Page 76 of Eternal
His only response was to advance, his blade aimed at my throat, I ducked and countered, slashing across his forearm, he barely flinched, the cut shallow but enough to confirm what I already knew.
“We train in adaptability in the Zennites ranks. Special forces, perhaps?” I taunted, throwing a low kick toward his chin, he blocked it with ease, stepping into my space.
“Nah… Too weak.”
His hand shot out, fingers grazing my cheek as I twisted away, but not fast enough to avoid the swipe of his blade across my abdomen, pain blossomed, hot and sharp.
“Bastard,” I hissed, staggering back. “Didn’t they teach you how to treat a woman in whatever mercenary group that trained you? Stabbing women isn’t exactly charming.”
For the first time, something flickered in his eyes…surprise. It was brief, but it was there. He wasn’t some hired thug. Military training, for sure, paid for muscle with a past.
“Thanks for confirming it,” I said, my lips curling into a dangerous smile as I spat that last word.
His eyes widened slightly, and I struck. My blade found his thigh, sinking deep. He faltered, enough for me to spin behind him, locking my arm around his neck. My knife pressed against his carotid, and for a moment, we were both still, breaths ragged, muscles straining.
“You know,” I whispered against his ear, “you’re good and all that. But I’m way better.”
He growled, his elbow slamming into my ribs where he already stabbed me. Pain shot through me, but I tightened my grip, cutting off his air. His strength began to falter, and I drove my knee into the back of his.
With a final, brutal twist, I buried my blade into his throat, silencing him for good. Blood gushed, warm and sticky, as his body crumpled beneath me.
Rafe’s laughter broke through the heavy silence. “Oh, you really are something, aren’t you?”
“You know, Rafe, I hate being late when people are waiting for me,” I turned, my breathing heavy, and found him seated atthe laptop, his fingers flying over the keys. “Oh no, you don’t,” I snapped, yanking my knife free from the giant’s corpse and striding toward him.
He didn’t even flinch when I grabbed him by the collar and hauled him back from the screen.
“You’re going to tell me who tipped you off about the shipment,” I said, my blade pressing against his throat.
His lips twisted into a grin, even as his pulse hammered beneath the blade. “What makes you think I’ll talk?”
“Because” I murmured, leaning closer, “the alternative is less talkative than I.”
His grin faltered for the briefest moment, but then his teeth snapped toward my hand, desperate and stupid. The movement sent my knife deeper, slicing through his neck, blood spilled over my fingers, I shoved him off the chair, ignoring the sickening squelch when his body hit the ground, my side screamed in pain, the ache spreading like wildfire beneath my ribs.
Don’t look. Don’t think about it. It’s not that bad. It’s messy. Messy I can handle.
“Too bad,” I muttered under my breath, swiping at the sweat dripping down my temple, my hand brushing my abdomen, and the wetness wasn’t sweat, it was sticky…Blood.
My jaw clenched as I pressed my palm against it, the sting making my breath hitch. “Look at the mess you made.”
The laptop screen flickered faintly, dragging my attention back. I leaned forward, the motion tugging at the gash in my side, a sharp hiss escaped me, but I pushed past it, squinting at the details.
A map, routes, timelines.
But not simple vague guesses, this was precise.
Exact paths, coordinated times, the kind of intel that only came from someone on the inside.
No way.
I clicked through the files, bile rising in my throat with every detail I uncovered, then, the photo, grainy, dark, like it was taken in a hurry, but still unmistakable.
This is a plan coming from our base, it was taken there too. Someone in our ranks?
The air left my lungs in a sharp exhale, this wasn’t random, someone had gotten close, close enough to see us, to know us, to betray us.
A traitor.
