Alle Kapitel von The Lycan King's Fearless Little Warrior: Kapitel 191 – Kapitel 200

Elsie's POV What happened next was over so quickly that I barely had time to enjoy it.The axe man swung at Randel. Randel slid off his horse, caught the man’s arm midair, and twisted it until the axe fell and clattered on the boards. Nolan rode straight into two of the club men and knocked them both down. Piers, who had looked so nervous all day, moved surprisingly fast, disarming one man with a flick of his sword and kicking his knees out from under him.A skinny male charged at me with a wooden club held over his head. I stepped aside and let him stumble past, then caught his wrist and slammed the club out of his hand. He turned and swung a wild fist at my face. I ducked, hooked my foot behind his knee, and dropped him on his back. I put a boot on his chest and stopped him from getting up.“Don’t,” I said quietly.He stared up at me, breathing hard. He was younger than I’d thought, maybe nineteen, and up close I could see his ribs through his torn shirt.“When did you last eat?” I

Elsie’s POVThe torches stopped moving when they were about thirty paces away. There were eight of them, spaced evenly in a ring, and behind each flame stood a shadow with a bow held loosely at its side.“Drop your steel,” a woman’s voice called from the dark. It was dry and flat, like she had said the same words many times before. “All of you. Slowly.”“No,” Hunter said.“Then we’ll take it off you.”“You are welcome to try.”I could hear the strings of eight bows creak at once. Randel’s fingers tightened around his spear. Behind me, the carriage was silent, and I knew that Luciana and Tate were inside with Quinn. I took one step forward, and Hunter’s arm shot out to stop me.“Elsie.”“Let me talk,” I said quietly. “They haven’t shot yet. If they wanted us dead, we’d already be dead.”He looked at me and, very slowly, lowered his arm.I raised both hands, palms open, and walked out to the edge of the firelight. “My name is Elsie. We’re not soldiers, and we’re not here for trouble. We

Elsie’s POV I didn’t remember climbing into the carriage. One second I was on the ground and the next I was kneeling on the mattress with Quinn’s hand in mine, and it was so cold that I thought I was holding a stone. “His fever dropped an hour ago,” Luciana said quickly. She was already pressing two fingers against his neck. “I thought it was a good sign. I checked again just now and…” She trailed off, looking at the sand timer. “Twenty-two.” “Twenty-two what?” “Beats,” Luciana said. “In a minute. It was forty a few days ago. It shouldn’t be anywhere near this low.” I looked at his face. It was grey, with a bluish tint around his mouth that hadn’t been there this afternoon. His breathing was so shallow that I had to lean down and put my ear next to his lips to hear it. Then I stopped hearing it. I waited. One second. Two. Three. My own heart went wild. “He’s not breathing.” “Wait,” Luciana said, gripping my arm. “Wait. He does this. He pauses.” Five seconds. Six. Seven. And th

Elsie's POV The old man lifted his hat. He had bright, curious eyes, and a beard as white as snow. “Good morning,” he said cheerfully, as if we were all standing in a field. “Terrible day for climbing.”“Sir, are you a healer?” Luciana asked.“Oh, no. A gatherer,” he said. “I collect things that grow in high places, and sell them to those who don’t want to climb.” He patted the mule’s neck. “This is Berta. She has opinions. Are you having trouble with the road?”“It fell down,” Tate said helpfully.“So I see.” The old man came up to the edge of the rubble and studied it with his head cocked to one side. “Yes. It does that during this time of the year. My father’s father used to say the mountain shrugs when it’s tired of being walked on.” He turned back to us. “Where are you going?”“West,” I said. “To the valley on the other side. We’re looking for a creek that splits under a twin ridge.”The old man’s eyes sharpened. “Ah,” he said, very softly. “The Hollow folk.”“You know them?” Lu

Elsie's POV When the new wheel was pinned into place, Hunter stepped back, wiped his forehead on his sleeve, and said in a hoarse voice, “Let us not do that again.”“Agreed,” I said weakly.“I take back everything I said about the spare wheel,” Tate said. He had gone very pale. “I will mate with the spare wheel.”“You can’t mate with a wheel,” Luciana said.“Watch me.”We laughed. It was shaky and slightly hysterical, and it went on a little too long. But it felt good.The rest of the crossing was quiet. We moved forward an inch at a time, and when the carriage finally rolled off the last stretch of stone and onto solid ground, all six men collapsed in a heap on the dirt. Luciana walked around to the door with trembling hands and looked in at Quinn. She let out a sob of relief when she saw that he hadn’t moved.“He’s fine,” she said. “He’s fine. The straps held.”I sat on the ground with my back against a boulder and pressed my hands against my stomach. I didn’t feel anything but a f