31

A R Y A

➳

"Well look, little “Rya” is at my feet." Rowtag pronounced the words in my language perfectly, but there was a hiss in his undertone that seemed alien. I might have dismissed it as a harmless specter if I hadn't looked directly into two black, abysmal sombre eyes.

“No”.

"What did she do to you?" I whispered, my limbs trembling with the horror that gripped me. She had him in her hands, he was just another pawn in Echinda's sick game.

He didn't respond to my question, just eyed me with his head cocked. "What shall I do with you now?" Calmly he spun my sword in the air and caught it again. 'Would you like me to cut your throat first? A quick, harmless death? Or would you rather I cut off all your limbs? Slow and painful?”

"You have to fight back." I tried to sit up, but that only made things spin more. "Fight it “Rowtag”, it's not “you”."

He glowered down at me. "Rowtag is dead."

"No." I gritted my teeth resolutely and sat up so I was leaning against the wall. I ignored the loud pounding in my head that felt like my head was about to explode. “Bum Bum. Bum Bum. Bum Bum. “”You just took a blood oath. I can help you break it, I promise. You just have to come with me."

Though I tried to convince him with urgency in my voice, my words bounced off him like a thick pane of glass.

Slowly he came towards me, the sword tightly gripped. "Since you can't seem to make up your mind, I'll choose for you." His smile was so unnatural it sent a chill down my spine. "And I choose the second option."

Before he could get any closer, I groaned, unslung my bows from my back and nocked an arrow. That wasn't my rowtag. That wasn't “Rowtag”, “my best friend”. 'Don't come near me. I warn you."

"Anything else? Do you want to shoot me?' He laughed.

"I wouldn't conjure it up if I were you."

"Killing your best friend?" Only a good ten feet separated us. "I doubt it."

He took another step towards me and I let go. The arrow flew straight into his thigh. A moment later a new arrow lay on the string, ready to be fired. "I warned you."

Rowtag grunted and yanked the arrow out of his leg, smashing him carelessly to the ground. “That was the first and the last time that you will be able to do something like this.”

And he was right. I already fired the second arrow, but it was faster. With his sword he cut through the jaw arrow while it was still in the air, dodged the third arrow and then crouched in front of me.

With my supernatural speed, I slammed the sharpened end of my bow into his face and the sword fell from his hand. I took advantage of the momentary surprise to grab him and brace him against the rocks and nock an arrow at his throat.

His black eyes looked at me with an anger that had never been aimed at me.

"I don't want to hurt you, Rowtag." My head was still pounding, blurring before me. I pressed the arrow even more against his neck. “Try to resist their control. Come back”. “I'll take you” home.”"

Some of the green of his actual iris flickered briefly.

““Aee”, home. “Tribe of Retani”.”

In one fell swoop all green was gone and darkness had returned. She moved in his eyes as if she were a living being.

"No." He snatched the arrow and jerked it away from me with a force I had never witnessed. Rowtag was a good warrior, “aee”, but he'd never been as fast or as strong as me. “Never”.

He snapped the thick jawed dart in half with one hand while I could only stare at him with wide eyes. Only werewolves were blessed with such strength.

Again that tremendous smile. "I told you Rowtag was dead, “Rya”."

I reached for the blade on the ground, but he was faster. His hand grabbed my outstretched arm and jerked me around, pinning me against the wall. Then he grabbed the sword with a swiftness I had not seen in the best warriors.

But I wasn't called the “first arrow te Retani” for nothing. He might have an advantage where my throbbing head prevented me from displaying my full fighting ability, but I wouldn't give up. I just had to get him to the point where you could tie him up and then take him away. Once he had the right potion, the blood oath would be broken and Rowtag would be himself again. He wasn't lost yet. And I would do anything to bring him back. He was the only one I cared about besides Xenos. He was the only one besides Xenos who understood me, who knew me and stood by me. Maybe Xenos was my home, “aee”, but Rowtag was my family. And you didn't let your family down.

I pulled an arrow from my quiver and buried it in his forearm. It wasn't a fatal spot, but it was painful enough to drop the knife. I was about to reach for it when a rumbling, panicked roar ripped through the gallery.

"ARYA!"

It shook the bars and made me freeze. A moment later, relieved, I fasten on my heart and the icy fist that had squeezed it loosened. “Xenos”.” He was probably up.”

"New orders." Rowtag blinked and cocked his head again, as if trying to listen more closely. As if someone were talking to him. 'New option. Third option.” He grinned. "Much better option."

Before I knew what was happening, I found myself sprawled on the stone floor. My chin was open and a metallic tasting liquid filled my mouth.

'If I wanted to, you wouldn't stand a chance against me. I'm stronger and faster than you can even imagine.” His hand dug into my hair and he jerked my head back toward him. "Let's stop playing games, you'd only degrade yourself even more."

I clawed my fingers into his arms and made deep gouges in his skin. "Shut up, you son of a bitch!"

He yanked me up in the air with a tug on my hair so I couldn't stop the high-pitched scream that left my lips.

My scraped knees touched the cool wet floor again just as a familiar figure appeared in front of the cell.

He truly looked like a god. Maybe like an angel. His blond almost golden hair stood up in a tousle, enticing me to run through and tousle it even more. And his broad shoulders shielded me and Rowtag from the bluish-silver moonlight that filtered through the rock hole in the ceiling. Even from this distance I could see how angry he was. A god trembling with anger.

"Xenos..." My eyes burned from the hard grip Rowtag was still holding on my hair, and I could feel the blood on my fingers as I dug them deeper into his skin. "You must not ... "

But I couldn't get any further because Rowtag pulled an arm out of my claw grip and pressed the knife's cool, double-edged blade against my neck.

"Are you coming to save her, wolfie?" Rowtag sneered behind me, tilting my head even further toward him, sword pressed tight to my skin.

Xenos roared, closed his hands on the bars and shook them, growling. I saw his palms glow red and the burnt stench wafted over to me. The silver burned his skin.

"No Xenos, don't!" I reached for the sinewy arm that held the sword to my throat, but I might as well have been gripping a stone pillar, it didn't move a bit. That couldn't be Rowtag's forte, that had to be Echinda. "You mustn't kill him, do you understand?"

But Xenos didn't hear me at all. He seemed to grow preternaturally tall, all his muscles bulging, trembling with tension as he rattled the door with sheer force.

“Once ... , twice ... , three times ...”

It jumped apart.

I widen my eyes. That couldn't be possible. But what I saw was undeniable. The steel bars splintered and the cell wall collapsed with a clatter. Through it ran a tall, angry man, his face so contorted with suppressed anger that it was difficult to see him.

Only now did I understand how much he had hidden the protector in him from me. How little he really differed from Aramis and what a protective attitude towards me.

"Don't hurt him, okay?" Because, “heaven”, I knew Xenos was stronger than Rowtag. The dark-eyed gi-warrior would stand no chance against him.

Xeno's head snapped towards me, his blue eyes glowing in the darkness.

"He's my best friend," I whispered, since the sharp blade wouldn't let me do anything else.

He said nothing, just stared at me, looking me up and down, walking over my torn knees, tattered top and bruised chin. I was sure there was still blood on my teeth.

His even darkened eyes darted to the knife, followed the arm to Rowtag. Xenos was just an animal, just a wolf. A raging, savage, aggressive wolf that almost exploded at the sight of a sword at my throat. Someone threatened his mate and he responded in the only way a dominant wolf could. Burning, outright rage that made his whole body tremble.

My heart was beating with fear. Because the way he looked at me, the way he looked at “Rowtag”, he wasn't going to spare him no matter what I told him.

"Don't step closer or she dies," Rowtag threatened, digging the blade into my skin so that a thin trickle of blood ran down my throat.

And Xenos froze. Fine fur spread over his body, eyes that turned into those of his wolf. Blood spurted from his fists as his claws broke free and his sharp teeth flashed dangerously. There was nothing normal in his eyes anymore, nothing human. Pure protective instinct. It looked like he couldn't take it much longer.

"No one... hurt... my... Arya" His chest heaved violently and he struggled to breathe. "“No one”."

At first I didn't understand what he said. He was so much a wolf, his voice consisted more of a deep growl and growl than words. But after my brain processed the information, my heart stopped. It was like I was electrified. I had never seen him like this before. Never so animalistic, almost primitive.

Then everything happened in a split second. Xenos lunged at Rowtag so fast I couldn't even see him jump off. He snatched the sword from his hand, threw him to the ground and struck him.

“Bam Bam bam”. Firm, hard punches straight to Rowtag's face as he sat over him and didn't seem to stop.

Blood pounded in my ears. "Xenos, stop it!" I ran to him, not caring if I was going to take a hit, and tried to pull him off Rowtag. ““Feyen”, stop it! He is my friend!"

One more punch and he jumped up, nearly knocking me over. I braced myself against the stone floor and waited for the world to stop spinning. I then crawled over to Rowtag, but before my hand could touch him to see if he was alive, Xenos picked me up and pressed me against him.

He turned around silently, but I fought back. “Let me go, I have to go to him!”

His arms pressed me even more to his chest and his steps quickened. We stepped out of the cell.

"NO!" I punched him, trying to wriggle out of his arms, but he wouldn't let me, and my head still ached too badly to use all my strength to get to Rowtag. "I have to see him!"

I knew I wasn't allowed to make such a noise, but it was already too late for that and to be honest, I couldn't have had a single clear thought at that moment. Everything revolved around my best friend. He couldn't be dead. I couldn't lose him too.

Xenos stopped and made me look at him. Still more wolf than man. 'I didn't kill him. Experienced."

"Then we must take him with us."

"We don't have that much capacity right now." He kept walking, almost running. “Aramis is waiting for us. If we don't hurry, we won't get out of here."

We had made too much noise and wasted too much time for that. But I couldn't leave my brother down here. “Alone”.

"Let go of me!" I leaned over his shoulder and looked back at the one cell that seemed to be getting smaller. "Let me go to him."

Claws pressed against my clothes and an angry growl. But he said nothing, just ran faster.

I reached out to the cell where Rowtag lay in his own blood. Tears flowed down my cheeks. "“No”."

➳