Before I start, there's kind of a bit of violence and a tiny bit of blood in this soo if you don't like these you should probably skip to the next part.
I swiftly reload my gun with one hand while pressing the other against my injured thigh. All around me, screams and gunshots echo through the large warehouse. I peek out from the stack of metal poles I'm hiding behind and yelp as I come face to face with Yohann. He grabs me by my throat and pushes me against the wall behind me. Lifting his gun up to my temple, he says "We meet again, Praelia."
I glare at him. "I would have liked it better if we hadn't."
He chuckles, his forest green eyes closing for a second, his head tilting to the side. He clearly thinks I'm the same girl I was two years ago. He's wrong.
I kick him in between his legs, then grab his shoulders and slam my head into his. My forehead makes contact with his nose and a loud crack follows. He groans loudly, stumbling back, holding his nose with his free hand. I quickly walk towards him and grab the hand holding the gun. Twisting it harshly, I make him drop his weapon pushing it to the side, then kick the back of his knees, ignoring the pain in my thigh. He falls to the ground, kneeling. I hold my own gun to the back of his head, keeping his arm behind his back.
"Now, where is the stone Yohann."
He laughs and tries to turn. I push his head back to the front with the tip of my gun.
"And why should I tell you where the stone is. Without it, the Emperor will die, his reign will be over and mine will begin."
"Will it now? I wonder how you'll manage to rule without a head."
"Don't give out empty threats darling. It'll make it harder for me to stay serious."
At this, I angle my gun lower, towards his left leg, and pull the trigger. He screams in pain as his jeans turn red around the wound. I then step on his injury and press. He screams again, his breathing getting ragged.
"You're right. I shouldn't have threatened to blow your face up. I'd rather make you bleed to death, make you feel the pain you have instilled onto the royal family."
"You speak as if the royal family isn't my own" he says before biting his lip as I apply more pressure on his leg.
"Because it isn't anymore. Not after what you've done to them."
He suddenly extends his uninjured leg and sweeps me off my feet. I fall to the ground, my head making contact with the cement floor sending searing pain through it. Yohann swiftly gets up from his kneeling position and steps on my throat. He bends down, yanking my gun out of my loose grip. I grasp his foot trying to yank it off of me.
"Falling for me already, are you darling?" He mocks, a triumphant smirk plastered on his face.
"I'd fall of a cliff before falling for you, you filthy traitor." I sneer at him.
I start gasping for air as Yohann presses harder, momentarily cutting off the air flow to my lungs.
"Ouch, you hurt my feelings Lia." He puts a hand on his chest, right above his heart, then bursts into laughter.
I start feeling lightheaded. Anger makes my blood boil. I'm reminded of two years ago, when Yohann betrayed his father and attempted to overthrow him. I remember our fight, how he easily defeated me and how I almost died. I remeber how powerless, vulnerable and weak I was. Maybe I still am, maybe I overestimated myself.
I close my eyes trying to obviate these thoughts and calm my racing heart.
Once I come back to my senses, I kick both my legs up towards the once loved prince of Aeternalis. He stumbles off of me and I quickly jump to my feet, pulling a hidden dagger out of my boot. He turns around and aims for my heart with the gun. I jump out of the way, roll on the ground and seize my enemy's gun from the floor. Sprinting behind one of the pallet racks full of boxes, I check how many bullets are left.
"Shit!"
It's almost empty, with only two bullets remaining.
But, something seems weird.
Moving to have a peep at Yohann, I notice he isn't where he was a few seconds before. I walk out of my hiding place, noticing for the first time how quiet the warehouse has become. At this sudden silence, I sprint through the immense building, looking around for my men, ignoring the pain and the burn of my muscles. Once I get to the front of the warehouse, I gasp, taking in the sight ahead. Most of my men are stacked up on each other, none of them moving. Dead. Next to them, five guys lay against the wall, breathing heavily.
I notice Kai isn't among them, and panic engulfs me.
"Where's Kai?" I ask, but my men seem too weak to speak. "Louis, where is Kai."
When I speak his name, Louis lifts his head up, eyes hazy and skin pale.
"With them." He breathes tiredly, as if it took him all of his energy to say these two words.
"With who. Did they take him? What happened?"
Louis tries to answer, but no words come out of his mouth. Instead, he spits blood. I mentally scold myself for pushing him too hard.
"Nevermind. You shouldn't speak now. Kai is strong, he can hold on until we figure out what to do."
Saying this, I try to reassure both me and the remaining of my men. I limp out of the warehouse and take my walkie talkie out of my belt.
"Praelia calling Venice"
I wait a few seconds for a reply.
"Go for Venice" (Venice is listening.)
"Mission 'Traitor' failed."
"Copy. Do you need help?"
"Affirmative"
"10-20" (What's your location?)
"Still at the warehouse. Send paramedics."
"Wilco." (will do)
At this, I step back inside and help the five guys, my mind never leaving Kai.
