Fate Dark Side of Betrayer

"Run!"; With the first arrow cutting past my cheek and burying itself into the tree behind me, Caius's yell slashed through the tumult.

Twice of telling was not necessary. My heart thumping in time with the frenetic pulse of feet slamming over the forest, my legs were already moving. The assassin from the Circle moved like wraiths across the forest, their hunt unrelenting. Every breath burned, but I couldn't afford to stop—not when survival was the only thing keeping the brittle strands of my goal together.

"Keep going, Arden!" Once more, Caius cried; his blade flashed as he whirled to block an attack.

I skidded to stop, instinct guiding me back to assist, but his stinging froze me in place. "Go!" he cried, his voice more forceful than I had ever heard from him. "I'll catch you."

Guilt squeezed my chest, but I pushed my feet to follow, plunging farther into the forest as the landscape melted into a flurry of limbs and fading light.

The ambush had been overly precise and too planned. They knew precisely our destination and arrival date. And should Caius and I still be alive, it was only due to chance—or their need to play with us.

On my wrist, the symbol throbbed agonizingly, its brightness weak but constant. Desperate to turn off the feeling, I pushed my palm against it. It felt alive, a terrible reminder that I was tied to something far more great—and far more dangerous—than myself, not only a mark now.

The jungle gave way ahead to a clearing. Its middle ran a little brook, the water glistening in the moonlight just barely. Every muscle in my body screaming in protest, I fell on the moist ground next to it. My breaths came in jagged rushes as I looked for any indication of Caius across the darkness.

Minutes seemed into an eternity before a figure emerged from the shadows, moving with the simple elegance of someone who has met death and won. Citius.

Trying to hide my relief with sarcasm, I added, "You're slower than I thought."

He grinned and cleaned a cut on his cheek of blood. And you are more careless than I had assumed. You are welcome by the way.

"For what?" I shot back, but the smallest flutter of a smile betrayed me.

"For your life's preservation. Again. With his dagger still in hand, he sat down next to me and looked across the treetops. "They will get back together soon. We are not going to be able to stay here.

He was right, as much as I detested to say. We were borrowing time, and the Circle was not known for leaving open ends. Still, I found great weight in tiredness and struggled to get myself moving just yet.

"Why are you even helping me?" Suddenly shattering the quiet, I asked.

Caius looked at me, his face insensible. "Because someone has to".

"That's not an answer," I said. By now you could have walked away twelve times. Nevertheless, you haven't. Why then?

He paused, his eyes lowering to the dagger he held. His voice low, he whispered at last, "maybe I'm just as trapped as you are."

His candor startled me, and for a minute the walls I had erected around myself shattered just enough to let him in.

As we moved over the woodland, the night dragged on and our conflict softened into something less sharp.

 I let myself breathe, the cadence of our footsteps and the rustle of leaves somehow consoling, for the first time in what felt like forever.

The peace did not, however, last.

"We're being followed," Caius remarked abruptly, his voice almost above a whisper.

Tensing, I looked for movement in the shadows. "How many?"

" Two, maybe three," he answered. For the last mile, they have trailed behind us. Mostly scouting ahead for the rest of the Circle.

Gribing my sword tightly, I asked, "What do we do?"

Though there was no humor in it, he smiled gently. "We check to see they regret it."

Unlike the graceful accuracy of the assassins who had surprised us before, the struggle was violent and disorganized.

These scouts were good but messy; their motions revealed the heavy rustle of leaves and the snap of twigs. Still, they exceeded us and weariness softened the edge of my reactions.

Beside me Caius was a whirl of movement; his dagger found its mark repeatedly. Though I held my own, hardly, every swipe of my blade felt heavier, every dodge slowed. Not long after one of them burst past my defenses, their sword grazing my side.

Pain surged hot and stinging, and I staggered back gripping the cut as blood leaked between my fingers. Then turned to me, his eyes narrowing as he absorbed the damage. Caius sent the last of the scouts with a merciless efficiency that left me both amazed and terrified.

He whispered, knelt next to me, "You're hurt."

Though the agony suggested otherwise, I murmured, "It's nothing," through clenched teeth.

He did not dispute; he tore a strip of cloth from his shirt and pressed it up to the incision. His hands were shockingly soft; for a minute, the world shrank to just the two of us, the warmth of his contact anchoring me in a way I hadn't imagined.

"Don't get used to this," he urged, his voice light despite the worry in his eyes. "I'm not in the habit of bandaging people."

"Could've fooled me," I said, just flashing a smile.

We persisted, the woodland giving way to a rocky elevation with a better view. From there, we could see the faint glow of torchlight in the distance—the soldiers of the Circle reorganized and searching.

We never outrun them, I whispered softly.

"No," Caius concurs. But we are able to outsmart them.

And how do you propose we accomplish that?

He turned to face me, a keen and focused look. "Doing the one thing they wouldn't expect will help. We start directly at the source.

"The source?" I wrinkled my eyebrows. "You mean the location they are congregating at?"

One nodded. Though dangerous, it is our greatest chance. Should we be able to disturb their ceremony, we might be able to cut off their relationship with Fate.

My pulse thumping, I watched him as the weight of his scheme sank in. It was wild, careless, most likely suicidal. But I knew there was no other decision as I gazed out at the torchlight inching nearer.

"Good," I answered, looking at him. "Let us end this."

The wind howled among the trees, bearing with it the far-off echo of voices that proved the Circle was nearer than we had realized. And for the first time, I questioned whether we were already late.