She was trembling like a leaf on the wind; the teardrops glistening in her eyes illuminated by the streaming light of the full moon. Hamish pulled her towards him, squeezing softly to provide any sort of reassurance he could. Julia leaned into that embrace, her hands still shaking, and eyes still gazing intently at what was approaching. 

"We're going to die." 

Julia's words came out quietly, mumbled even, without any trace of her normally overbearing tone. 

"Hey, hey, you have me." 

He grinned ruefully. 

In the distance, the hordes of undead ambled towards them; basking joyfully in the moonlight glow. Judging from the amount of them; there must have been at least 6 highly trained necromancers working in harmony, possibly even 7 or 8. 

"There's no way we can take on this many. Or escape." 

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

He looked down at her and smiled. As her Appointed - perhaps more than simply an Appointed, if they had had the time – he had to keep her alive, and there was only one way to do it. Still, he dreaded it. 

"Which- Which is why you get to safety, while I distract them." 

"What?" 

"You heard me. I can probably last a good 10 minutes. At least until the necromancers join the fight." 

Her blood ran cold with the thought. Dying was one thing, but death at the hands of necromancers was another entirely. She stared up at him, saw that he was dead serious. 

"Hamish, you can't do this. You're the best of the best we have." 

“And if I don’t do this, then both of us will die.” 

“Y-" 

The gap was being closed far too quickly. 

He dropped her and drew his daggers. She lurched. He ran. Ran with the pattern he had used to escape capture a dozen times before, left-right, left-right. Only now he ran to death. 

She hated it – but she couldn't waste this chance. She had to make sure that his sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. Wiping the still-lingering tears from her eyes, she turned and fled. 

She was too far to turn back when his screams pierced the night sky. 

Halfway to the camp when she realized that she forgot to say goodbye.