Relentless (Book 3)

Chapter 36: The Tenth Day - Part Five

Benjamin

I felt as though my own heart stopped beating when I saw Richardson stab Rose through her's. I had fought as hard as I could to get to Richardson and get him away from Meredith and Rose, but I was fighting against a mob of guards. And even when I did start using Acer's blade, it wasn't enough. I wasn't enough.

Then Richardson started toward his niece. Meredith was on her knees, her head in her hands, bent over so far that her head was touching the dirt. He lifted his dagger to kill Meredith while she was so distraught over the loss of her best friend in the world, that she was not thinking about her own safety. Richardson was going to kill his own niece while she was too despondent to even defend herself. He was going to murder his unarmed niece.

I dropped the guard closest to me and two more were on top of me before I could get even a foot closer to Meredith. Just when I thought it was too late and we were about to lose Meredith too, I heard Bethany's enraged voice scream from somewhere off to my right. "Stop!" And Richardson dropped his dagger, but I didn't see what caused him to drop it.

I drove Acer's knife into the side of one of the guards and then chanced a glance toward Richardson. He was holding onto his shoulder, staring out into the crowd, a look of utter shock on his face.

I dodged a blow from the next guard and punched him in the jaw. When I looked back at Richardson I saw a throwing knife imbed itself into his stomach. Bethany. Another flash and a knife lodged itself into his thigh. He dropped down onto his knees. As I was fighting off the last two guards I did my best to also watch Richardson and wait for Bethany to come into view.

Bethany walked over to him. Her final knife in her palm. She circled him like a cat toying with her prey. I saw her speaking to him, but I couldn't make out what she was saying. Then she gripped his hair in her hand and jerked his head up so that he was looking her in the eyes. She said something else that I couldn't hear, lifted his head further, and then dragged her blade across his throat. Blood spilled from his throat in a river and pooled to the ground below them.

The guards in front of me turned. Upon seeing their president dying, and knowing there was nothing they could to help him, they laid down their arms and retreated. Cowards. But that gave me a clear path to Bethany. I started making my way toward her. I watched Richardson slump to the ground, dead. And once the life left his body, Bethany fell to the ground next to him, unconscious, her arm landing with a splash in his blood.

Oh God. Please. Please let her be okay. Don't let her be gone too. "Help! Somebody help us, please!" I screamed as loud as I could, but my voice was still not audible enough for people to hear me unless they were close. "Help!" I rushed to her side and dropped down onto my knees next to her. I pressed my index finger and middle finger to her throat and felt for a pulse. It was there. And it was steady. I stared at her chest, and watched as it rose and fell.

I felt the adrenaline seep from my body. I watched the steady rise and fall of her chest and felt my body become weaker and weaker. I felt the pain of the last ten days find its way back into my body until staying conscious was too painful to endure. I stared at Bethany's chest until my vision blurred, then tunneled, then faded to black.

Bethany

The floor beneath me was moving. Where were they taking me? What were they going to do to me now? I forced my eyes open and looked around. I couldn't move my neck so I searched my surroundings with my eyes. There wasn't much to see. But I was only focused on one thing that I wasn't seeing. And that was Benjamin.

"Hey! She's awake." Someone called. They stood over me, but my vision was blurry and I didn't know who they were. "Hey, hey princess, you're going to be okay."