35 Chapter 35: Free Me (1/2)

ELINA: He seems rather surprised by the fire. I thought he'd have figured it by now. The truth about this village. But he isn't as smart as he thinks he is.

Part of the roof collapsed. A large rock fell right next to me. Those rocks weren't for keeping the hut in place in case of a storm. They were meant to crush whoever was inside.

Salem grabbed my hand and held me close.

Oh-hoh!

I didn't think he'd be this bold. His arms around my shoulder, his hand pressing my head against his chest. Kind of like a lover. But far from it.

Is he panicking? I looked up. His eyes darted left and right. Looking for a way out.

I said, ”The door's the only way.”

Salem nodded.

He reached for door, turned the handle. Rattled it. Shook it. It refused to open.

”What?!” His heart pounded. Panic edged into his eyes. But he stayed calm.

Impressive.

It's easy to follow his thoughts. The door opened just now. When Anja knocked. But now it was locked.

How?

No, that wasn't important.

Why?

I said, ”Someone must have put a lock on it. From the outside.”

”…”

”And you wonder who it is?”

”Doesn't matter. We have to get out first.”

He let go of me and told me to stand back.

I said, ”If you ram the door, all you'll do is damage your shoulder.”

”Never said I'd do that.”

”Then what?”

He took half a step back. Raised his right leg and kicked the edge of the door. A rattling metal sound. Then again. And again.

”What are you doing?” I asked.

”It's hard to break the door itself using brute force. But if you focus your strength on where the lock is, it''ll break apart.”

He kicked a few more times until there was a crunching sound. The door fell open. He took my hand and pulled me out.

Outside, he fell to his knees and coughed uncontrollably. I suppose in the end, no matter how strong, a human is more fragile than a witch. His lungs struggled. The smoke didn't affect me.

I stood next to him, waiting for him to stand up. There was another problem to be dealt with.

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Salem: It wasn't my first time being caught in a fire. But it was my first time rescuing a witch. Which felt weird. Because usually I'd lure them into fires. Watch them burn. Listen to them scream.

But leaving Elina behind wasn't an option.