***
Feraan adjusted his grip and delivered a quick series of strikes in rapid succession, first aiming for Grimault's waist, then his head, his chest, and finally his neck. ?Grimault met every one, a bit slower each time.
Then Feraan reached for Grimault's wrist, and the princeling's sword clattered to the ground, the force of Feraan's blow warping the pommel in an unnatural fashion.
Feraan was panting but smirking as he rendered Grimault defenseless. ?But Grimault did not appear alarmed as Feraan thought he should. ?Instead, Grimault retrieved a large battle axe from the wall and its double blades whistled when he swung it through the air.
Feraan crouched and held his sword by both the hilt and the blade as Grimault brought the axe down on him. ?Feraan's sword caught the attack, but the ringing blade sliced into the palm of his left hand. ?Blood dripped in long, viscous streaks, staining his arm and his blade.
The princeling brought his axe back, and Feraan dropped his sword and saw that blood had completely coated his hand and fingers. ?His veins continued to spew fresh blood, and Feraan closed his hand into a fist, feeling how deep the cut was. ?He fell back to the ground and looked up to see the princeling preparing for his final assault.
Then Feraan saw an arrow pierce the princeling's throat. ?Grimault choked on his own blood before lifelessly falling to his knees. ?Beyond the fallen princeling stood Caelfel, her bow back in her hands and Feraan's discarded quiver at her feet. ?Feraan breathed a sigh of relief as he realized, even in her extremely weakened state, Caelfel had proven her namesake as Archer of the Lake.
Then, she fell.
18. Goodbye Anna
It took some time before Caelfel could open her eyes. ?When she did, all she saw was Feraan, and he filled her with a sense of security and relief. ?She smiled at him, and he smiled back.
"Is she awake?"
This was another familiar voice Caelfel did not expect. ?She raised her head to see Thoroth. ?Behind him, she caught glimpses of her mother, Garvanna, and Galath. ?But holding her head up quickly became painful, so she let it fall back to the ground. ?She felt Feraan cradling her neck.
"What happened?" she asked weakly. ?The dark stone walls told her they were still in Grimault's fortress, but she didn't remember the others being there.
Suddenly, Thoroth's face was beside Feraan's. ?"I need to heal her."
But Feraan, who was holding her, would not allow this. ?"I will take care of it. ?You go tend to the others."
Thoroth looked as though he wanted to disagree, but Feraan picked her up from the ground and carried her off to the corner. ?When they had settled once more, he touched the back of her head where they had beaten her. ?She winced but felt warmth spreading from his fingers to the rest of her body. ?She was slowly getting her strength back.
"I came here to rescue you, but it was you who ended up saving my life."
"Well, of course." ?She blinked, sluggishly recalling all the events from before. ?"He was going to kill you."
"He would have killed you too. ?Fortunately for us, I was not the only rescue team to come after you. ?Your mother met your friend Galath, and they were able to recruit over half the army to find you."
"But you found me first."
He smiled, and she saw there was something sad about it. ?"I did."
"How?"
"I'm a tracker, Caelfel."
"But they wanted you to find me. ?That's the reason they took me. ?Why?" she asked. ?Feraan sighed, and Caelfel saw something more than sadness. ?She saw his exhaustion.
"I am very sorry, Caelfel. ?I never wanted any of this to happen."
"They knew you," she pressed.
"Admiral Grimault had a very close friend in the Umfang army, and I killed him. ?Grimault wanted revenge so he sought to take something that was equally precious to me."
"You knew they were coming for me since Macha came to visit you." ?Caelfel couldn't keep the accusation from her voice and she saw that it bothered him.
"I tried stopping it," he mumbled.
Caelfel wanted to ask how, but she quickly grew tired. ?She had Feraan, and that made her content for now.
He continued healing her, strengthening her life force with his own aura, and it was a slow process. ?She delighted in his touch, not caring to wonder why no one else approached them. ?At some point, he lifted the bottom of her shirt to inspect something on her hip. ?Feraan's face was grim as he lightly traced the marks Lisiek had burned onto her skin. ?He looked as though he wanted to say something but didn't.
"How did you know that was there?" she asked.
He met her gaze briefly. ?"I felt it, when they did that to you. ?I'm not sure how but I felt everything they did to you. ?Only, I don't have the permanent scars," he explained. ?He pulled her shirt back down.
Caelfel shifted, something uncomfortable seeding in the pit of her stomach. ?"I want to ask you something."
He turned his attention away from her hip and seemed to identify the nature of her question from her face. ?"Not now, Caelfel. ?Ask me later when you have your strength back."
She sighed, feeling her eyelids grow heavy. ?"Is it daylight?" she asked. ?She felt rather than saw him smile.
"It's just now dawn."
Archer of the Lake Page 34
