CHAPTER 5: INTO THE SHADOWS

ROSELYN’S POV

The silver light disappeared as suddenly as it had come and my body crumpled to the floor. Every muscle ached as though I had been torn apart and stitched back together. For several long seconds, all I could hear was my own heart pounding very fast. Then the sounds of battle rushed back. Steel clashed against steel. The cottage walls shook. Someone screamed.

I forced my eyes open. The pendant lay against my chest, its glow now so faint that I wondered if I had imagined it. Before I could think next,

“Roselyn!” Roland’s voice cut through the chaos.

I pushed myself onto my elbows just in time to see him block a vicious strike with his silver sword. Sparks burst into the air as the glowing runes along the blade flared brightly. The three masked assassins surrounded him from different directions. He was seriously outnumbered, Yet he refused to retreat.

The scarred leader smiled beneath his mask as he said “She’s waking up Roland! You can’t hide her anymore.” Roland’s face hardened.

“As long as I breathe… you’ll never touch her.” He muttered with a rough voice.

The assassin laughed coldly. “Stop struggling Roland, You’ve grown old.”

“Well…Old enough to kill fools like you.” Their swords collided again.

The force of the impact sent a gust of wind through the cottage, knocking chairs against the walls.

I struggled to stand as my legs trembled beneath me. Everything around me spun and I almost lost balance but quickly held onto the wooden wall.

“Roland…” I called out to him and he glanced toward me sharply, His expression changed instantly. “Run!”

“I can’t leave you!” I cried…

“You can Roselyn.” He said as another of the assassins lunged toward him with full force.

Roland twisted aside and drove his shoulder into the attacker’s chest before kicking him backward.

The scarred man seized the opening and attacked brutally as his black blade slashed across Roland’s arm and Blood splattered onto the wooden floor.

“Roland!” I took a step toward him.

“No! Stay back” His voice thundered through the room. “Get out!”

For the first time since I had known him… I heard fear. Not fear for himself but fear for me.

The pendant around my neck suddenly grew warm again and a strange pulse spread through my chest. One of the assassins stopped fighting as his eyes locked onto the pendant.

“There! The relic has bonded with her!” One of the assassins shouted while pointing at me.

Three other men turned toward me at once and my heartbeat quickened. Their murderous intent crashed over me like a wave and I couldn’t move.

The scarred leader slowly pointed his sword at me, “Take the girl alive.” He ordered his men and two rushed forward but before they could reach me, Roland stepped between us, his silver blade flashed and the room exploded with light making the assassins to stagger backward while shielding their eyes.

“Roselyn!” Roland shouted. “Go through be back door… Now!”

I finally moved with tears blurring my vision as I stumbled toward the rear of the cottage. Every instinct screamed at me to stay and help him, but another part of me knew I would only slow him down if I stayed back. I threw open the back door and ran into the darkness, branches whipped across my face as I raced through the forest. I had never ran this fast before. Behind me, the sounds of battle grew fainter. Then… A terrible explosion echoed through the trees.

The ground beneath my feet trembled and I stopped immediately, My heart pounded. “Roland…”

Smoke rose above the treetops where our cottage stood. I took one step back, then another, I couldn’t leave him so I turned to run back and immediately a strong hand suddenly covered my mouth. I screamed against the stranger’s grip.

“Quiet.” The voice was low but firm.

“If you want Roland’s sacrifice to mean something…you’ll stop struggling.” My eyes widened.

The stranger wore a dark hood that concealed most of his face leaving only a pair of piercing blue eyes that met mine. When he saw that I was calm, he slowly removed his hand.

“Who are you?” I whispered softly.

Instead of answering, he looked toward the smoke rising above the trees.

“There’s no time…they’ve already sent more hunters.” He said, voice deep.

My blood ran cold in shock. “What?”

“They won’t stop until they find you, we need to leave.”

I backed away. “How do you know that?”

The stranger looked at me for a long moment before speaking.

“Because… I’ve been searching for you for nineteen years.”

Before I could ask another question… A chorus of wolf howls echoed through Oakridge Forest. Not one, Not two, Dozens.

The hunters were closing in.