by Amanda Daul
* * *
Arissa was hardly surprised an hour later when she finally made it back to the camp they had set up earlier and saw Trax standing stiffly with his back to her. He twitched when he heard her approach, but made no effort to acknowledge her.
“What makes you think I won’t kill you right now?” her face was lower than usual, flat and lifeless. Her face had long ago dried, while she had been burying Landon.
Trax’s reply was challenging, yet just as reserved as her own. “If you wanted me dead, I would be dead. It’s not in you to kill me.”
Perhaps he was right. She had been so set on his death for so long, now that she finally had to opportunity to act on it, she didn’t. Not bothering to take the time to wonder why, she simply marched forward to him, still facing away from her with his arms folded tightly across his chest. It wasn’t until the last step that he relaxed, turning toward he just in time to meet the intense slap she delivered to the side of his face. Doing exactly what he had done to Landon, she took the moment of vulnerability and grasped his arm tightly, clamping the open cuff from the end of the chain she had found at the borstal onto his wrist. He didn’t fight it, even though she knew he was fully capable of overpowering her at any moment. Still, he took his time in regaining his stature while she swiftly locked the other end of the chain around a thick, sturdy tree branch next to him, impossible to break with bare hands. She was surprised and glad that the cuffs had actually worked after not being used for so long.
“Really? That’s all you’ve got?”
“You’ll get what’s coming to you, Trax. I’m going to betray and abandon you just like you did to me. Maybe you’ll get a small taste of what that feels like before they kill you for deceiving them, too.” After her last words, she took an extra moment to study the way his hair had fallen in his face more than usual, the gripping look in his eyes that neither pleaded nor persuaded. She turned away, intending on walking away from him for the last time. Crying over and burying her only friend had drained every ounce of energy and emotion she had had, leaving nothing left to feel about Trax at the moment. She only half listened to the words he threw out at her.
“You can’t win like this anymore, Arissa! You still need me, but if you leave me here to die, you will have no way of defeating the General. You can’t fight this on your own anymore!”
Arissa never paused to acknowledge him or even turned to take in one last look at the man who had brought her so much sorrow and heartbreak, bliss and love at the same time. Her mind had not yet processed exactly what had happened, but she no longer questioned her purpose.
“Watch me,” were the last, spiteful words she spoke to him as she quickened her pace, leaving the camp behind.
The horses were not where she remembered leaving them and somewhere between scanning the trees ahead of her and Trax’s suddenly worried shout to her, she became too bewildered to realize what was happening.
Before she could even react, she fell forward from the intense blow at the back of her head. The pain was numbing and for an instant, she felt as if she was drowning in the smoke again. Hands were on her instantly, holding her down to the ground that was spinning under her. Sharp pains prickled up all over her skin, though it was barely noticeable from the way her head was staggering on the thin line of consciousness.
The last thing she registered before everything falling into the immense darkness was Trax’s wordless voice in the distance.
