Chapter 185: An old enemy
~Third POV~
The sun wasn't even up when Alexis slipped out of the village. She couldn't stand goodbyes. They made her weak, made her want things she couldn't have. Better to leave while everyone still slept, before anyone could see the cracks in her armor.
Her boots moved softly on the frost-covered ground as she made her way toward the Mesodomica boundary. Each step took her further from the only place that has offered security for the past few weeks since her arrival.
Her heart hammered against her ribs, but she pushed the fear down deep. Fear was useless now. What matters is getting the job done and then returning home.
Inform her father of her traveling plans, end her engagement to Milkalo and then go in search of Lucien. She intends to use the pendant he had given her to trace him.
The moment she crossed the invisible line that marked the end of Mesodomica, her blood turned to ice at the sight before her.
"Gods," she whispered
Before her were soldiers. Hundreds of them, maybe thousands. This is disastrous, she thought as she observed the sight before her while hiding behind a huge tree with coverage.
The soldiers were stretched across the big field as if they were a plague of locusts, their armor shining in the early morning light.
Banners snapped in the wind, and the sound of metal on metal rang through the air as they moved in formation.
No wonder the villagers were scared. She had been wondering why, she has not seen or heard any sound around. This was the reason.
Alexis moved from the tree and dropped to her belly behind a cluster of rocks, her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest.
These weren't just border guards. This was an army. A real, honest-to-god army camped right at their doorstep.
What the hell was happening?
She remembered Ava's words from the night before, how her spies had gone quiet. Had they been caught? Killed? Or worse, had they turned?
The questions flooded in her mind, almost causing her hit head against a rock, which of course she did. She almost screams but holds herself back, remembering where she was.
I have to get out of here. She thought. I need to find another way around. But as she started to crawl backward, rough hands grabbed her shoulders and hauled her to her feet.
"Well, well. What do we have here?"
The soldier's breath was hot and stinky against her ear. His grip on her arms was tight enough to bruise, and she could feel his eyes crawling over her body as insects would do. His gaze disgusted her.
Every instinct screamed at her to fight, to grab the knife at her hip and open his throat. But surrounded by an army, that would be suicide.
And she wasn't dying until she saw Lucien again. Not until she knew he was safe. Not that he looked like someone that would cause himself trouble.
"What a fine wench I've gotten," the soldier said, his voice a mix of pleasure and laughter. He whistled loudly, and more men came running over.
Alexis's skin crawled as their eyes raked over her. She could practically feel their thoughts, could see the hunger written across their faces. Her fingers twitched toward her weapon, but she forced herself to stay still.
"Dimwit, you've indeed gotten a fine one," another soldier said, pushing closer. His smile was all teeth and cruelty. "I call second. Been too long since I've had a taste of something sweet."
The words annoy her. She couldn't believe someone as ugly looking with a rodent appearance was casting lots on her. She feels insulted.
These bastards thought they could just take her, use her like she was nothing more than a piece of meat. Her vision went red around the edges, but she bit her tongue until she tasted blood. Speaking now would only make things worse. She kept reminding herself, she can't be reckless.
The soldier holding her, Dimwit, apparently, laughed and tightened his grip. His hand moved higher, fingers brushing against her chest, and every muscle in her body screamed to strike. To make him pay for daring to touch her.
But she couldn't. Not yet. Without her internal flame, Alexis was susceptible to hurt and battling against some thousand of me might be too much for her.
Even as the most powerful warrior in her clan and how versatile she is in war, she might not survive.
" Dimwit, since you got her first, we will let you have but it won't be bad if you let us watch you know," another soldier suggested and the rest murmured in excitement and agreement to the idea.
Disgusting... Utterly disgusting... I would slit these men throat if I had my internal flame. I would have at least a chance to escape.
But considering how weak I am currently, I doubt that's possible. Alexis thought, dropping her head dejectedly. Resigning to her fate.
"Now, now, boys. What's going on here?"
The voice ran through the soldiers' laughter, it was a welcoming distraction for Alexis and more time to plan. Everyone turned, including Alexis, and her heart nearly stopped.
She knew that voice. Had heard it in her dreams and nightmares for months. It belonged to someone she'd hoped never to see again, someone whose very presence here meant everything had gone wrong in ways she couldn't even imagine.
The soldiers stepped back slightly, suddenly looking less sure of themselves. The man approaching them wore the same armor as the others, but something about him made them all shrink back like scolded children.
Alexis's mouth went dry. Her legs felt weak beneath her. Of all the people she might have expected to find leading an army at Mesodomica's border, this was the last one. The worst one.
"Captain," Dimwit stammered, his grip on Alexis loosening slightly. "We found this one trying to sneak past our lines. Thought we might... interrogate her."
The man's laugh was cold as the winter wind. "Interrogate. Is that what we're calling it now?"
He stepped closer, and Alexis could smell leather and steel and something else, something that reminded her of blood and broken promises. When he looked at her, really looked at her, his eyes widened just a fraction.
Recognition. He knew her too.
The fear that had been building in her chest exploded outward like shattered glass. This changed everything. Made everything so much worse than she'd imagined possible.
Because if he was here, leading this army, then Ava might truly die.
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