Gold to Dust

Chapter Thirteen

A shadow suddenly darted in the sand. Her eyes widened as it melted into the cliff, then cautiously rose again. Ellegra's breath froze. Her bladder's cries dissolved into screams inside her head.

Run.

Tamshie finished and came around the rock, wiping her hands on her pants. "Done," she said happily. She walked towards Ellegra. "Your turn."

Ellegra turned sharply and spun Tamshie back in the direction of their camp. Tamshie's brows drew together as she stumbled to orientate herself. "Go back to the camp," she said before the other girl could speak. "Wake Faine and Romi. We need to move."

"Why? What's going on?" Her voice escalated with fear.

"They're here."

It was as if she'd screamed the words to the world. More shadows appeared and leapt into the air. Men jumped from dark crevices and ran at them. Ellegra pushed Tamshie forward and drew her sword. "Go!" She ran after her.

Arrows whizzed past her head. None of them got close of enough to create a blast, but she felt the surge of power growing in her chest and knew it was just a matter of time before it burst from her. She pushed her feet to go faster.

"Faine!" Tamshie screamed. "Faine, Romi!"

Ellegra whirled around and swung, catching two of the traders off guard. Surprise gleamed in their eyes before her blade arced and cut through their throats. She pivoted on her heel and ran. Faine stepped in front of her, his bow loosing arrows rapidly. Each one collided into the chest of a trader, but more kept coming. He swung it over his shoulder and unsheathed his sword, pushing his hand against Ellegra's back to urge her to go faster. Men lunged at him and sliced their swords through the air, but nothing touched him. In a matter of seconds, he was standing straight again, heaving deep breaths. Bodies piled at his feet.

"Faine!" Romi's scream made Ellegra's blood chill. Hands clawed at Romi's hair and clothes, snatching her from the ground and dragging her through the sand. Faine leapt into action and charged at them, stepping around blades and dodging blows. An arrow whizzed past him, just barely missing his head. Ellegra spun to find the archer. A dark silhouette towered over them all on the cliff opposite of them, watching the chaos unfold. An arrow glinted in the moonlight as the shooter notched it into place.

Ellegra's feet moved before her thoughts could process what she was going. "Faine!" she screamed.

Time slowed. The snap of the bow's string hummed in her ears as her feet pounded against the ground to race toward them. Faine's sword plunged through another man's chest before he grabbed Romi's hand, his body turning straight into the arrow's line of fire. Ellegra's feet lifted from the ground as she threw herself in its path.

The blast exploded from her chest before she could take her next breath. Cold erupted and surged out in a massive, explosive wave. Faine and Romi's bodies soared through the air and smashed into the ground with a dull puff of sand and loud grunts. The arrow was blown off its course and embedded itself in the canyon wall, the force so strong that only the tail feathers of the shaft could be seen.

Silence fell over them. The traders were gone, and even the archer from above stood frozen on the cliff. Faine and Romi slowly gathered themselves up, Romi retracting her arm from Faine's neck as he helped her stand. They stared at Ellegra, waiting. Waiting to see if she would move, if she was just resting on the ground and gathering her strength and not dead from the blast.

Finally, her arms pushed her to her knees, her head hanging and her hair dangling in her face. Sound rushed back to them and time unfroze. The archer reached for another arrow, notching it and this time aiming it straight at Ellegra. Faine grabbed his bow from his shoulder, notched an arrow, and let it fly before the other man could take his next breath. It hit him square in his chest, and his body rocked forward and off the cliff, falling until it smacked the ground.

"Ellegra!" Tamshie shrieked, stepping around from the bend farther ahead. She ran the fastest, sliding into the sand next to her and wrapping one of her arms over her shoulder. Romi did the same and took most of the weight, standing and hurrying away.

Faine rounded the bend first. His feet froze just in time before his throat could become pierced by the sword pointed at him. Horses and their riders stood in front of them, but instead of tattered rags and stitched pieces of fabric, these men were in full suits of armor of blue and gold and decorated in metal breastplates and helmets. Their horses huffed, gold shaffrons shimmering and jangling as some of them moved. The palace guards shifted, closing around them in a circle.

"Are you ladies all right?" said one of them. His sword inched closer to Faine's throat. His dark eyes blazed from beneath his helmet. Panic crawled along Ellegra's skin. It can't be. Her throat began to close.

Several of them dismounted and carefully walked toward the women, hands raised in peace. "We are here to help," said another, creeping closer. "Are you hurt?"

"No," Ellegra said, finally mustering the courage to cough. She stepped out from Romi and Tamshie's arms. "We're okay. We were just travelling through the valley when the slave traders descended."

"As I thought," said the one pointing his sword at Faine. He dropped it and growled. "Arrest him."

"No!" Ellegra shouted, leaping in front of him as they reached out to bind his hands. She threw up her arms and shielded the three of them behind her.

He stopped. His sword lifted again, the tip trailing through the air until it reached her face, moving the hair from her eye. She felt him go rigid. "Ellegra?"

Her arms stilled, then fell. The soldier ripped off his helmet. Ellegra's heart seized in her throat. "Arem," she whispered, so low that she wasn't sure she'd said it at all. But the look of pure disbelief told her she had. Tears welled inside her eyes. She couldn't contain her joy, ignoring the panic and fear wrangling inside of her. She flung her arms around his shoulders. "You have no idea how great it is to see you." His body tensed as rigid as the canyon walls around them.

She felt the tension crackling in the air, growing with every second that he didn't wrap his arms around her and hug her back. Pulling away, she stepped back and stared at him. The shock and disbelief that had colored his face moments before was replaced with a look of pure and uncontrollable anger and hate. She could see the emotions warring in his eyes, the love and hate battling inside him just as confusion and panic was within her. "Arem—"

"Arrest them," the prince gritted through his teeth. Then he mounted his horse and galloped toward the front of the line. Ellegra's chest caved, the air leaving her lungs as a soldier snapped her wrists in shackles and pulled her forward.