ROME
Tension was building up and Rome sensed it. He couldn’t sell Elora but there was no way he could resist without calling attention to himself. He was sure that someone had recognized her, there wasn’t any other explanation for Farrel’s request.
He stood directly in front of Elora blocking her from the slaver’s view. He knew she would be terrified and he didn’t want Farrel sniffing that out.
Farrel took a step forward, trying to stand on his toes to reach Rome’s height, but he still wasn’t close. His breath was breath warm on Rome’s face and the smell of alcohol stung his nose.
“Lycan, this shouldn’t end in a brawl. I warn you. Take the offer or you won’t be walking out of here at all.” Farrel was far from his usual excited self. He was dead serious.
Rome knew he needed to act fast now. There was nothing he could do to contain the situation since somebody had noticed them.
He closed his eyes and cleared his mind just like he had been trained to do since childhood, searching for the only other mind he knew would be receiving his signal. He relayed the signal to Skye to proceed with the plan. He was grateful for the gift their Royal bloodline had given them because the success of their plan demanded only the stealthiest approach.
He needed Skye to quietly subdue the guards at the cave’s entrance before they could relay the warning of an attack. Even though he needed information from the slavers, after seeing how they treated their people, he decided that they were not fit to live even for the short while he had thought to torture them. One slaver would be enough to get the information he needed.
He shook his head, clearing his mind in preparation for the fight to come. The raid was about to begin and it would take a great deal of concentration from him to keep both he and Elora safe. At least, rescuing the slaves would be easier than he had thought since most of them were kept in the same room.
Rome pulled Elora to his side with an arm around her shoulder. She shivered under his touch and he nearly forgot what he’d been about to say.
“A brawl?” He scoffed, “Is that to supposed scare me? I’d like to see who would win if it came down to it.”
Suddenly, some werewolves materialized from the dark and inched closer to Rome and Elora. One of them rushed towards Rome with a knife glinting dangerously in his hand but before he could strike, Rome had stepped to the side and sent a punch into his stomach with the full force of his rage. The man fell to the floor with a loud groan. Another approached him not taking a hint from how quickly his friend had fallen, meeting the same fate.
Rome risked a glance back at Elora as he fought off the werewolves. She had pressed herself into the wall to get out of the way of the fight.
Smart girl. He thought, delivering a kick to another werewolf.
The fight was over sooner than he’d have liked but he didn’t dare complain. They were still in enemy territory and by now, Farrel would have sent more guards their way.
“Elora, we need to move!” He commanded, turning to her.
She jumped, startled out of whatever haze she’d been in, and turned to the female slaves that had come out of hiding. They stood, shaking and pale as they wondered about their fate.
“Come with us if you want to live!” Elora said with urgency.
Some looked like they were ready to run even if they didn’t know where while some others looked hesitant and murmured amongst themselves.
“What’s happening?” One of the shaking girls asked.
“Follow you to where?” Another asked.
“We’re here to rescue you. You can trust us.” Elora explained to the girls while he took weapons off the wolves passed out on the ground, “The guards will be here any minute. If you want to be free, you have to follow us now.”
Rome turned to face them as he heard footsteps in the distance.
“We need to leave now!” He pulled Elora by her arm and turned towards the mouth of the cave, not turning back to see if they decided to trust them. Soft footfalls spelled their decision to trust them. A slave pointed out a hidden path that led them outside.
Rome nodded as he spied Teriel and Noel.
“Get into the carriage!” The slaves were immediately put into the carriages they had prepared for the raid.
He gave a low whistle and Skye materialized with some of the royal guards by her side. He turned to Noel and Teriel.
“We could only rescue these now. The cave is sectioned into two. The party is happening on the right and the slaves are kept on the left side of the cave. It’s barely protected so I can go back with Skye and the guards and get the rest out. You two take care of these.” The king commanded.
They bowed and walked away and he turned to Skye to lead her through the small path they had just come from.
“Your Majesty.” Elora’s voice called stopping him.
“Yes?” He asked, “What is it?”
“I want to go with you.” She said wringing her hands, “I can help you talk to the slaves and get them to come with us.”
He looked at her, surprised by her willingness to return to the hell they had just come out from.
“Alright. But stay close to us.” He warned.
She nodded and they were off.
They moved as silently as they could, not wanting to attract unnecessary attention to them, and ended up in the slaves’ wing.
They paused just out of sight as they spied the guards outside the entrance. He had not expected to see werewolves almost as big as Lycan’s guarding the entrance to the room the slaves were kept. The floor was littered with slain werewolves and slavers.
He sent a message with his hands to Skye and her men to go around the back and crept forward as silently as a shadow. There was no way he was going to access the slaves without knocking out these wolves.
Before any of them could make a move, Rome had sent a dagger flying into the neck of one of them, confusing their ranks. They charged forward when they saw him but fell as daggers from Skye and the other soldiers, that had gone around them, met their marks.
The werewolves seemed to have expected their arrival and came out holding female slaves by the neck at knife-point.
“You take one step forward and all of them die!” One of them growled.
This one was a Lycan and Rome wanted the satisfaction of seeing the traitor’s blood on his hands.
Tears streamed down their faces as the slaves sobbed. Anger fueled his movements as he moved forward in a blur, slicing necks as he went. They hit the ground with their hands clutched around their throat. The girls squealed in fear, backing away from him.
“It’s alright. You’re alright now.” Elora murmured coming closer, “We’re here to help you.”
“Yerr not ‘ere to sell us?” One of them asked shaking.
“No.” Elora answered, “This is the King and he came here to free all of you just as he freed me from this place.”
The girls’ eyes widened and they didn’t hesitate when Skye asked them to call the other slaves hiding inside.
Elora winced at the ugly bruises marring their skin.
“Come on, there’s no time.” He told them, putting them in the care of one of his guards who would lead them through the small path the other maids had been led through.
Rome led Skye and the rest of the guards that had joined them now as they made their way to the part of the cave where the party was still in full swing.
They walked in on some of the slave masters in the middle of an orgy and didn’t hesitate to put their blades to work. Some of the slavers fled, leaving their clothing and belongings behind.
“It’s the king!” Someone cried out.
The fight lasted only a short while with minimal casualties on their side, for which Rome was grateful. He made his way out of the cave, leaving Skye and her men to round up.
He’d had enough of the disgusting place to last him a lifetime.
“Some of the fuckers escaped,” Skye informed, as she emerged looking feral in the moonlight. Her eyes glinted golden in the enjoyment of the killing she had done tonight. “But I sent some guards after them.”
“Good.” He said nodding, eyes roving over their group.
The rescued slaves were put into three carriages with soldiers set to guard them just in case the slavers had the gall to attack them.
“Move out!” He commanded, then to one of the soldiers he said, “Burn it to the ground.”
The soldier lit a torch and went into the cave. In a few moments, an explosion pierced the air and the cave was engulfed in flames so bright, it lit up the night sky.
Satisfaction blossomed in his belly as he watched the flames lick up the horrible place. It would erase the horrible place from existence like the sick people who ran the place.
For now, he’d be satisfied with the freedom of the slaves. Soon, he would get the main bastards sponsoring the depravity and rid the land of their filth.