Sighing, she gestured to the armed men. Fifteen of them, if her initial count was correct. Shaking her head, she continued creeping along.
After a moment, Kai followed, though she was quite sure the silent argument was far from over.
KAI WAS PRACTICALLY trembling by the time they were well out of sight of the men and their prisoners. He clenched and unclenched his sore fists as Anna finally made her way back to the path. He followed, but every step felt like there was iron weighing down his boots. His entire body ached, he was exhausted, but that was not what held him back. How could they simply leave those women to their fates? They couldn’t be any older than his middle sister.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Anna said as he moved to walk at her side down the path. “But there is nothing that we can do for them. I might be skilled with a blade, but I could not face that many men and survive, and you’d be all but useless.”
His face burned at the useless comment, because it was true. He’d proven himself useless to his family, and now he was useless to Anna. He was more than useless to those poor women back there.
“We could at least alert the Gray Guard,” he suggested. “They could stop them.”
She snorted. “Yes, they’re sure to believe a runaway slave and a thief.”
“Thief?” he questioned, stopping in his tracks.
Her face grew red, but she didn’t take her words back. “I do what I need to survive. The Gray City was never kind to me. I’d think you of all people would understand.” She turned and continued walking, hiding her blush.
He hurried to catch up to her. “While I cannot criticize you, I cannot condone you stealing from poor folk struggling just as much as you or I.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t steal from poor folk. What would they have that I’d want? It’s not worth the risk for a few measly coins. The money lies in being hired by others to steal the things they want. Petty Lords stealing from their rivals. Smugglers stealing from ships and storehouses.”
He felt his shoulders relax. Perhaps there was humanity within her yet. He still didn’t like the idea of stealing, but really, what might he do if he was desperate enough. He was pretty desperate right now.
“If you care for the poor folk,” he began anew, “then how can you leave those women behind?”
Her eyes darkened as they scanned the path ahead. The path leading them further and further from the women who needed their help. “As I’ve already explained,” she muttered. “There is nothing you nor I could do for them. We would both lose our lives, and the women would still meet their fates. I will not die in vain, not after all I’ve done to stay alive.”
He grabbed her arm to stop her. He knew she was right. He knew it, but he couldn’t let it go.
She stopped and peered up at him with her dark, unwavering eyes.
“What if that was you back there?” he questioned, gesturing with his free arm to the path behind them. “What if that was your sister, or someone you cared about deeply? Would you risk your life then?”
Her eyes shot daggers at him, and he knew he’d overstepped.
“I have no one to care about,” she said blandly, “and no one cares about me. That is why I’m still alive.”
He dropped his hand from her arm, shaking his head. “Well I’m going back. I cannot enjoy my freedom while those women have lost theirs.”
Her expression didn’t alter. “If you go back, you will die.”
“So be it,” he huffed, then turned to walk back down the path. He had no idea what he was going to do. Perhaps he could silently follow the party and await a good opportunity. This far into the woods, most of the men might sleep easily in the night. With the element of surprise, perhaps he could fell whoever was left awake to watch over the women, then he’d be able to help them escape to hide in the woods.
“In that case,” Anna said to his back, “I’m sorry I wasted my time saving you.”
He stopped in his tracks, shaking his head as he turned to her. “What is the point of walking forward, when you stand for nothing?”
Some hidden emotion flashed through her eyes, then was gone. She turned and walked away.
He stared after her as she left. If he didn’t try, he would always regret not saving the women. Unfortunately, part of him might always regret not saving Anna too.
Chapter 4
SUCH A FOOL! ANNA thought, anger clouding her mind. To throw his life away for strangers. He was so young, and she’d offered him a way to survive…She scowled. How could he just throw it in her face like that?
Distant memories pushed their way into her mind as her feet thudded down the shaded path. Growing up on the streets of the Gray City, her teenage friends, screaming for their lives as they were carried away by guards. There was no way to save them, there never was. It was understood that if the guards caught you stealing, no one would come to your rescue.
She stopped walking, lifting a hand to rub her tired eyes. She was still that same girl, powerless against those who would make her a victim. She was fast, smart, deadly, yet she was still powerless. Now she couldn’t even save Kai. Those mercenaries would skewer him the moment they saw him. His young life would be over.
She turned in her tracks, then shook her head. What was she even thinking? There was nothing she could do for him except die by his side. She would not risk her life now after all she’d survived.
She took another step down the path, back in the direction she’d come. Her instincts screamed at her to run away, but a tiny voice in her head told her to go back. It was a tiny voice she’d learned to ignore long ago. In fact, she’d thought she’d squashed it out altogether, but Kai had somehow awoken it.
She didn’t know whether she wanted to thank him, or strangle him
Regardless, the tiny voice cheered her on as she took another heavy step, then picked up her pace down the path toward the mercenaries. The voice echoed in her mind, What’s the point of moving forward, when you stand for nothing?
As she left the path and crept back into the trees, she became quite sure she’d lost her mind. It was a frightening thought, but just as powerful was the feeling that while she’d lost her mind, perhaps she’d found something else. Something equally important.
WHAT IN THE BLAZES had he been thinking? He was such a fool. He’d crept back into the trees just in time, as the mercenaries had finished their meal to continue on down the path. These men were criminals, trained killers. They’d strike him dead before he could even blink. How had he ever hoped to even stand against one of them?
“You are an absolute fool,” a voice whispered beside him, echoing his thoughts.
He whipped his gaze around to find Anna, crouching not three paces away. The corner of his mouth lifted into a crooked smile. “If I’m so foolish,” he whispered, “then what are you doing here?”
She glared at him. “I spent an entire night rescuing you. I don’t like wasting my time.”
His grin widened. Anna was only one woman, but she was a trained fighter, at least according to her. His loose plan might actually work with her by his side.
“Whatever you’re thinking,” she whispered, “stop. I’m not going to follow whatever fool plan you have in your mind. If we’re going to do this, you will do exactly as I say, exactly when I say it.”