Read Online Traitor by Claire Farrell - Free Book Online

isn’t on the same side as me.”
    The dark-haired Guardian calmly took a step toward me, catching my attention while the second swung out some kind of metal chain and whacked me in the shoulder.
    Yelping with pain, I yanked at the metal. It slipped out of my fingers, but my tug pulled the Guardian off balance. Swearing, he dropped the chain and unsheathed a knife.
    “Enough,” the dark-haired one said, sounding confused by the tattooed Guardian’s action.
    “As long as she’s still breathing, it’s never enough.”
    The dark-haired Guardian frowned. “Our orders aren’t to murder her.”
    “Self-defence,” the tattooed one said. “She’s probably here with all of her rebels.”
    I laughed scornfully. “Yeah, we’ve just overrun the place. Can’t you see all of those invisible fighters?”
    “A distraction,” he said. “While the others kidnap the children or murder them in their beds.”
    “He could be right.” The third fled. I didn’t exactly blame him. In fact, I wished I could run away, too.
    “We’re not killing her,” the dark-haired Guardian said firmly.
    “We all have our orders,” the tattooed Guardian said, smiling as he slit his companion’s throat. He advanced on me without even glancing back to see if the other Guardian had fallen.
    I backed up in disgust. “Killing your own now?”
    Not all of the Guardians were on the same side. Too many took orders from someone they held more loyalty for than the official Council, someone who was becoming so sure of themselves that they were taking more obvious measures to gain control. The more steps I took, the further away the truth seemed to lead, but I had my suspicions.
    The remaining Guardian was large, at least a foot taller and a hell of a lot of pounds heavier than I was, and he had something I didn’t: an eagerness to die for his cause. I accepted that my causes could one day lead to my death, but I wasn’t trying to speed up the process. Still, my biggest reasons to survive had left me. I also had a lingering injury, and taking a life sometimes left a bad taste in my mouth. But those tattoos definitely stirred the heat in my blood.
    “So whose bitch are you anyway?” I asked, narrowly avoiding another strike.
    Madness flashed in his eyes. “You won’t live long enough to see for yourself.”
    “You can’t kill me. Don’t you know how many of your brothers I’ve killed all by myself? What’s so special about you?”
    He laughed, sounding genuinely amused. “You think we would waste our best warriors on the likes of you? The rest of us were busy dealing with more important matters while you danced with lesser men.”
    He flung the bloody knife at me. I dodged it, but he grappled with me instead as if he would enjoy using his bare hands to take me down. I punched his jaw, but he barely flinched. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t lying. He shoved me then kicked out as I stumbled. I fell back, unable to keep my balance. He aimed a punch at my side, and I rolled out of his way before jumping to my feet.
    We exchanged a few blows, then he grunted and gripped my neck with one hand, pressing against my stomach with the other. His fingers were so close to my injury that I forgot how to breathe as pain wrenched through my torso. The hand around my neck tightened as he pushed me against a wall.
    I couldn’t defend myself, couldn’t move at all. Even breathing hurt. He pressed harder against my diaphragm. The action sent what felt like red hot irons through my skin. Was he super observant, or did he already know about my injury?
    My vision blurred as something flew past with a whizzing sound. All of a sudden, I was free, still wracked with pain but able to breathe again. My enemy was down, an arrow lodged in his skull.
    I looked around to see Leah standing in position, her bow still in her hands. She appeared frozen until Phoenix gently took the weapon away. I recovered as best I could as she got herself together and let Phoenix lead her to