A Dangerous Destiny: The Pure One Book I

Chapter Fifty-One

So, updates are coming fast this week...This chapter is new to the draft and might be a bit rougher but I am curious to see what you think of it. I wanted to give a glimpse into Fiona's simultaneous pov to what we just saw and give a glimpse into what happened inside the House of Lords! We'll get back to Teren and the King next chapter;-)

Fiona

Run.

It was the only thought in her mind.

She remembered the shout from the crowd, distracting Alex momentarily as he lined up his shot. The sound of the loud bang rang out beside her, reverberating in her ears. The smell of gunpowder and smoke filling her nose, the bright red blood flashing before her eyes. But it was not that of their intended target. Fiona watched the King's eyes widening in horror as the man beside him fell to the ground before panning up to the balcony, staring directly at her.

Shoot him! The words had pounded in her head. Her finger on the trigger.

"Give that to me!"

Alex had ripped the gun from her hands before she could react.

Bang! The second shot followed by more shouting, the chaos bellow only growing. Their last chance squandered. The King still stood, now protected by the guards who had run to his aide.

Run.

"The balcony!"

A cry from the floor, audible over the din of the panicking nobility. The guards turning their attention to the spot where she and Alex stood, totally exposed.

Swallowing back her panic, Fiona found her voice. "We have to go," she breathed.

Alex had remain paralyzed, hand still clutching the trigger of his own rifle, all instincts of self-preservation faltering in his moment of failure. He'd missed. He'd missed and they had been seen, but it didn't matter. What mattered was escape. When still he didn't move Fiona grabbed him roughly by the shoulder and slapped him hard across the face.

"We have to go," she repeated.  "Now!"

The sting of her hand was enough to pull him from his mind. Alex's eyes blinked once in surprise before he seemed to find his feet beneath his body as she pulled him from the railing. Just in time. 

Hearing the shot, Fiona ducked, dragging Alex to the ground with her as a great crack! Sounded beside them. The wood of the banister creaked and splintered. The guards were firing. Not that they had the range to do so with accuracy. Their positioning in the balcony gave Fiona and Alex the advantage, the wooden railing absorbing the bullets as they remained out of reach. Of course they couldn't stay there for long.

As the sound of their rifles faded momentarily Fiona rose from the ground, pulling Alex up along with her and leading him by the arm. She was relieved that he remained compliant, following behind her, though at perhaps a pace slightly slower than she would have hoped.

They managed to run down the steps and slip into an alcove just before the retinue of royal guards came running down the hall, charging up the steps to the balcony in pursuit of the would be assassins.

"Alex," she whispered. "We have to get out through the main entrance. They will already have the other exits sealed."

He nodded, but there was still a deadened look in his eyes. She wondered if he could even truly hear her.

Fiona removed the cloth covering from her face and drew the collar up on her coat, stopping momentarily to do make the same adjustments to Alex's appearance. They would have to blend into the crowd of fleeing councilmen. But they had prepared for this possibility. The clothing they had worn was such that they might become as inconspicuous as possible. They merely had to get through those doors.