Free Knight Avenged by Coreene Callahan Page B

the combination right. She’d tried twice and failed. Palms slick with sweat, her hand slipped on the key again. She cursed under her breath. Finicky flipping lock. She was running out of time—courage too. Now all she wanted to do was run. Make like a ghost and disappear. Wiping the perspiration from her brow, Cosmina clenched her teeth and forced herself to refocus. She could do it. Stay strong. Stand firm. See her duty done, even if it meant death.
    The thought made her hesitate. Just a split a second, bu t . . .
    Cosmina drew in a fortifying breath. She held it a moment and, gaze glued to the disc-shaped key, exhaled in a rush. Pressing her ear next to the lock, she started the sequence again. Another howl of pain echoed behind her. Eyes closed, she blocked out the sound, hearing nothing but each individual click of the lock. Tick-tick-click. All right. First number complete. Now for the second. As she hit the second marker, Cosmina reversed course again. One number left. The most difficult in the sequence. The one she kept getting wrong but—
    Tick, tick, clic k . . . pop. The growl of gears ground into motion.
    Cosmina blinked. A second later she retreated, pushing away from the lock. Relief spiraled into triumph, making her throat go tight as the vertical slab shifted sideways in front of her. A narrow slice of light appeared between the door edge and the wall, widening by the moment. The gods keep her. She’d done it. Now all she needed to do was—
    Something hit her from behind.
    The force of the blow threw her forward. Her cheek banged into the stone wall. Liquid splashed over her shoulder, leaving a heated trail on her skin. Shock spiraled into a sidewinding wave. Cosmina sucked in a quick breath and—
    Her arm went numb, dragging her hand away from the key.
    She glanced down, then blinked. An arrow with something red running along its length. Time stretched and her mind shut down, delaying comprehension. Cosmina frowned. Bloo d . . . dear God, it looked like blood —on her cloak, smeared on the black shaft, dripping from the sharp arrowhead. She stared at it a moment, watching liquid pool and individual droplets fall. Another drop splattered against the top of her thigh. Her brain whirled into action, supplying details. Sensation clawed over her shoulder. Agony stole her ability to breathe, pushing the air from her lungs as understanding struck.
    Oh gods. She’d been hit.
    Panic punched through. Horror spread like the plague, infecting her with fear as she reached out and grasped the arrow shaft with her good hand. The slight jostle made her cry out. Her skin tore as she jerked in pain. More blood welled, wetting her tunic, coating the back of her arm as reality dragged the truth to the forefront. She was in serious trouble. The kind she couldn’t afford. Not right now. Not when she sat so close to success. But even as she tried to deny it, the searing sensation wouldn’t let her. God, it stung. But worse? She was weakening. Could feel her body draining, the awful trickle as blood pooled in her elbow joint. Bile rolled up her throat. Cosmina swallowed the burn and shifted on her knees. She must hold the line. Was just seconds away. Mere moments from achieving her goal, s o . . .
    No panicking allowed. Duty demanded she stay the course.
    Supporting her injured arm, she shuffled toward the narrow opening. Patience. Almost there. But gods, she wished the door would open faster. Slower than molasses in winter, the slab retreated to one side, old gears working hard to pull the heavy stone across the floor. Heart beating so hard it hurt to breathe, Cosmina counted the seconds. She bumped the arrow tip by mistake. Pain ripped through her. Clinging to her goal, she watched the door slide open another inch. With a gasp, she grabbed the stone edge and pulled, lending her strength to the slow glide, bu t . . .
    It didn’t help.
    She had no strength left to give an d . . . oh gods. Her arm hurt. And her