Huntress

THREE

Aelody had barely moved three steps into the clearing before an arrow whistled past her ear. She let out a surprised gasp, dropped to her stomach. How had she not seen someone else in the damn trees? Her eyes lifted to the black moon. She cursed it.

Another arrow was fired, sailing over her head and embedding itself in the trunk of a tree. Aelody frowned. Whoever was shooting the damned things was a terrible shot if they hadn't seen her drop. Unless she wasn't the target at all. Slowly, she lifted her head out of the grass, looking around to find the archer.

Indeed, there was a scrap happening to the left of the clearing, just outside of the tree line. The archer—whose shining hair Aelody could see from here—slammed the bow into the side of her opponent's head, and they both went sprawling. Aelody crawled to the side, away from them, but kept her eyes on them. If they came any closer, she'd get up and run.

The girl let out a shrill scream of pain, and Aelody winced at the sight of an arrow poking through her upper arm. Aelody kept shuffling, inching around them and closer to the other side of the field. She just needed to get to the damned lake, and stay alive.

The pair of Potentials kept fighting, until one of them stood, holding the other down with a foot to the throat. Their back was to her, so Aelody lifted herself into a crouch. When neither Potential saw her, she stood, and took off running for the other side of the clearing. She was halfway across when the bow smacked into her side, sending her sprawling.

Instantly, she was back on her feet, on the defensive. Her heart raced, and she reached for the bow. Her eyes met Selene's as her hand closed around the wood. But her blood turned to ice when she shifted her gaze and saw that the Potential she was fighting.

Hagan.

His jaw slackened when he saw her. Her expression mirrored his.

"Run!" he yelled to her. Selene snapped her head to his, but he was already slamming his fist into the side of her face. The girl was knocked back, and Hagan gave Aelody a look that told her to do as he asked.

But she couldn't. She couldn't just leave him. So she reached into her belt and pulled out a long throwing knife. Without an arrow, it was the best she could do. "Get down, get down," she chanted under her breath as she drew the bowstring back. The blade would cut through her fingers if she wasn't careful, but she had to give Hagan a chance to get the upper hand.

Selene was a good fighter. Better than most of their group, if Aelody was being honest with herself. The girl had no qualms about taking someone down the dirty way, of using everything to her advantage. Hagan shouted again for Aelody to run, just as Selene whipped her legs out and knocked him onto his back. Aelody let the knife fly, and it embedded itself in Selene's thigh.

"Hagan!" He looked at her for a brief second while Selene staggered. "Run!" Her throat burned from screaming and the lack of water.

Hagan turned his back on Selene. Aelody's eyes widened, a warning ready on her lips. Never turn your back on your opponent.

She started running towards him when the spear came through his chest.

A strangled noise escaped Aelody's lips, and she froze, almost stumbling from the loss of momentum. Hagan's eyes found hers for a long, haunting second. Then they were rolling into the back of his head, and he was falling backwards. The spear came all the way through him as he landed, impaling him.

Hagan was dead.

Behind him, Selene limped towards his body. She wiped blood away from her nose—she must have hit her face at some point—and spat on the ground. Aelody watched her as she looked down at Hagan, at his lifeless body, and a slow grin spread over the girl's face. She raised her head, eyes wild as they met Aelody's. "Fancy a dance, El?" Her voice carried across the small space between them.