Guardian (Sequel to Fearless)

Chapter Eighty Eight

Ghost didn't give her time to stand. With a powerful leap, he came at both sisters. Iris didn't let herself entertain the thought that he could very well be better than her. Hands came flying in left and right, the assassin's arms a blur of motion. With everything inside her, Iris defended her sister, who struggled against binds under her.

Each collision pushed Iris further and further back onto Hench, until Iris's back pressed hard against Rhalla's abdomen and breasts. Once, she was there, Ghost started retreating to the sides. Rhalla was his target, after all, not Iris. She noticed it and grunted, and swiveled on her sister's lap, blocking two assaults meant for Hench with her left arm.

Iris couldn't stand yet. If she moved away right now, Rhalla was dead. Ghost knew that -used it to his advantage. Her arms weren't enough to hold back his strength... not in her position. Her right arm was at a disadvantage. Iris quickly took into account that she was sitting, which meant she had four limbs instead of two. Her legs worked against his swings. She threw one of her arms back against the chair and rocked back on her hips. A boot swung quick, batting away Ghost's forearm. There was more power in her legs, which was good. They were able to give her a couple more inches of space. That foot planted on the ground, and the other one swatted another attack.

His next dagger came in, blade faced in a way that would have destroyed her muscle if she'd sent a calf into it. She saw it a second later than was good for her. Straightaway, she stopped her motion and slammed her other boot down before she could debilitate herself. Iris threw her body's core out of comfort range by taking her balance off her hand. She slammed that dagger forward, bringing his blade down. Her pommel came up quickly, throwing up another hit. For a split moment, her balance was lost.

Ghost drew first blood. Her falter had his blade swipe against the skin of her collar. Iris hissed in pain. Her heel came back up and slammed into his chest, giving her just enough time to recover. She followed it with her knife... but Ghost was too fast. In a move that would have brought back memories if Iris cared enough to have them, Ghost flung himself backward.

Her blade soared over him, slicing nothing but air. Like she had once done to Zayn Rothstead.

Her next objective: get off her sister. Ghost bent back up and sent a dagger at Rhalla. Iris batted it, but not before it did some harm. It cut through her sister's transparent silk dress, and into the meat over her rib. Iris threw a boot into his arm, knocking the dagger away before it could go further in.

Still, Hench's blood poured. Seeing it... that awoke something in Iris that had never been roused in her life. Not in military battle... not in guardian battle. It was a sort of adrenaline fueled hyper-focus that sent her body into that primal instinct that she'd felt before -yet, unlike that time, her mind was very much alert. She propelled a dagger right at his temple, quick enough to force him to completely squat to dodge it. Miss. With a growl, one leg swooped back up and hooked his shoulder before he could stand again.

At seeing Rhalla wounded, even slightly, gave Iris strength she couldn't explain. For one moment, she felt alive. She jumped up on her other boot and then slung herself right over the other side of his shoulder, still holding his limb tight in the pit of her knee. They whipped through the air. Ghost was agile enough to turn her around. His dagger would have pinned her right in the gut had he been able to get her to land on her back. Iris grunted and outmaneuvered him, using the push of energy to twist on top of him at the very last millisecond.

His arms were sprawled out at odd angles, but she was in no position to stab or take advantage of Ghost. Her knee was now trapped underneath him. Immediately, he swiveled and used his core strength to sling her off him. She rolled into a dead body close to her sister. It stopped her aimless tumble. Iris stood. Ghost stood.