✧The Earthe of the Elves✧

41

Mia's POV

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A bang resonates as the locks to the door break and the door goes flying open, sending me stumbling back. I feel Knox's strong grip on my arm keeping me upright, but I keep my focus on the five tall, strong elves that step into our room, each one holding a knife or sword. Panic swells within me, but I barely have a second to calm it down, because a second later they strike.

Two of the Cin run at me, their knives catching the hallway light from outside. I barely dodge a swipe of a knife, swinging mine out and nicking one of them. But there's only one of them and two of me. I cry out as I feel a kick land to my side, and I whip around, bringing one of my knives up just in time to catch the Cin lady as her knife arcs towards me. Our two blades clash together, and a second later I swipe mine down as hard as I can, slicing her leg. I'm about to punch her down when a pair of strong arms wraps around me, holding me in place. I scream and kick, thrashing around, hearing the grunts from Knox a few feet away. Suddenly I feel my windpipe being pressed down on, and realize the Cin has his arm around my throat, squeezing just hard enough that I stop fighting. My knives are no longer in my hands.

Knox killed one of the three on him, but the other two are holding their own. I'm not sure why this Cin is just holding me, not killing me. I still struggle, but I'm forced to stop when dots appear in my vision from lack of oxygen.

The zing of a blade rings through the room as Knox cuts the other Cin, kicking him and sending him sprawling to the floor.

An almost dream-like sensation comes over me as I see the last Cin bring his long, curved knife up. The blade gleams. I dig my nails into the arm around my neck, trying to yell at Knox. I can almost feel the Cin behind me smirking.

The knife sails down, and Knox looks back up. Just in time for the knife to lodge in the center of his chest.

The whole room turns ice cold. My chest tightens. It feels as if someone has sucked the soul out of me. I feel empty, hopeless, in the span of a second.

I'm vaguely aware of the Cin leaving, the pressure lifting from my throat, but it feels too tight still. I feel like I'm floating. I can't hear anything. It's like my head is underwater.

I scream as blood, black in the dark, blossoms from the center of his shirt.

His eyes close.

My eyes open to the dark.

Panic bursts out of me in a scream as I jump to the ground, looking around the hotel room for Knox, lying on the floor with blood pooling around him. Just the thought has a strangled, horrified sound coming from my throat. My breaths come out heaving, like I just ran a marathon.

I feel someone's hands on my forearms, stopping me from scrambling around like I want to. There is a voice, but I can barely hear it as I thrash, trying to get the arms holding me away. The hands lift and a light turns on, momentarily blinding me. A mix of panic and rage and absolute despair rises up like a tsunami inside me as I turn. But Knox is standing there, in only his pajama bottoms, looking alive as ever. My eyes flick to his bare stomach, and everything is fine. He's fine.

It was a dream.

The tsunami comes down, but instead of panic is overwhelming relief, and a lot of shock. A very much unwanted sob bursts out of me, and I cover my mouth with shaking hands. My whole body is shaking, I feel sweaty, my face feels tight from dried tears. Even though it wasn't real, it sure as hell felt like it. And now I feel the memory of the dream, the feeling of it, the emotions, still hovering over me.

Knox's brows are furrowed together in concern when I step towards him in a desperate attempt to truly convince myself that this is real, that it was all a dream. I start to check his chest for blood or any cut at all, and when I come to terms that it was, in fact, just a dream- just a nightmare- I nearly collapse in relief.