AISLIN | I

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

I HELD my position as Leland scampered off across the battlefield. Leland came back, dodging fighters, with his arms full. We picked our way through the rubble and back into the basement. Leland dropped the contents of his arms on the floor in shock when the king came into view.

"Don't just stand there gawking. Help me!" I snapped, pulling the key from its nail by the entryway. Leland snapped out of his daze and moved toward the King cautiously.

"He's alive, but barely. We need to get him down and get him out of here." I stated.

"Here," I said, handing Leland the key. "I can't reach," I explained when he gave me a puzzled look.

Gingerly I wrapped my arms around the King's torso and lifted his weight off his overstretched arms.

"You ready?" Leland asked. I nodded. Leland used the key to unlock the wrist restraints. The King's arms fell to his sides limply as his full weight settled into me. I slowly lowered him to the floor as my knees buckled underneath me. I knelt there on the floor cradling the King's broken form against my chest. My eyes burned as I tried to hold back the tears that were trying to burst forth.

The face cradled in my arms was almost unrecognizable. It was bruised and broken; swollen and discolored. The shades of purple and green that were now visible in the musty light filtering down through the stairwell made me sick to my stomach. The man in front of me was one of the most respected men in the entire realm, and here he lay, reduced to a pile of blood and bones.

I felt a weight settle across my shoulders as Leland crouched down next to us and rested his arm across my shoulders, pulling me toward him. He rested his forehead against my temple.

"Now is not the time," he whispered.

I nodded, taking a deep breath. I felt King Kole's neck, reconfirming that he was indeed still alive, and after finding it, pulled myself out from under his torso and laid him carefully on the dirt floor as Leland regathered what he had salvaged from the battle raging full-force above our heads.

He had managed to assemble a full suit of armor. Piece by piece we strapped the king into the suit. After strapping the helmet into place and pulling the visor down, the king was completely unrecognizable. I looked up and met Leland's gaze.

"It will work." He said, answering the unasked question that hung in the air between us.

We each draped an arm around our shoulders and pulled King Kole to his feet. I supported the majority of his weight momentarily and carefully draped his broken body over Leland's shoulder. He rose to full height and his eyes met mine. Leland stepped forward, starting up the stairs, but he paused.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, panic rising.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. I know you'll be fine, it's just..." he trailed off and hung his head.  "I will come back for you."

"I know you will. You be careful." He straightened up, squared his shoulders, and marched up the stairs. I shook my head, clearing out the thoughts that were threatening to drown out my good sense, and followed him. Now was not the time to wonder. Now was the time to survive.

Leland and I stood shoulder to shoulder for a moment. I took a deep breath and charged into the fray. I saw Leland pick his way through the rubble carrying the King to safety in the corner of my eyes. I had to keep the focus off of him.

I let a battle cry loose that stemmed all the way from my toes. I raged through the battlefield, senses tingling. My sword became an extension of my body. I found myself blocking blows before my mind registered the fact that they were coming.

I made my way toward August who was facing three enemy soldiers on his own. I slipped through the circle and leaned my back against August's, alerting him to my presence. I looked over my shoulder and caught a glimpse of a smirk out of the corner of my eye. The clang of metal on metal rang in my ears as the fight continued around us. My bones vibrated with every blow. This was a true battle. My first in over a decade. This would be fun.

After putting our opponents out of commission August and I parted ways. He returned to fighting by Kingsley's side and I fought my way through the onslaught of soldiers making my way to Mèabh's side. She was facing two opponents but defending herself well. I helped her remove them from the picture and noticed the syndicate forming a circle around us, our strongest battle formation. I sheathed my sword and snapped the bow on my wrist cuff into place. The distance was our best friend at this point. August and I let arrows fly, Mèabh's darts flew, Blakely Rose's stars sliced through the air, Willow's plumb made a hissing noise as it cut through the air. Arius was leading a battalion of Kavan guard members toward us from the other side of the ruined city. The battle was siding in our favor.

The Thrinfexe soldiers were retreating. We were winning, but the battle was far from over. Why the mass retreat? I saw those around me look at each other with puzzled expressions as a trio of small wooden barrels, the size of canning jars landed in the middle of our circle. Each had what looked like a flaming lamp wick hanging out a sealed hole in the top and the wicks smoldered.

"Scatter!" I bellowed as realization dawned. Leland thundered toward us, completely oblivious to the weapon laying on the ground a mere 10 feet away. I turned and ran toward him, catching his wrist as I passed him and pulling him behind me. Behind me, the syndicate began running in whatever direction they had been facing.

A thunderous bang rang out and I was weightless for an instant. I felt Leland's hand in mine. Then I collided with the earth below me. I rolled onto my back, gasping for air, ears ringing. Searing pain tore through my middle. I ran my hand over my middle and held it in front of my eyes; red. I looked to my right where I heard Leland stirring. He laid among the rubble, a trickle of blood running down his face staining his pale hair and skin.

My vision blurred as black spots hid my field of vision. I let my eyes fall closed, but I couldn't open them again. I heard a rough voice call my name and then my senses completely faded away.

×××××××××××××

Author Note!

Hello, My Mickey Mouse Club House Members!!❤️ Thank goodness for my friends because I wouldn't have been able to finish this without them, their the real ones.

Thoughts >

Random >

How is your day today? Was it bad? Good? In between?

QOTD: Favorite Football team?

I don't like to watch sports I've learned, but I prefer the Seahawks and 49'ers can go eat dirt. Disrespectfully.

JK, I don't hate like that. I could care less about teams and their rivals honestly. It's just a game.

Love you all thank you for reading! Xoxox 💋💋

- Mickey ✨