Free Unknown by Poppy Page B

her senses. Aya cried out in anguish, threw the sword away from her and fell to the ground, pummelling the floor with her fists.
“Why? Why did this happen?” she sobbed. Villid hesitated, then bent down and gingerly put his hand on her back. She jumped slightly at his touch, then sniffed, still staring at the ground. Her thick hair fell like curtains, hiding her face. She gazed at her blood-stained hands, a choking darkness welling up inside her.
“Just kill me,” she whispered. She had nothing to live for now.
Villid shook his head. “I won’t do that,” he said.
“Why?” she asked, and looked up at him. “Why not just kill me? I’m just another Elf.”
Villid didn’t answer. Her piercing green eyes bore into him, her face a picture of pain. All the sadness in the world seemed to be in her, making him feel guiltier with each passing moment. “I’m not going to kill you,” he said weakly.
There was a moment’s silence, when suddenly they heard voices from behind the tower. Deep, harsh voices, certainly not belonging to Elves...
“Quickly,” Villid grabbed Aya by the elbow and pulled her to a half-burnt house, where they crouched painfully behind it. Almost immediately, two Tyrans emerged from behind the nearest tower ahead of them. Villid’s gut lurched. One of them was his brother, Swift.
“...was definitely over here somewhere,” said the first Tyran, who boasted a long, red beard, one of his eyes blinded years ago by some forgotten battle. Villid recognised him as Shunt, who he had trained with briefly in younger years. Swift was staggering over the Elves’ bodies, his face tired and worn, looking years older.
“I still can’t believe he did it,” sniffed Shunt, casually kicking aside a woman’s body as if she were a stone. Villid felt Aya tremble next to her, and closed his warm hand around her arm.
“Killing a fellow Tyran outside the arena – that is unforgivable,” Shunt said. “The Seer, of all people. Can you believe it?”
Swift shook his head, his blond hair sticking to his face, his tired eyes staying firmly on the ground. Shunt looked at him expectantly. “Do you have any idea where Villid went?” he added suspiciously.
“None at all,” sighed Swift. “I know everything you know.”
“Can you believe it?” Shunt muttered as they crunched through the square. They were getting dangerously close to where Aya and Villid were hiding. Swift grunted something in response.
“Between you and me,” Shunt’s voice dropped to a whisper. “If you and Shade hadn’t seen what happened, I wouldn’t believe it. I thought the Seer and Villid were close…”
Shunt suddenly stared right at the spot where Villid was hiding. For a moment they sat there, rooted to the spot. Then -
“RUN!” Villid bellowed, and with his hand still gripped round Aya’s arm, he dragged her roughly out from behind the crumbled house and back towards the hill behind them. They heard a roar from Shunt but didn’t look back; a short, silver dagger narrowly missed Aya as they sped up the grassy hill and down the other side, towards the thick trees. They were almost there -
Then something huge and heavy suddenly slammed hard into Villid and with a shout he fell to the floor; his head collided onto a rock and he shouted in pain. Swift had tackled him to the ground; his brother jumped up and dragged him roughly to his feet with huge, strong hands. For a moment Swift just stood there, his hands clutching Villid’s shoulders, his breathing heavy and angry.
“Swift,” said Villid desperately. “I didn’t kill the Seer...”
“Go,” Swift hissed. “Get out of here. I’ll tell them you went south. Go!”
Aya and Villid stared at Swift. Shouts could be heard from the other side of the hill.
“Brother, I...” Villid whispered.
“Go, I said!” Swift growled, and pushed them both towards the trees. Aya and Villid pushed through the thick branches and ran as fast as they could, dodging low branches and sprinting