Fallen Hero (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 3)

“Damn you,” he groaned when she caught him in the groin.

“Frederick, you are a total bastard,” Elspeth spat loudly in disgust when she recognised his voice.

Frederick, who was nursing his groin, slowly fell to his knees.

Now that she recognised him, Elspeth eyed him with spiteful determination. Sickened by what he had done to her, Aaron, and Thomas, she lifted her boot and kicked him soundly in the head. It wasn’t anywhere near as hard as she wanted it to be because Frederick groaned but soon got back up again. This time, Elspeth was ready for him and lifted her boot in preparation for him surging to his feet. Before he had taken three steps toward her, she lifted her boot, tugged hard on her arm until she was in the air, and then swung at him with another kick which landed directly in his groin again.

Aaron looked around and cursed viciously when he couldn’t find Elspeth. He couldn’t hear her either. Redoubling his efforts, he waited until the assailant tried to hit him with his club again. When the man tried another swing, Aaron grabbed the club and used it to haul himself to his feet. The world swam but he ignored it. Instead, he planted his feet and yanked the club off his attacker with a violence that left the man without a weapon, but with one very angry opponent.

Aaron then set to work. Swinging the club over one shoulder then another, he began to pound the attacker, Voss, over and over. Aaron hit his assailant in the shoulder, the knees, the stomach. When Voss was on his knees, Aaron swung the club heavily against the side of the man’s head, from one side to the next, until Voss slithered unconsciously to the floor.

Aaron gave him one last thwack to the head before he threw the club as hard as he could into the garden beside them. When he was sure Voss posed no further problem, Aaron turned his attention to finding Elspeth.

“Where are you?” he shouted. “Elspeth?”

“Here,” Elspeth cried. She almost wept with relief when she heard Aaron’s beloved voice.

Frederick suddenly jerked and stared with wide eyes in the direction of the garden. Without even giving Elspeth a second look, he spun around and raced off.

“Coward!” Elspeth shouted as she watched him jump over a low-lying fence and race across a field toward the village.

“Thank God,” Aaron bit out when he saw her swinging from one arm from the willow branches.

“Are you going after him?” she asked when she had released her hand from the binding willow branch.

Aaron squinted after his quarry. “No. We know he has tried to abduct you. We have Voss. That is enough for now. Frederick won’t be so bold now he has to work alone. We can catch Frederick when we are ready. He will go home eventually. When he does, we will be waiting for him.”

Without saying another word, Aaron hauled her into his arms for a reassuring hug. It was stunning to realise how shaken he was, but not through fear for his own safety.

“God, when I saw you being dragged off, I seriously thought they were going to take you away from me,” he breathed. “Are you all right?”

Elspeth began to cry. She lifted a shaking hand to the bruises on his face and stood up on tiptoe, so she could rest her forehead against his. It took effort to pretend she was staying strong but Elspeth could do nothing about the tears that coursed down her face.

“I have never seen anything so horrific,” she whispered. “I am sorry. It’s my fault.”

“You had no idea they would try this,” he hissed. “It’s their damned fault, don’t you think? The attack is not your fault, Elspeth.”

“But this is my fault. I have drawn you into this. You shouldn’t have to go through this because of me and my damned brother. He should never have dumped this on you. It isn’t fair, Aaron. What kind of friend and brother is he?”

“One who was trying to do his best by you,” Aaron warned. “Thomas was someone who was backed into a corner and didn’t have the faintest idea how to defeat his enemy. While I won’t ever agree with what he has done, I am glad he asked for my help. I am glad I am here, Elspeth.”

“But you could have been killed,” Elspeth protested.

“I would rather die protecting you than anybody else I work every day to protect,” Aaron assured her.

“Does it not bother you that you could give your life for someone else’s safety? What about your future Aaron? What about your life? Does it not matter to you? Do the loved ones you will leave behind if you die mean nothing to you?” Elspeth cried.

“Of course they do,” Aaron retorted.

“Why do you risk everything, then?” Elspeth demanded. “Why would you deliberately put your life in danger for people who don’t even care?”

“Do you care, Elspeth?” Aaron struggled with the force of the desolation that would overwhelm him if Elspeth told him that she didn’t, couldn’t, or wouldn’t care if he continued to work with the Star Elite.

“Of course, I care. But after what Thomas has put me through, do you think I want to spend my life waiting for the day when I receive a note informing me about your death? I can’t do it. I won’t do it. This-” she waved a hand between them “-thing between us is going to lead to desolation, I am sure of it. You seem to go into situations willingly that put your life in danger, and you don’t seem to give a damn. I can’t understand how you can be so blazé about your life, your future, and the lives of the people who will lose everything if anything happens to you.”

“Will you lose everything if anything happens to me?” Aaron demanded.

“You matter to me,” she snapped, shoving him roughly in the chest. “Damn you.”