Scorched

Chapter 13

Alarms blared down the hall, the loud ringing piercing Gwen's ears. Frozen against the wall, she watched the scene in astonishment. Never had she heard of the castle being attacked, and now, her she was, standing in the middle of it.

The rebels pushed their way past the guards, their numbers overwhelming. Gwen stood paralyzed and weaponless, mind racing. Terror coursed through her veins. She was going to die. She was going to die without even the chance to fight back.

The clash of metal on metal filled Gwen's ears. Right before her eyes trained soldiers were being taken down by rebels. Rebels who the King had claimed were harmless, and under control.

Gwen shook herself out of her stupor and dashed forwards, pulling a bloodied sword out of the hand of a fallen soldier. She lifted the blade in front of her and charged forward to the nearest black clad rebel.

The sound of metal on metal filled her ears. Now that the rebels no longer had the element of surprise on their side, their bows were useless. The close range of the attacks forced the usage of swords, which the guards easily bested the rebels in.

The guards were slowly gaining ground on the mass of rebels, forcing them back towards the doors. Despite the valiant efforts of the guards, it was impossible for them to contain all of the rebels. Some were able to sneak through their defences and make their way further into the castle.

Gwen focused on the fight in front of her. The dark glimmering eyes of a rebel met hers, and he shot her a menacing look. She grit her teeth and blocked his first blow, twisting away from his sharp blade. Her right arm screamed in pain as she held it tight to her body. She was forced to fight with her left, less dominant hand.

Gwen was constantly on the defensive, not willing to go in for the killing blow, and unable to get through his blocks with her weak hand. Finally, after parrying his many attacks, he got through her guard, blade slicing into her side. Screaming in pain, Gwen backed away from the rebel into the twisting halls behind her.

A group of guards rushed around her into the hall, one immediately taking her place against the rebel she had been fighting. Gwen caught the eye of a rebel with a dark hood pulled up over his hair.

Even beneath the hood Gwen could make out a mass of ruffled blonde hair. Gwen squinted in his direction and gasped, his eyes were an exact replica of her own.

"Kai?" Gwen whispered in disbelief. What would her traitorous brother be doing storming the castle with a group of rebels? Kai wasn't even a fighter; he had always focused solely on medicine. But there he was, sword in hand, rushing into the castle.

With a hand pressed tightly against the cut in her side Gwen turned and ran after her brother. She could just make out his head bobbing up and down through the crowd of guards surging in the opposite direction.

Gwen fought her way to where she could almost reach out and touch Kai. She hadn't gone back to confront him about giving her up, but the urge to know the truth was unshakable now. Just as she was about to grab his shoulder and force him to face her, a hand snaked out from behind her and grabbed her outstretched arm.

Gwen was yanked to a halt and her brother disappeared, a single rebel, unnoticed, sneaking into the heart of the castle. Gwen spun around, her face a mask of fury.

Rowan's hand held her arm tightly and Gwen opened her mouth to yell at him.

"That was my brother you idiot!" she yelled, not phased as she usually would have been about calling the Prince an idiot.

Rowan's worried face hardened as he marched down the hall, pulling her after him. Gwen was dragged, glaring like an indignant child. They walked until they were deep beneath the castle, where the doors were made of a heavy metal.