The Claimed: Rashika's Resistance

Chapter 10: Two Swords

Were her strides jerkier than usual?

I cleared my throat. "Where are we going?"

She stared at the ground ahead of her for a couple seconds before turning her head to smile at me. "Does it matter?"

Had her gaze become sharper, or had my own skin grown fragile?

"I don't suppose it matters, as long as I'm with you," I said, while my eyes asked something entirely different.

Do you intend to kill me?

"I am happy to hear it," she said, but she averted her eyes, and I thought her footsteps grew heavier.

Right then, I knew the attack was coming.

But I didn't anticipate how fast.

Izra yanked the thin sword from its sheath at the same time she spun toward me. I jumped back, and my shoulder blades smacked a tree trunk. Within half a second, the edge of her blade pressed against my neck.

I darted a glance to each side and saw only trees and underbrush. No one to help me, but also no one to assist her. Not that she needed backup; with my back against a tree and a blade to my throat, none of my defensive maneuvers would succeed.

I released a slow breath and closed my eyes, awaiting the fatal slice. A perplexing mixture of fear and relief waged a war in my gut. The King would be disappointed in me, Pim would be sad, and I would never get to kill Snuggles, but at least I would escape all of this guilt and confusion.

However, the end did not come. Instead, Izra spoke in a soft alto not unlike the day she had rubbed my back as I fought for air.

"You told the King where to find the temple."

Eyes still shut, a breathless admission passed through my lips. "Yes."

A few seconds passed in silence before she spoke again.

"Why?"

The single syllable might have passed as curious — casual, even — if not for the way her voice broke at the end, ground into rubble.

This was my chance to offer some excuse or at least a bargain, but I found myself unable to force either from my lips. Only the cold truth surfaced.

"I work for the Royal Guard. The King suspects you are leading Rashika's Resistance, so he asked me to seduce you... to gain your trust and uncover the rebellion's secrets."

She huffed a humorless laugh, her hot breath puffing over my skin. When I forced my eyes open, her own eyes were swept skyward.

"So you never farmed potatoes."

A phantom smile and voice drifted through my mind like a distant dream. Who knows... maybe I could even farm potatoes.

Fighting back a burn under my eyelids, I whispered, "Never."

"And you never c-c-c..." Her lips trembled in a mockery of a smile. "You never cared for me."

Now the tears did prick my eyes, a cool trickle that failed to quell the burn. I peeled my tongue from the roof of my mouth with a dry click, but no words followed. What could I say in my defense? I would not insult her with the inane, desperate protest that fought to claw free from my chest.

I do care for you.

Izra adjusted the hilt of the sword in her hand, but the pressure remained steady. "I can't believe I actually fell for it. I wanted it to be true so badly that I actually let myself believe —" She cut off with a snort. "So fucking pathetic."