Page 32 of A Rose Among Snakes

I sat up, and even though my head was spinning, I watched as Velian threw my attacker to the ground, planted his foot on his chest, and thrust a blade through his torso. My heart crashed behind my ribs and my whole body shook, the man’s gasping breaths the only sound in my ears. Then Velian was at my side, gripping my shoulders, saying something to me. I tore my eyesfrom the dying man to rest on Velian’s face, grounding myself in the emerald depths of his eyes.

“Are you hurt?”

I had no words, but my hand drifted up to the back of my head where it throbbed. He tracked my every movement, concern lacing his brows together. There was no stopping the tears slipping from my eyes, and Velian pulled me in close. The adrenaline faded and horror took over as my body racked with sobs. He stroked my hair and let me cry into his chest, my tears mingling with the sweat already dampening his white shirt. Behind me, a door slammed and I jumped in fear.

“Mihrra!” Kezara yelled as she dashed out of the carriage. “I’m so sorry! My boot got stuck and I couldn’t get out.” She was crying too, making her words difficult to understand. She fell to the ground next to me and threw her arms around me. We cried together, and Velian sat beside us in silence, as if he knew his presence alone was what we needed. As the tears ran out, I pulled back and looked at her.

“Are you alright?” I asked Kezara, my voice hoarse.

“I’m fine,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Areyou?”

“I think so…” My head was pounding, and my stomach roiling, but that seemed to be the worst of it. I glanced over to find Velian watching me intently and remembered my attacker. The gasping had stopped.

My voice barely rose above a whisper as I asked, “Is he dead?” I couldn’t take my eyes off him a minute ago, but now, I couldn’t bear to look at him.

Velian glanced over at the body and then back at me, nodding.

“Are they all dead?” Kezara asked.

“No, he’s the only one. The other three fled.” My muscles sagged in relief, though I didn’t know why. If there was ever a time to wish someone dead, it was after they tried to kill you. But I couldn’t summon any anger yet with terror continuing to tremor through my body. Still unable to look anywhere other than at Velian, I registered a slim gash along his jawline.

“You’re bleeding,” I said, reaching out and turning his chin to see better.

Beside me, Kezara gasped and her eyes welled up again. “Velian, that could have been so much worse. It barely missed your neck.” He put his hand up to the cut and pulled it back to examine the blood on his fingers.

“It’s not so bad,” he said, shrugging and wiping the small bit of blood on his pants.

“I’ll go get something to clean you up,” Kezara said, standing up and walking to the back of the carriage. Velian moved to stand up as well, but I asked,

“Who were they?”

“Bandits. They’re common on these isolated plains.”

“What did they want?”

His mouth tightened, but his answer was nonchalant. “I don’t know, probably trying to rob us of whatever we were willing to give up.”

His eyes had dropped to the ground, his voice and body language once more contradictory. He went to stand up, but I stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“Thank you for saving my life.”

“There’s no need to thank me, Mihrra,” he said, as he finally stood and helped me to my feet. I swayed a little and he steadied me by my elbows. There was no denying how safe and comforting it felt to have his hands on me, the warmth seeping through the sleeves of my dress. Maybe my head injury was more severe than I thought.

“I owe you,” I said. I swore his eyes flickered down to my lips, my mouth going dry. He pulled back and released me, stepping back and putting some distance between us. Kezara walked up with a white handkerchief and tried dabbing his jaw, but he took it from her instead.

“You don’t owe me anything,” he replied with a polite smile and turned on his heel to join the other men cleaning up the damage done during the scuffle.

“What was that about?” Kezara asked, raising one eyebrow.

“What was what about?” I kept my voice light, but my heart was still racing. Kezara pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, but didn’t comment further.

Chapter Eighteen

Miraculously, the stew cooking over the fire was not disturbed during the skirmish. We ate quietly, everyone still on edge from the attack. Kezara and I retired to the tent as the sun set, the linen walls feeling safer than being out in the open. We heard the men discussing their shifts for keeping watch, Velian included.

As it grew darker, Kezara’s soft, rhythmic breathing filled the tent. But it was not enough to lull me into sleep. The vision of Velian driving his sword through the man’s chest was burned into my eyelids, and the only way to escape it was to stare at the fabric ceiling above me. I had never seen a dead body before, let alone witnessed a death. With the shocking revelation, I battled feelings of shame, tossing and turning as I remembered the way I had been dragged out of the carriage and hardly fought back. My father had taught me better than that. At only fifteen, I was consistently disarming him and winning sparring matches, yet in the face of a real attack, I froze. Just like that day in the alley with Kezara.

Never again.

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