My scariest memories of the times I felt most hopeless bubbled to the surface as if they banded together to overwhelm me. Being taken on the streets of South Harbor to be thrown on a ship. Having to be rescued by my sister. The sudden destruction of Rahana from peaceful and calm, to a blood-soaked battleground where Tio almost died throwing himself on top of me.
This was the time I was meant todomore, tobemore. Tears slid down my face though I tried to keep my composure.
He hauled me into his arms, and I wept.
“It was a long shot, King,” Jasper said solemnly. “At least we can say we tried.”
“Well, well. Look what we have here,” an unfamiliar woman spoke from several yards away.
I jerked out of Tio’s hold. Dante and Jasper whipped around at the same time I did, none of us having seen her and the band she traveled with approaching. Their eyes were masked in a line of black makeup with tiny jagged lines spreading further into their cheeks. A menacing sight to behold. Tio moved, stepping between me and the woman.
He assessed our visitors, spotting them in the trees in places I hadn’t. I followed his movements, realizing they surrounded us. Behind us lay the fresh spreading curse, assured death, according to Dante. They positioned themselves between us and the forest, our only escape. That alone told me their intentions weren’t friendly.
“That was quite the light show you put on. What were you trying to do, anyway? Blast dark magic with some prolonged lightning? Seems a little silly.” Her body was built like a warrior, but she bore no weapons. She gestured to the forest that stillstruggled to recover from the attack one hundred years prior. “Don’t you think?”
“KING!” Jasper pointed to the ground and Dante leapt from where the new inky lines stretched outward, slithering over the ground as if it were sentient. Jasper launched, flapping his wings, keeping tabs on its movement and proximity to us.
“What do you want?” Tio called with the pure command of a soldier. If he held fear, it didn’t show. I fed off his confidence, raising my chin.
The woman tilted her head, her dark stare resting on me. “I want her.”
“Like fucking hell.” Tio drew the sword that’d been strapped to his back.
A heaping surge of regret piled onto me. My fingers tingled reaching for what remained of my depleted magic. Oh gods, not only had this been for nothing, it might be the very reason we all get killed.
Several of her accomplices stepped forward from the trees, closing in. Only two of them had the black markings smudged across their eyes, which I assumed meant they were in a position of leadership among their band. The marked man with short slicked back gray hair stood behind the woman, unspeaking, hands clasped behind his back, even as their crew advanced. They were the only ones without weaponry, but somehow that didn’t ease my worries.
“Their scents. They were at the campsite,” Dante whispered.
Tio didn’t move a muscle, revealing nothing even though we knowingly confronted the group Ro had traveled with. “She’s with me, and unfortunately, I’m not interested in whatever you’re selling. So we’ll be on our way, and you on yours.”
The black marked man chuckled, and the woman said, “Oh, we’ll see about that.” Her fingers twirled before her.
Jasper shouted from above, “MOVE.”
I glimpsed behind me for a split second before those writhing black veins crawled toward us. Tio did the same, reaching back and grabbing my wrist. He ran forward with me in tow. “Just like we practiced at camp,” he said before releasing me and charging for the nearest assailant with straggly blond hair who had drawn a sword.
There was no option other than charging head first, unless we wanted to be turned to dust by the curse. Dante roared, and from the corner of my eye I watched him swipe at one of them with his massive, lethal paws.
Avoiding the marked ones, I targeted another from the trees that advanced on me with determined speed, passing Tio on his way. My hands were already moving when he tossed out a torrent of fire toward my graceful protector. I sent out a blast of power, snuffing out the flames in an instant and hitting the man like a brick wall. He flew back, tumbling into the ground.
Elemental wielder, then. Oh gods, what if they all had magic? Fighting against magicless Windguard soldiers had been one thing since I held the advantage, but coming head to head with trained magical fighters? Fear sewed itself into my skin, but I fought past it, sending another blast of power toward the one who sparred with Tio.
Tio reached for me again when his opponent was distracted. Our hands almost connected before vines wrapped around his ankles and hauled him away. I cried his name as he slammed to the ground, seeking for which magic wielder I needed to take down.
I froze when I beheld the fire wielder from before holding out his hand in Tio’s direction. I sent another wave, which threw the man back until his head smashed against a tree trunk, knocking him out cold.
Tio used his magic to pry the twisting vines from clutching his ankles and wriggled free. Something smacked into my head,blurring the world. My face connected with the ground before I could orient myself and I peered up to see a wretched-looking owl swooping through the air. Its feathers were an unnatural black, its elongated talons like sharpened blades.
Tio’s sword clashed with the recovered opponent, and the bird speared itself at me again. I didn’t have time to draw from the well. All I could manage was raising my arm up to protect my face. A thud and a screech rent the air, and I dropped my defense to see that Jasper had tackled the bird, rolling with it as they hit the ground.
I used the moment to assess all our conditions. Dante’s feet were encased in ice as a disorienting wind viciously swirled around him, both magics courtesy of the wielder he stood against. The woman had disappeared, which I deduced meant she was the owl. Only the marked man stood, unmoving, his eyes intent on the patch of land behind us. I turned to see the curse growing, reaching toward us still. He was calling it. Controlling it.
And my magic couldn’t stop it.
Tio’s opponent angled his sword, and in one mighty motion, slashed Tio’s leg. The man glared up with victory, baring his teeth. But Tio simply smirked, that beautiful, charming smile gleaming with delight as the man’s face quickly contorted into one of confusion. Leveraging the opportunity, Tio rammed his sword through the man’s chest, cutting through his heart.
The man stumbled, stunned by the attack. Tio ripped the sword free, blood spewing onto the ground and decorating his face. His opponent clutched his wound, unable to staunch the life ending flow before sputtering crimson from his mouth and collapsing to the ground.
