The Scarlet Assassin

Chapter Twenty

 Carter mumbled, "Why does anyone have to fuck anyone?"

Sorin was still smirking. "Now that you mention it..." he turned to me and gave me the look. I thought about flipping him off. "Vera would be a good choice. I mean we've already had a practice round." He sucked a breath. "Sorry, princess. I humbly decline your offer." Sophie's mouth dropped. Even Rafe and Ace looked shocked.

"Wait, have you two-"

"We need to get going," I mumbled, cutting Sophie off. Shutting my compass, I threw it back into my bag. I glared at Sorin, still debating whether to flip him off or push him into the water and hope he couldn't swim. Asshole.

"You two..." Ace started, pointing a finger between us. She laughed and I turned my glare toward her. "Damn, well this is certainly a shocking turning of events. Now all I need is for Sorin, Rafe, and Sophie to have their three-some and my life will be complete because I won't be the saddest bitch in this group." Rafe was still fuming.

"I swear to God if you tried anything..." He hissed, his eyes full of anger and hate.

I rubbed my face and mumbled, "I can't deal with this shit right now."

Sorin smirked and stepped forward. "Try anything? You should've heard her begging. I mean, she was all over me that night-"

"You came onto me," I reminded him, a snap in my voice.

He waved a dismissive hand. "It doesn't matter." Sophie suddenly burst out laughing.

We all looked at her. "I"m sorry. I just-." She laughed again. "You two hate each other. I mean, I would've guessed Ace and Carter fucked before Sorin and Vera."

"Who could resist this?" Sorin asked, smiling charmingly. Ace raised her hand.

"Me."

"We were drunk," I clarified, "and I was pissed and it won't happen again."

Sorin's smile spread. "Sure." I kept his stare, the anger bubbling in me. It wasn't until probably seconds later that I realized how long we'd been staring at each other.

Ignoring the questioning looks from the others, I said, "We need to get moving. We're already burning daylight and we need to be to the Gamataīln village by nightfall." Without another word, not even making sure the others were following, I began heading toward the thick brush, taking out a machete from my bag.

The first swipe broke away a few branches, the second cut an entire bush, and with everyone behind me, we plunged into the dark forest.

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Hours later, I was sweating despite the chill. I kept the lead, Sorin and Rafe by my side as the three of us used our similar machete's and hacked a path for us. We were silent except for the few words we exchanged when trading off cutting duty.

It was probably three and we'd only trekked about ten miles. The forest was too thick to keep a fast pace as we were forced to slow down at every little bush. Luckily, we had yet to see any large animals or snakes. In fact, with the exception of birds and bugs, the forest seemed barren of any wildlife.

Carter and Sophie were obviously struggling, their bodies not yet used to this environment, and no matter how well she hid it, I could tell Ace was beginning to dwindle too. She began breathing heavier and taking longer breaks when we would stop, but she didn't complain. In fact, no one did.

By the time the sky changed to shades of yellow, pink, and orange, we had yet to reach Gamataīln. I had lost hope we would, meaning we would have to spend the night camping.