so sorry this happened to you.”

“It wasn’t your fault. I made my choice.”

“But it is. I saw them with a knife to your throat. It was only till they stabbed you did I intervene. Had I acted as soon as I saw you then-”

“It wasn’t your fault,” he reiterated. “I don’t blame you for not acting straight away.”

“You don’t? But I was so selfish while you were so…selfless,” she said not understanding how he couldn’t be mad at her. She would be mad at her if she was in his place.

“I know why you did it,” he replied. “You thought I would tell them where you were. You thought I would betray you and you didn’t act because of that. Instead, you were probably waiting to run away and leave me to die. It was only till you realised I didn’t betray you that you fought. I know that you have troubles with trust which is why I understand why you did what you did. I don’t blame you for a second.”

Tatianna paused her movement wondering when he got the ability to read her mind. He described her actions in a way that proved to her how much he knew her. How much he cared.

“I don’t…” she commenced unable to think of a way to respond.

“You don’t have to say anything. Just know that I will never betray you.”