Coming for your heart

Chapter 81

Something inside Eren hissed at the thought of having the other's hand on their skin again.

Their?

Before Grisha could touch him again, stones came down from the ceiling out of nowhere and Eren lifted his arms to protect his head from getting hit by them when they broke down and shattered on some of the soldier's and the rebel's head, ending their fights in a cruel way.

In all sizes they collided with the ground. The rumbling became louder and more aggressive as if the whole place abhorred the violence enough to take its source down with it.

The cave was collapsing.

- - -

Mikasa POV

She held on tightly to the wall behind her back, facing the enemies gathering in front of her with a snarl and eyebrows drawn together; her fingers tightened their grip on the sword she had stolen from one of the corpses lying around like useless toys.

But just as she was about to leap at them, dodging their every attack despite the aches in her arms and the bruising caused by those assholes, she noticed it. The movement beneath her, above her – around her.

The ground was shaking, the walls rumbling with a sound deeper than thunder and she jumped aside in time to avoid getting hit by a rock crashing from the cave's ceiling, taking one or two people with it.

She hissed in pain, a hand pressed to her side. Mikasa felt the warm blood but didn't waste a second to check how badly wounded she was.

They had to get out of here.

Her gaze flickered over the crowd, trying to make out friends and foes alike. Armin was nowhere to be seen and she thought to see Kou when suddenly a soldier came at her from behind, pushing out a battle cry that was his downfall.

A second later and he was still like so many of his allies. She snorted in disgust and wheeled about. But instead of Kou's dark hair, she found her brother. He was crawling on the ground, staring up at the figure looming over him like death and torture incarnate.

She saw how his lips moved and the wince when he tried to get up once again, the shaking underneath them getting stronger and stronger until it was a challenge to stay upright.

Mikasa couldn't waste another second and ran like the Gods were spurting her on, her hand drawing out another dagger from behind the belt around her waist and threw it with all her might against one of the stones above the king, who was steadily coming closer to her brother.

"Eren!", she shouted against the panicked sounds around her. People were pushing her aside, not caring any longer if she was friend or foe. She caught up the hysterical cries to get out.

"Mikasa!" A hand grabbed hers and before Mikasa could slit open the stranger's neck, she turned her head and looked into pleading eyes.

"Kou..."

"There aren't many left.", the girl said hastily and looked to all sides, pushing Mikasa out of the way when two soldiers tried to get past them with the tips of their swords directed at them. "I brought some of them out but...." Kou stumbled and Mikasa drew her closer by the elbow. "There is a path behind the cave but we have to hurry or else-"

Mikasa nodded, not letting her finish the sentence.

They couldn't die. Not yet. Not as long as Eldia was in chains.

She returned her gaze to the dagger above Grisha, stuck where she had wanted it to. She grabbed a random weapon from the ground and did the same, throwing it up so it loosened the stone above where the king was trying to grab her brother once more.