Alandra

Being woken up sucked on a normal day. But as I felt the soft press of Karyen's fingertips gently tapping my shoulder, intent on continuing our insane journey through a murderous city while being chased by the very men who had kidnapped and tortured me not too long ago, being woken up sucked extra bad today.

I pretended not to hear him softly whispering my name and instead focused on keeping my breathing as even as possible. I did not want to leave this bed. I had just found this bed, and even though it was terribly small and old and rickety, it was safer than being out there, where people lived by the mantra, kill or be killed. No, I rather liked being in this bed.

Soon enough, the tapping progressed to full-blown shaking, making it harder and harder to feign unconsciousness. I willed my body to remain limp to spite him until finally, I heard him sigh and shift off the bed.

Victory at last, I thought gleefully, but my celebration was short-lived; in one moment, I was sprawled comfortably over the worn mattress, and in the next, Karyen's calloused palms securely latched onto my ankles and tugged me off the bed in one swift motion. My eyes flew open in shock as I crumpled to the floor, landing hard on my ass. I cursed profusely as the sound of Karyen's unabashed laughter filled the room.

"You - you little worm! How dare you attack me while I was unconscious and vulnerable," I scowled at him, but couldn't seem to hold onto my anger when I saw his wide grin.

"Hey, I gave you the choice between the easy way or the hard way - you chose the hard way out," he fired back, still sporting that mischievous smirk of his.

Fighting a grin of my own, I picked myself up and got my first proper look at Karyen, who looked like he belonged on the Mission Impossible movie set; he was dressed from head to toe in black spandex, and his outlandishlook was completed by a dazzling assortment of daggers, swords, and tactical gear all strapped to the black leather tool belt secured around his waist. Although I was all too aware of the reasons behind Karyen's lethal appearance, it was also impossible not to crack a joke at his expense.

"Oh my, are you about to go rob a bank in that getup?" I teased, pointedly looking him up and down while arching my eyebrows dramatically.

"Mock all you want but this getup will be used to keep you safe and alive," he retorted, reaching out to poke my shoulder.

"So do I get my own, or what?"

We shared a conspiratorial smile, and soon enough, I was equipped with my own version of Mission Impossible gear, which consisted of night vision goggles, an emergency flare, what looked like pepper spray, and a small dagger. Less flashy than Karyen's gear, but at least I had the means to defend myself - I could barely contain my excitement. Karyen, on the other hand, didn't seem as enthused about my equipment upgrade as I was,narrowing his eyes as my fingers began inching closer to my tool belt.

"Don't use that," Karyen gestured to my dagger, "unless you absolutely need to, understood?"

I grumbled in irritation and whipped it out despite his protests, examining its glistening surface. It was about 8 inches long and made of lustrous bronze metal, with a wide base that quickly tapered into a fine, deadly point. I lightly ran my pointer finger along its sharpened edge, admiring its simple but delicate beauty.

"How hard can it be?" I thought out loud. "You just point the pointy part towards the person that is trying to kill you, and voilà - one skewered bad guy!"

Karyen shook his head in exasperation but surprisingly didn't move to stop me or my lanky arm currently waving an instrument of death around the room. Instead, he opted for diplomacy, indulging me as he joked, "you know, I could make it a point to disarm you faster than you cansay the word 'voilà', but I like your confidence." He winked at me playfully before beckoning me closer. I took a hesitant step forward, my weapon still tightly clenched in my fist, but my trepidation quickly diminished once I realized he didn't intend to confiscate my new gifts; as I stepped within reach, Karyen simply adjusted my grip on the dagger, his cool fingers repositioning mine until I was able to relax into a more comfortable hold.

"Better?" He murmured in my ear as he moved to stand behind me.

I nodded wordlessly as his large hand slowly enveloped mine, showing me the proper downward angle that inflicted the most damage. I pointedly ignored how his nearness seemed to affect my body, instead trying to focus all of my attention on the deadly arc the dagger created as it smoothly cut through the air. I definitely wasn't thinking about how all the moisture in my mouth seemed to dissipate with a stroke of his thumb, or how suddenly breathless I felt, or how his touch left behind warm tingles that spread up my arm and speared into my -

Before I could continue down that deranged train of thought, Jaren burst through the door, gasping for breath.

"Alexei's men are here, now! You have to run out the back, quick! Get out of here!" Jaren managed between gasps, causing my heart rate to skyrocket and Karyen to jump into action. In the blink of an eye, I watched Karyen's demeanour shift from relaxed to militant as he firmly closed my fist around the dagger with one hand, then grabbed my free hand with his other. This time, no warm fuzzies jumped out at me, only cold, unadulterated fear.

Karyen proceeded to lead the way through the cramped house until we reached the back door. Without missing a beat, he silently nudged it open, and hand-in-hand, we thrust out into the dark unknown, the cool night breeze a welcome sensation on my sweat-drenched back. The lanterns posted in front of each building provided just enough illumination to discern my immediate surroundings but not much else, which was just fine with me – I didn't want to see the faces of the monsters that chased me. Unfortunately, the poor visibility of our surroundings did little to calm my fear. Thick tension saturated the air, so palpable that it felt nearly impossible to move on my own. Luckily, the adrenaline flooding my veins was enough to propel my body forward after Karyen, step by step.

I could hear male voices distantly echoing throughout the house now, accompanied by the thud of heavy boots – were there two men? Three? I couldn't be sure, but I was certain I wanted to get the hell out of this place before I found out.

"Put your night vision goggles on," Karyen murmured from beside me, his wavering voice betraying his mounting anxiety. I unhooked my goggles with shaking fingers, and once I strapped them on, the world around us lit up in full, vibrant colour. Had we not been running for our lives, I would have taken the time to admire the view.

Moments later, I felt Karyen grabbing hold of my hand again as he cautioned, "whatever you do, don't let go." I didn't dare respond, concentrating only on putting one foot in front of the next. I tried to drown out my distractingly loud thoughts by focusing on the erratic rhythm of my wildly beating heart, but I couldn't seem to stop my panic from bubbling to the surface, especially when I heard the voices get louder and louder, until –

"Hey! Over there!"

Karyen cursed under his breath and escalated our pace to a full-on sprint, weaving between houses to try and shake the men pursuing us.

As we fled, aloud rumbling behind us caused me to risk glancing back, and what I saw made me wish I never had; three men on horseback – there were horses on this island? – were closing in on us rapidly, their thundering hoofbeats pounding out a rhythm of deadly malice. The three men atop the horses were clad in armour and equipped with long silver swords and resplendent black cloaks, save for the leader of the group, whose cloak was embellished with golden embroidery. As my gaze drifted down, a horrifying realization hit me; the creatures these men rode weren't horses - no, they were unlike any animal I had ever seen. Thick black spikes jutted out from their manes to the tops of their heads, and their eyes seemed to glow an unsettling bloodred. As they neared closer, I noticed the rows and rows of pointed teeth that protruded from their maws. I tried my best not to think about what those teeth would feel like if I got too close.

Karyen abruptly veered sharply to the left and ducked down behind one of the houses, drawing my horrified gaze away from the beasts as he pulled me down with him.

"Alandra, listen to me carefully," he whispered, looking gravely into my eyes. "We have no hope of outrunning them. Our best shot of getting out of here alive is for you to hide while I distract them and give you an opening to run."

"Oh great, so the plan is that I cower in fear while you go and get yourself killed. Just great," I angrily sniped. "Did you see those monstrous things? Where am I even supposed to hide?"

Karyen ignored mysarcastic digand rose to his feet, hauling me with him. He led us a few feet further until we approached a locked wooden door built into the ground, which I assumed was some type of cellar. He quickly slashed the lock with his sword and heaved the door open.

"I'll buy you as much time as I can, and when no one is looking, you need to get out and run as fast as you can. About 10 minutes straight from here, you'll hit a river - follow it down until you reach a village. Ask around for Natalia," he rushed to get out, all but pushing me down into the tiny dark space.

"You know I have a bad history with small underground spaces!" I hissed at him, but the deafening sound of our rapidly approaching pursuers offered little room for compromise. I reluctantly lowered myself into the cellar and tried not to hyperventilate as Karyen shut the door above me.Mere moments later, I heard the sound of boots roughly hitting the dirt as the monsters and their beasts rounded the corner.

"You're too late," Karyen's voice boomed from above, sounding more confident than I knew he felt. "She's gone."

I couldn't resist peeking through the tiny gaps in the door, which was when I got my first good look at him. His golden blonde hair seemed to glisten even in the absence of light, and his cold, calculating smile sent chills down my spine. I instantly knew that he was the faceless man that haunted my nightmares. Alexei.

"Shame," Alexei remarked, chuckling softly to himself.

"What, that I outsmarted you yet again?"

His face darkened, and he slowly drew out his sword.

"That you have to die."