Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 114281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
I cannot let this happen.
I refuse.
I gather every inch of energy left inside my body and roar out loud, pushing my muscles to the limit to break every strand in this rope until my arms and legs are free.
The crowd watches in amazement as I storm to her and block the ax with one hand, shielding her body with the other. I’m right on top of her and can barely keep the ax at bay, but I would rather die trying than know I did nothing to stop her from dying a death she didn’t deserve.
“Soren!” April squeals as she points behind me.
The man who was about to execute her throws me a deadly look. He roars out loud and swings his ax my way. April shrieks as I catch it with both hands, twisting it so he drops it, and I can snatch it away.
This really sets him off.
He grunts with rage as he attacks me, but I stay put and take the blows. When he relents for just a second, I kick him in the knees so hard they break, and he falls to the ground clenching his legs.
The crowd is egged on by our fight so much that some guards come out of the woodwork, glancing at the Elders for approval to attack me.
They all nod.
And all hell breaks loose.
First, three guards run at me with their knives out, and I fight them off, kicking and punching as hard as I can. One of them chucks the knife from a distance, and I narrowly avoid it, only to pick it up and use it to stab another. Another one goes to kick me in the head, so I grab his ankle and twist him until he falls onto the ground, where I stab him with the same knife I just jammed into the other guy. They all groan in pain but still try to get up, just as they were trained to, but I am more than prepared.
April lies there on the block of wood with her hands still tied, unable to do anything as I’m fighting for not just my life but hers too. Terror seeps into her eyes, and it only pushes me to fight harder, and harder, and harder.
Kick, punch, fight, shove them away.
Take a knife from the ground and chuck it right back at them.
More guards come from the sidelines, six at a time, and I fight them with everything I’ve got, ignoring the searing pain from the lacerations on my body. Three of them manage to punch me hard at the same time, and I roar out loud from both pain and anger.
“Soren, no!” Her cries are what push me over the edge.
I could’ve dealt with whatever punishment they gave me here with honor.
But when they take the only thing I care about, the only thing that matters to me, and try to kill her … I will destroy everything and anything that stands in my way to save her.
April
As I lie here on this stump, unable to even move, let alone help, I watch the men in front of me fight to the death. Soren swings his ax, and blood splatters all around us. Each speck that hits my cheeks makes me blink rapidly, fearing I’ll miss the moment I’ll see Soren for the last time.
But every time I look, it doesn’t happen.
He keeps fighting, keeps swinging the ax until it’s ripped from his hands, keeps punching his way through people with the sheer force of his strength. When they hit him, he only hits them back stronger. When they cut him, he grabs them and takes their knife only to use it on them the same way they sliced him. Every punch he lands hits harder than any of the punches they give him even though there are six of them, and he is all alone fighting them all off one by one.
He throws the knives and hits them with the ax straight in the head, blood spraying everywhere. He doesn’t stop until all of them are dead and the remaining guards stand to the side, almost fearful to approach like they know they’re going to lose.
“Is that all you got?!” Soren roars out loud like a beast.
I’m in awe at the raw strength he exudes. I’ve never seen something so powerful yet frightening as hell before. Not because I’m scared of him, but because I’m scared of what they’ll do to him if he continues killing the guards. There’s no way he can take on the entire island … can he?
The Elder looks pissed off too, and she smacks her cane onto the ground, inspiring more and more guards to run toward us in a flurry of anger. I brace for impact, but all I hear are stomps and gashes and grunts. Nothing touches me. Soren makes sure of it by blocking my body with his the second any of them get close.