Siege (The Warrior Chronicles, #5) - K.F. Breene Page 0,28

and her skin pinched him. Dropping the bow didn’t seem to be an option. “Okay, hang on to the bow. No problem. Just don’t try to shoot it. You might hit one of our people.”

Her body shook. Probably a nod, because he didn’t hear any sounds of crying.

“You’re going to be fine. We’ll take care of you.”

She shook again. Definitely a nod. Her breathing had slowed even more, now not nearly as ragged. Hopefully, she was calming down enough to at least be able to think straight.

“I’m going to go back to the front and kill anyone that comes, okay?”

He wanted to believe that, too.

Another shake.

“So just hang tight.” He took his hand back as another shout trumpeted in the night. A bright glow lit up a halo of orange to the right, drawing Marc’s eyes like a moth. Shadows danced and swayed, distorted at their distance. Yells and the ringing of metal made everyone draw in closer.

“We need to move away from that,” Xavier said, looking in the opposite direction of the fire. “We’ll be silhouetted against that flame.”

“But if we’re near the flame, we can see a little,” Maggie said, nocking an arrow.

“Not if they come from the other direction,” Alena said in a shaky voice. “Xavier is right. We should—”

“Women, Xavier is in command. This is not a debate. Shut up and do as he says.” Ruisa moved toward Xavier. That instruction worked because it came from a woman, Marc had no doubt.

Silence rained down. Followed by a strange awareness that niggled at Marc’s senses.

Xavier moved ahead, having everyone follow like a line of ducklings. Except for Marc. Something wasn’t right.

Pressure pushed on his chest. His heart started to hammer.

Something definitely wasn’t right.

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the trees before a man cried out.

“Why don’t they just use their mental power?” one of the women asked.

“I don’t know,” someone answered.

Marc felt a hand on his back. “Go.”

“Shhhh!” Marc stuck out his elbow, pushing the woman away so he could turn. His eyes trained on a spot of black amid a sea of darkness. Something waited out there, in the night. Something dangerous. He would bet his life on it.

Marc closed his eyes, cutting off the desire to see. He let his other senses fill in the gaps, doing exactly as S’am taught him.

Almost immediately he felt that pulse of danger he attributed to S’am.

A warning surge of electricity worked down his spine. She wouldn’t be using this as a training exercise. Not right before a battle.

The cats, maybe?

Marc spread his arms, trying to make himself bigger. Just in case.

Footsteps approached him from the front of the line.

“What’s—”

Marc punched Xavier in the side, eyes still closed. Xavier grunted, but said nothing. He knew to trust Marc’s violence—it always preceded danger.

Marc took a deep breath, trying to slow his wildly beating heart.

A rustle sounded in front of them, blaring through the dark. Xavier’s feet scraped the dirt, pivoting. He must’ve heard.

Marc took another deep breath. Xavier’s footsteps moved away. More soles scratched the ground, others turning toward the danger. Xavier was getting everyone in position.

A soft crunch of a boot shocked through Marc’s senses.

It wasn’t the cats.

Oh shit.

“Graygual,” Marc mumbled, trying to deaden the sound as much as possible.

“What?” Rachie asked, almost a yell in the silence.

“Should we run?” Marc whispered, his whole body shaking. Anything that could be that quiet through pitch black in the middle of battle had to be excellently trained. They didn’t stand a chance.

“We wouldn’t all make it,” Xavier whispered back. He must’ve come to the same conclusion.

Marc didn’t have the heart to say it.

Sweat dripped down his neck. Another soft crunch, half as close as a moment ago. He or she was still moving in their direction.

Marc swallowed a lump of acid. He really hoped he was wrong and it was S’am. He really, really hoped.

“Run, Marc!” Words like an explosion pierced the night. S’am. She was not in front of them. And her voice was laced with panic.

“Go!” Xavier screamed, shoving Marc with rough hands. “Go!”

Something parted the air close to Marc’s head. A thud hit a tree behind him.

A throwing knife. Shit!

Marc turned and pushed the girl behind him. “Get out of here. Hurry! All of you!”

Soft footfalls pattered against the ground. Fabric swished, barely heard. It was coming right for them.

Adrenaline ignited in Marc’s body. He took out another knife, gripping one in each hand. Not thinking logically, knees bent, he stepped forward to intercept whatever it was