He’s dead.
He’s dead.
I killed him.
Before I have a chance to refocus, to recenter myself, I’m struck by something from behind. A sharp pain explodes at the base of my skull, and my fire goes out.
I hit the ground hard, my knees slamming into the dirt, and my hand flies to the back of my head.
It’s wet.
Blood.
So much blood.
I feel dizzy, a sickening wave that makes the world tilt.
I reach for my thigh, my fingers fumbling for my blade, but all they grasp is air. It’s not there.
I curse.
But I’m not defenseless.
I’m an Essentari.
Despite the terrible ache in my arms, one that somehow reaches my temples, threatening to split my mind in two, my hands glow once again, and I force myself to my feet, swaying slightly as they surround me.
I spin to face the one who struck me. I flex my fingers, but nothing happens. I’m not strong enough to wield this new power of mine.
My hands glow brighter and brighter, but the fire doesn’t leave me. It doesn’t go where I need it to go. It can’t protect me.
And they all know it.
I’m going to die here. I’m going to die.
Will my parents ever know? Will they know their fourth daughter also did not survive?
I hope they never find out.
I hope that word never reaches them, and they spend the rest of their lives believing me to be free. Out there, somewhere, living and breathing.
Please, let that be the case.
They can never know what happens here tonight.
Suddenly, all of the men rush me at once, and I don’t know which direction to turn. I don’t know who will strike first.
A piece of wood slams into my side, and I hold in a groan at the pain that follows.
Then, something crashes against the back of my knees, forcing me to the ground once more. My head droops forward as I catch myself, and when a foot lands in the same spot the wood had hit, I can’t breathe.
It’s over.I won’t survive this. Fresh tears begin to form, and I suck in air through my teeth.
They don’t deserve your tears.That’s what Char had told me, and he was right.If only I was strong enough to not let them have them.
But I’m not.I never was.
“Just make it quick,” I whisper, and my fire disappears. The relief in my muscles is almost blinding, and I never want to call upon the flames again.
