Chapter 2.
817 Words
The dragon’s roar split the sky.
The force of it sent a tremor through Evelynn’s bones, shaking the very ground beneath her feet. For a breath, everything stilled—then, with a powerful thrust of its wings, the dragon launched itself into the night, bending the treetops with the powerful force of its wings just as it vanished beyond them.
Evelynn stood frozen, the pull in her blood still humming . It had seen her. Felt her. But there was no time to dwell on that now.Because in the next second a foul stench hit her nose—unwashed bodies, old leather, and sweat.
Rogues.
“Trouble,” Jasmine murmured.
A sharp whistle cut through the air. Evelynn reacted instantly. “Down!”
An arrow buried itself into the tree beside her head just as the first rogue emerged from the brush. Thirteen in total, clad in simple metal armor with leather accents , their faces unwashed streaked with dirt. They had been waiting to ambush them.
Evelynn’s bow was already drawn. She loosed an arrow, striking the first rogue square in the throat before he could react. The others surged forward, weapons drawn, and the fight began.
Axel met the charge head-on, his sword clashing against the first attacker’s blade. He was a wall of steel, using brute strength to overpower his enemies. Jasmine movements were fluid like a shadow, slipping past their defenses, her daggers finding the soft places between the weak poorly made armor.
Evelynn stayed at a distance, picking them off with ruthless precision. Her arrows struck true—one through the eye, another through the chest—before they finally closed in. She dropped her bow and drew her sword, meeting the next attacker with a sharp, calculated strike.
The fight was fast and brutal.
Jasmine ducked beneath a rogue’s wild swing, driving her dagger straight into his ribs before spinning away to engage another. Axel parried a heavy strike, then countered with a powerful s***h, cutting his opponents down.
Evelynn blocked an incoming blow, twisting her blade to knock her large enemy off balance before plunging it through his chest. She barely had time to pull it free before another rogue lunged at her. She sidestepped, slashing across his leg before finishing him with a clean strike to the throat.
A sharp cry made her whirl around.
Axel staggered as a rogue’s blade found a gap in his armor, slicing deep into his side. He gritted his teeth, shoving his attacker back, but blood was already seeping through his loose tunic.
“Axel!” Jasmine called, her voice sharp with panic.
Evelynn reacted without thinking. She raised her sword, intercepting the rogue before he could finish the job. One quick strike to the chest, and he went down.
Jasmine was already at Axel’s side, pressing a hand to his gaping wound. “You are such a stubborn idiot.”
Axel forced a smirk despite the pain. “You should see the other guy.”
Evelynn turned, unamused by the twins banter ,she was scanning the battlefield. The last rogue wavered, his eyes darting between them before he turned running to flee.
She didn’t let him.
Her final arrow struck him between the shoulder blades, sending him crashing to the ground with a bitter cry.
Silence fell over the clearing.
The bodies of the fallen littered the forest floor, the scent of blood mixing with damp earth. Evelynn exhaled slowly, rolling her shoulders.
Axel let out a sharp breath. “Well,” he muttered, wincing as he pressed a hand to his wound. “That could’ve been way worse then it was.”
Jasmine shot him a glare. “You’re still bleeding you i***t .”
“It’s just a scratch I will be right as rain by morning .”
Evelynn snorted. “Let’s get back to camp before you pass out and I have to end up carrying you there.”
They reached the camp an hour later, the warm glow of a bonfire guiding them home. It was no grand fortress, just a scattering of simple tents tucked into the safety of the trees. Voices carried through the night—laughter, quiet conversation, the kind shared only between those who had survived together.
Their mismatched little group—five others who had become their family—sat around the fire, passing a skin of water between them. They weren’t an army. Not yet. But they were fighters, survivors.
Jasmine helped Axel lower himself onto a log, scowling as she inspected his wound. “You will be needing stitches.”
Axel groaned. “You just like being able to stab me.”
Evelynn sat beside them, stretching out her aching limbs. She let her gaze drift upward, toward the stars. Somewhere out there, the dragon still waited.
And deep in her bones, she knew—this was only the beginning.
- Writer
