The Claimed: Rashika's Resistance

Chapter 18: Just Two Women

Heavy boots tromped into the kitchen, and men's voices murmured.

Rona wrenched herself free to dash toward the open door of the shrine. "Pim!"

I lurched to my feet. "Rona, wait, that's not —"

Izra slammed the door shut and shifted to block Rona's path. One hand clasping her sword and the other clenching the doorknob, she shook her head at Rona.

Rona skittered to a halt and blinked up at her. "But I want to see —"

I slapped a palm over Rona's mouth from behind and dragged her back a step. "You need to hide again, Rona," I whispered, locking her squirming form against my chest. "Just for a few more minutes, and then I promise I'll come back for you. Can you do that?"

When her furry face brushed my palm in a nod, I released my hand over her mouth and guided her toward the dugout. The moment she huddled back into the blankets, I shoved the floorboards back over the top. Darkness settled over her, and then she winked out of sight, swallowed by the floor. How long had she sat alone in that darkness, waiting and wondering?

I prayed I could keep my promise.

Izra pressed her ear against the door, eyes distant. I pushed to my feet and then held my breath, listening.

"...don't know why we are entering. The King ordered us just to burn the home down."

"What are you scared of? It's just two women."

"I heard a child."

"Two women and a child. Rashika, have mercy on us!"

Laughter rumbled through the door, and I tried to differentiate the individual huffs and chuckles. Three men? Four?

When the laughter quieted, the first man spoke again. "But what child would sneak into a traitor's home?"

"We can find out." The second guard again. "Who wants to break down the door?"

A new voice. "Sh, I think they are listening!"

A silence followed, and Izra's gaze flicked to me. Her hand left the doorknob to slip beneath her cloak, and slowly, quietly, she drew out a second sword. I recognized the blade from the night we had fought. Her eyes dropped to the blade, and she went very still, a question flickering across her eyes.

Then she flipped the sword around to offer me the hilt.

While the thought of King Makapu's death flooded me with hot anticipation, I had not fully considered the necessity that others would die along the way... loyal guards who mindlessly obeyed orders the same way I had. Conflicted feelings warred in my gut, trapping me in place. But then I remembered Rona's giggle and Izra's helpless smile, and a clear answer emerged.

I would do whatever it took to see them both happy again.

I rolled forward a step to accept the blade. As I fixed my grip and stance, footsteps approached. Outside the door, the feet rocked back and forth twice. Then the man sucked in a breath.

And Izra shoved the door open.

The door smacked flesh, and the man grunted as he dropped his sword and tumbled to his backside. He snatched up his blade and jerked up a knee, but before he could retaliate, Izra's blade sang out, slicing clean through his neck. His headless body locked rigid for a moment as blood stained his tunic and puddled on the floor in front of him. Then his shoulders toppled forward to smack the ground beside his head in a crimson spray.

I tore my gaze away from the gory spectacle and counted four more men crowding the tiny kitchen. Royal Guard badges shone gold against dark tunics, and swords hovered in front of chests as they approached us.