The silence of the morning was broken like thunder by the gunshot. As the scream reverberated in my ears and reverberated around us, time appeared to stop. I waited for the collision, anticipating pain or worse, my body froze in place, my heart halted.
However, it never arrived.
With his palm gripping his shoulder, where blood was starting to trickle down his shirt, Ethan stumbled back. "Ethan!" He fell on one knee, and I yelled, running to his side.
He clinched his teeth and muttered, "I'm okay," even though his face was losing color. "It's not horrible."
It was a falsehood. His eyes were intense and focused on Neil, who still had the pistol in his hand, but the blood smearing through his shirt told me everything I needed to know.
Neil took a step closer, smirking and tilting his head. "Isn't that nearly poetic? The damsel must battle the dragon when the knight falls.
