“Leave us alone,” Johanna called out as Isauros kept coming our way. “We are your students.”
Isauros pointed in my direction, her hand shaking. “You little bitch, fucking everyone in sight so that you can pretend to be royalty. You will never be royalty, never!”
“I don’t want to be,” I said, clutching Johanna’s arm tightly. Given the heels that the headmistress had on, if we had to make a break for it, we would likely get away.
“Liar,” the woman breathed.
Johanna stepped in front of me, glaring at the woman. “Leave us alone or I will report you.”
Isauros let out a harsh laugh. “Report me? I will make you both pay for what you have done to me!”
Before I knew it, the older woman launched herself forward, knocking us both to the ground. I tried to use some of the moves that Royce had taught me, but Isauros was taller and when her hands went around my throat, I knew I had to free myself.
If I didn’t, she was going to kill me.
“I should have let Alexei kill you when I had the chance,” she seethed, spittle flying out of her mouth as her fingers pressed harder into my throat. “Then maybe he would have loved me.”
I felt the pressure on my neck, stars starting to dance in my mind, and knew that if I didn’t counter her somehow, I might end up dead today. Clearly, Isauros had lost her shit.
I swung out weakly, trying to budge the larger woman, but her maniacal grin just grew wider, as did her grip on my throat. I was going to die, with tons of regret heavy on my heart.
Suddenly she was pulled off me and I coughed, watching as Johanna released the woman’s hair, causing her to stumble away. A flash of steel caught the sun and I cried out as Isauros sank the knife into Johanna’s stomach, a look of shock appearing my friend’s face.
“No!” I cried out as Isauros removed the knife, blood dripping from the steel blade. I threw myself at her legs immediately, not wanting her to have another chance to stab Johanna again. I tried to grab Isauros’ hand, but she was stronger than I thought and tried to wrestle her hand near me.
The same one that was holding the knife.
Thinking quickly, I countered her blow with one of my own, the heel of my hand popping her in the jaw and giving me a chance to roll away from the blade.
But before I could get back to Isauros, she was already on her feet. The knife lay discarded on the ground between us and for a split second, I thought about going for it. I could end this. I could make her pay for what she had just done to my friend, to me, to my mother.
But Isauros took off in the opposite direction during my hesitation and I snatched up the knife, throwing it into the grass for now.
“Anna.”
I was at Johanna’s side in an instant as she held her hand over the wound, blood seeping out from between her fingers. “You are going to be okay,” I told her, sliding my shirt over my head, and pressing it to the wound. “We just have to slow the bleeding.”
I lowered her to the ground and held the shirt tightly against her, starting to call for help and hoping that someone was still on the path, my voice bouncing off the still afternoon. Even the birds had quit chirping.
“It hurts,” Johanna cried out, attempting to push away my hands. “Oh God, it hurts!”
Tears welled in my eyes, but I blinked them away, knowing now was not the time to cry. “Focus on me, Johanna,” I told her, calling out for help again, my voice ragged to my own ears. “Stay with me, please.”
My friend whimpered, closing her eyes, and I was relieved to hear the sound of footsteps on the path. I smoothed her hair from her forehead. “Help is coming, Johanna. It’s coming.”
“Why did she stab me?” she asked weakly.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Because you were protecting me.” Had Johanna not stepped in when she did, I could have been dead.
But now my friend had a knife wound in her gut and the blood, oh God, the blood, was starting to seep through the fabric of my T-shirt.
I couldn’t lose her.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, another student showed up at Johanna’s side. “What can I do?” he asked, his eyes wide.
“Call an ambulance,” I choked out, tears falling in earnest now. “She’s been stabbed.”
He fumbled for his phone and dialed the number as Johanna’s eyes fluttered closed. “Johanna!” I cried out, searching for a pulse.
When I found one, I thought I was going to pass out myself. She was still alive. “They are on their way,” the other student said, his voice breathless.
I gave him a tight nod, not even sure if I could speak right now. I kept my eyes on Johanna’s face, noting the pallor of her skin as I held the pressure and prayed that I wouldn’t lose my friend.
Chapter 17
Anna
The next hour was complete chaos.
By the time the ambulance arrived, there was a large crowd of students that had gathered, some helping, some just furiously whispering as they watched me keep the pressure on Johanna’s wound. My friend whimpered some, but never opened her eyes the entire time, and when they loaded her into the ambulance, I told them that I was going.
Well, I tried. The language barrier was real and finally one of the Swedish students stepped in to help translate between me and the paramedic. He relented and I climbed in the back of the ambulance, taking one of Johanna’s limp hands in mine. She felt so cold and I rubbed her hand, trying to put some warmth back into her body. “Please,” I whispered. “Please don’t leave me.” This was all my fault. I should have taken Isauros’ threats seriously, though I never thought she would attack anyone but me.
She had attacked a princess and then run. The headmistress was about to go to jail—if she made it there.
We arrived at the hospital and through some hand motions and broken English, I was shown to a waiting area as Johanna was rushed into surgery.
I collapsed in one of the plastic chairs and cringed at the amount of blood that was on my hands. I only had on my sports bra and yoga pants, but it was the sight of Johanna’s blood on my person that had me about to lose it.
Isauros had stabbed Johanna. She couldn’t hide that fact and would pay dearly, there was no doubt about it. I had been there and if Johanna made it through surgery, she would also put the headmistress away for a long time.
My throat clogged with tears. I couldn’t lose my friend. Johanna had been innocent; her only guilt was having been my friend, and now she was fighting for her life.
It should have been me that had taken the brunt of Isauros’ rage, not her.
A sob escaped me, and I wrapped my arms around my waist, letting it out finally. I cried about Johanna’s injury, about my loss with the kings, and about even coming here in the first place. I had lost myself somewhere along the way, thinking I would find something more if I tracked down my mother’s past or found out who my father was.