Page 74 of Heart of the Cursed
Three. Two. One.
As soon as he was within striking distance, Arun called his sword to him. The instant he felt the cool metal in the palm of his hand, he made his move. In one fluid motion, he leapt to his feet and thrust the sword straight up into Agnarr’s chest.
“Never,” Arun growled.
Agnarr stared at him in utter shock as blood began to drip from the corners of his mouth. Arun gave the sword one final push to pierce his heart before pulling it from his body.
There was a sickening gurgling sound coming from Agnarr as he dropped to his knees before falling flat on his face in the dirt.
Arun took a deep breath as the shield disintegrated and then turned to face Selene.
***
The silence that descended after Arun delivered the killing blow was deafening. Everything seemed to stand still, as if holding its breath, waiting. Then the shield dropped.
Selene wanted to run to Arun. She wanted to throw her arms around him, hold on tight, and never let go. But she couldn’t. The guards still had hold of her arms, stopping her from taking a single step forward.
A moment later, she heard the same sickening gurgling sound that Agnarr had made, but it was coming from behind her. She looked over her shoulder just in time to see the two guards that were holding her drop to the floor. They were both covered in blood and had gaping holes in their necks.
When she looked up to see the cause of their demise, she saw a Demon with red skin and black horns in their place. She could see her reflexion in his eerie black eyes as he stared back at her.
“Don’t worry, I’m on your side,” he said, holding his hands up. “You’re safe now.”
Selene turned back around to see Arun staring at her. His tattered and torn clothes were gone, replaced with a fresh t-shirt and trousers, but there was no hiding the pain that he was in, or the wounds that he had sustained. But through it all, he gave her a warm, reassuring smile.
She smiled back at him, letting him know that she was okay. A second later, she felt soft fabric encasing her body. She looked down to see a beautiful light blue, long sleeved top and a darker blue denim trousers. Her smile grew when she spotted a pendant hanging from a chain around her neck in a rose and teardrop design.
She gently picked it up between her finger and thumb to get a better look at the rose and teardrop. That’s when she noticed the sparkling gemstone in the centre of the teardrop. As she turned it between her fingers, she could see different colours glimmering in the light.
Selene was about to get to her feet and race over to Arun, so she could throw her arms around him, but she caught movement in the trees behind him. Before she could shout a warning to him, one of Agnarr’s guards jumped down from a tree and threw a ball of magic, right at her.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion. As she watched the ball of magic flying towards her, she absently heard the Demon shout to Arun, but it was too late. By the time around turned to see what was going on, the ball of magic had flown straight past him. A second later, it hit her square in the chest.
The force of the impact sent her flying backwards, straight through the door she’d walked through not long ago with Agnarr. Pain shot through her as the door broke into pieces, but it didn’t stop her. She could see the look of shock and horror on Arun’s face as bits of broken wood flew around her. It burned into her memory as she sailed through the air before coming to a sudden stop.
Pain exploded in her head and body a heartbeat before everything went black.
