Elemental Prince by Megan Fall
Chapter 4
Emmalyn
Emmalyn hid behind Mathias as the five men halted just inside the kitchen. The largest in the group was positioned slightly in front of the others and grinned when he locked eyes with Mathias. Emmalyn tried to get a grip on her fear as she studied the men. They looked like they could have stepped out of a time machine. All of them wore black pants, black long-sleeved shirts and black boots, but it was the metal armour overtop that gave her pause. The chest plate was impressive with intricate swirling patterns etched into it. They wore matching shoulder plates that appeared to be made of two pieces. A bottom piece was curled and wrapped around the front of the arm, while a second larger piece covered the shoulder and top of the arm piece. The larger piece was also etched with the swirling design, and was followed by what looked to be metal gloves comprising many pieces of metal. Long metal fingers connected to a large piece covering the hand. That was attached to a sleeve of metal to protect the arm, and above that was a larger piece to protect the elbow. It was all quite elaborate and looked to be quite heavy. Each man carried an enormous and beautiful sword that looked deadly as hell.
All of them had black hair. Three men had cropped hair, while the last two had manes of thick hair touching down on their shoulders. Except for the man in front, all wore varying degrees of angry glares. The front man appeared more relaxed and eyed Mathias in a familiar way, almost like he was pleased. It seemed to Emmalyn that he knew her guardian, which made no sense at all. She spared a second to lean out and take a peek at Mathias. Gone was the fear she’d witnessed when the tornado started, replaced by a scowl that matched the men he faced. She was struck by how comfortable he stood with the sword in hand. It was as if he’d held one all his life.
“Mathias,” the leader greeted, confirming they knew each other. He had a wicked scar running down the side of his face and he frightened her more than the others did. “It has been a long time my old friend. I assumed you were dead.” Emmalyn gasped at the words old friend. Not only did Mathias know this man, it appeared they were well acquainted.
“We were never friends,” Mathias grunted back. “And as you can see, I’m very much alive. You and your men can step right back through that portal and return to Terrasen.”
Emmalyn’s eyes flew right back to Mathias at the mention of a portal. There was no way she could disguise the fear and confusion that comment invoked. Her fingers, already gripping the back of his shirt, dug in deeper, while her hand grabbed onto his arm.
“Portal?” she questioned in a whisper as her whole body trembled. Mathias glanced at her sharply, shook his head in the negative and turned back to the man. She wouldn’t be getting any explanation just yet.
“The princess looks well,” the man smirked as he twisted to look at her. “It appears you have done a fine job while deceiving Terrasen.”
“Warrick,” Mathias sneered to the man beside him. “Eyes on me.” When Warrick did as commanded, Mathias continued. “Why are you here?”
“To return the princess home of course. And to do so at any cost,” Warrick answered. “Stand aside, or we will go through you.”
As Mathias growled and raised his sword higher, Warrick lost his easy-going attitude. His body seemed to grow larger and the relaxed smile shifted to a look of fury. Emmalyn let go of Mathias’ arm and took a hesitant step back. If Mathias was planning to take them all on, she didn’t want to be in the way. Despite having no idea what was happening, she knew there was a good chance Mathias could die defending her. And she didn’t even want to think about this princess nonsense. She had the small knife tucked into the hand holding onto his shirt, but didn’t think it would help against five large men wielding swords. Mathias and Warrick continued the stare down, waiting patiently for the other man to make a move. Glancing behind her, Emmalyn peered at the table holding a few dishes and a large vase full of flowers, then settled her attention on the butcher block on the counter cradling the chef’s knives. She braced herself and waited, not wanting to gain their attention by moving towards it.
Mathias won the staring game, as Warrick suddenly looked away and yelled a command in a strange language causing the men behind to charge. Mathias swung the broad sword up to chest level to stop the blade of the first man from slicing through his face. Emmalyn stumbled back in horror, knocking into the table behind her. It rocked and some cartons of food fell to the floor, but it broke her fall. She grabbed for the pitcher of flowers and hurled it as hard as she could at a second man who was attempting to step around Mathias. The vase hit him in the temple and broke, spewing water, glass and flowers down the front of him. He bellowed and turned to face Emmalyn, revealing the blood gushing from a gaping cut above his eye. The man took one giant step in her direction, but fell short of reaching her. Mathias had driven his foot into the chest of the other man he was fighting, driving him straight into Emmalyn’s attacker. In an instant, Mathias twisted and drove his sword into the chest of the man reaching out for Emmalyn. He hadn’t even seen Mathias move. Blinking once then collapsing, Mathias easily pulled his blade out of the fallen man.
“Hide,” Mathias furiously bellowed as another attacker charged. Once more he was locked in a deadly battle with no time to spare.
Emmalyn looked longingly down the hall at her bedroom but didn’t run. There was no way in hell she would abandon Mathias to take them on alone. She was small, but had been taught how to properly defend herself. Mathias had spent hours teaching self-defence moves and showing her how to properly throw a punch. She was determined to stay by his side, so if he went down, they’d bloody well go down together. Gaining a bit of courage, she scooted forward, dropped to one knee and shoved the knife into the calf of the man Mathias was fighting. He grunted in pain and she scurried back out of the way as he lost his footing. At the same time, Mathias arced his blade and swung it across the man’s neck. Blood flew in every direction as the man slumped to the floor in a heap. With two attackers down, three still remained.
Emmalyn felt tears roll down her cheeks as two of the three men left standing rushed at Mathias. Mathias was holding them off but clearly starting to tire. In a flash, one man twisted his sword at an odd angle and caught Mathias in the belly. Mathias quickly sidestepped but it was too late. The long blade had already done its damage. Mathias bellowed as blood spewed from the wound and coated his shirt. It didn’t look deep, but Emmalyn knew it was painful. Panicking, she charged across the room to the counter and reached out for the butcher block, dragging it towards her. Without a thought, she snatched out a knife and flung it at the man who had sliced Mathias. The blade sunk into the man’s shoulder and he screamed in pain. Not wasting a second, she grabbed another knife and threw it. Her aim wasn’t quite as good, but the blade dug into his face and opened up his cheek. Immediately the man turned and stalked in her direction, allowing Mathias to focus on the other man.
Emmalyn shrieked as he charged at her. He looked terrifying with the knife imbedded in his shoulder and the bloody mess she’d made of his cheek. Reaching back once more, she snagged the pepper shaker. With trembling hands, she unscrewed the top and tossed it away. As soon as he was close enough, she lobbed the pepper in a wide arc, hitting him right in the face. The man howled as he dropped his sword and wiped at his eyes. Without waiting for him to recover, Emmalyn grabbed another knife and rushed at him. Holding it with both hands fisted together and putting all her weight behind it, she aimed for the middle of his chest. He looked up, jerked the blade out of his arm and slashed it across her forearm. She screamed in agony but kept driving forward until she felt the blade sink in deep, causing the man to fall to his knees. Beside her, Mathias’ attacker dropped as well. Emmalyn glanced at Mathias as he swung around to face her. He immediately zeroed in on the gash on her arm while she winced at the bloody hole in his shoulder. While they were still standing, both had received painful wounds.
“My turn,” Warrick growled as Mathias and Emmalyn spun in unison to face him. Warrick was the last one of the groups standing and by far the largest.
As Warrick charged, the tornado gave another mighty roar, and what sounded like a dozen more men dropped out. Crying now, Emmalyn concentrated on Warrick and ignored the shouts echoing behind him. Together they raised their arms, Mathias wielding his sword and Emmalyn holding the knife still dripping with the fallen man’s blood.