up, he raises his axe and strikes his attacker. He limps back over to the elf, and for a moment, I worry he’s going to attack him, but he simply turns to face the other guards.
With my heart in my throat, I watch as they swiftly take down the remaining guards. When they’ve all fallen, Tor sinks to his knees and I run over to him, worry coursing through me.
“Are you okay?” Scanning my eyes over him, I catalogue his injuries. The wound on his side seems to have stopped bleeding. He has a cut on his forehead, and I put my hands on his head to hold him still so I can look at it. It’s small, and it just looks dramatic, but it should heal fine. Tor stills under my touch and I can feel his eyes boring into me.
“Yeah, one of the bastards damaged my knee,” he grumbles, and I take my hands from his head and try to examine his knee. It’s swollen and already bruised, which will make escaping difficult.
“Clarissa, we have to go.” Vaeril steps into my line of sight, his expression carefully blank as he watches me. My heart feels like it’s being pulled in two—part of me wanting to stay here to make sure Tor is okay, and the other part desiring to go with Vaeril, knowing that’s the only way to avoid the king’s wrath.
Tor reaches out and grabs my wrist, stopping me as I go to stand up.
“Come with me.”
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. When I open them, he’s staring at me with such emotion that I have to look away. My gaze falls on the weeping woman and her little girl, and I know what needs to happen.
“No, you have to get them to safety.”
He stares at me for a second before he nods and tries to push himself up, wincing in the process. I reach out to steady him, and he looks down at where my hand rests against his chest.
“Then wait for me, I’ll help you,” he replies simply, as if that’s all there is to it.
“Clarissa,” Vaeril calls, and Tor turns and snarls in response.
“I am grateful for your help, elf, but stay out of this,” he growls, shifting his weight onto his good leg. Taking a few steps towards Vaeril, he stops when the elf bares his teeth in warning. They’re going to start fighting if I don’t sort this out quickly. Jumping between them, I place my hands on Tor’s chest and wait until he looks down at me.
“No, when we leave we will cause a distraction and they will follow us, giving you time to escape with the woman and child.”
He frowns, adamantly shaking his head. “Clarissa, wait—”
Knowing he’s going to keep arguing, I push him gently towards the shield that covers the back fountain. He takes a few staggering steps back, and I know he’s letting me since there is no way I could push someone his size against their will, but the look he gives me is a cross between determination and pain.
Glancing over at the woman, I gesture for her to come closer. With one last sob, she leaves the body of her son and takes the hand of her little girl, hurrying over to me.
“Follow Tor, he will protect you,” I tell her, releasing a big breath as they step into the shield and disappear from view.
Tor is still standing at the edge of the shield, refusing to budge that last step, but as the sound of more armoured feet fills the courtyard, I know it’s time to go.
“I’m sorry. Be safe.” I raise up onto my tiptoes and go to press a kiss against his cheek, but he turns his head at the last moment so our lips meet. Surprise makes me freeze.
His arm comes around my waist, pulling me close as he deepens the kiss. I gasp into his mouth as feelings of desire swirl through me, and I kiss him back. I hadn’t meant to, but now that I’ve started, I find it difficult to stop.
“Clarissa,” Vaeril barks, his voice washing over me like an ice-cold bucket of water. I jerk away from Tor. My breathing is ragged, and I back away until I bump into the elf. Looking up at him, I see he’s not watching me, instead his eyes are locked on Tor, who has a satisfied smirk on his face.
Suddenly, I’m knocked off my feet as Vaeril scoops me into