Vi was tackled off to the side, a heavy body on top of her. “Wein,” she heard Deneya say in her ear. Magic engulfed them and another burst of flame charred the woman’s barrier but left her unharmed.
“Get off of me,” Vi demanded. “Get off of me!” she roared. “I’ll kill them. I’ll kill them all!”
Vi pushed on the stump of the arrow, still in Deneya’s shoulder. The woman howled and reared back. Vi launched to her feet.
“Keep her at bay!” Twintle shouted and more flames erupted around Vi.
“Do you think you can hurt me with your fractured magic?” Vi asked as she stepped through the fire, emerging on the other side. “I am part goddess. What do you think your flames will do?”
A Waterrunner was the response to her question as ice formed around her feet. Vi tugged against it, allowing her spark to roar, echoing the chaos in her mind. The ice turned to vapor as Vi glared at Twintle.
“I should’ve done this months ago,” she snarled. “Juth calt.”
His body limply meeting the floor was the sweetest sound she’d heard in ages.
“Watch out!Wein!” Deneya shouted, stepping in front of Vi, her body acting as a shield. An arrow bounced harmlessly off of the protective barrier her word of power formed over Deneya’s skin. “There’s too many of them, we have to get out of here.”
“We can take them.” Vi motioned to the bodies on the ground. With two words, she’d killed four men. “They’re nothing compared to us.”
“I will not twist Yargen’s words in that way.” Deneya grabbed her wrist. “How you are usingjuthis the work of elfin’ra.”
“It’s the work of the Champion,” Vi countered.
“What sorcery is this?” a voice echoed from within the antechamber, distracting them both. He very clearly wasn’t talking about their magic. “It won’t open.” Vi rushed toward the center aisle once more, looking back at the Knights who fought against the barrier of crystal that covered the doors.
They slammed the sword of Jadar against it again and again. But the barrier held. Vi reached out for one of the pointed crystals protruding from the floor at her side. She forced her power into the stone, exerting her will and feeling it rush from crystal to crystal, maintaining the barrier at the door. The sword wasn’t even chipping it. The fools had no idea how to wield the power of Yargen.
“What have you done?” the nameless Knight shouted at her.
Vi merely smiled. She smiled like a madman, baring her teeth, even as an arrow punctured her arm that was grabbing the crystal.
“Flee,” Deneya yelled at them, her voice echoing off the high rooftop of the Caverns. “Run, as quickly as you can. Hide back under the rock you crawled from and never show your face again. Fiera’s blood lives on and will guard these Caverns until the end of time.”
The men began to run back toward them and Vi watched them sprint past. They regarded her with wary eyes, as though she was the blood of which Deneya spoke. The three were almost at the entrance to the Caverns when she rapid-fired, “Juth calt. Juth calt. Juth calt.”
One by one, they fell. The crystal sword clattered to the ground at the entrance, skittering away from the last man’s lifeless hands. The rest of the Knights had already fled down the mountainside and Vi doubted they would dare return for the sword. Especially not if she killed them first.
Vi took a step forward, ready to give chase.
“Enough.” Two strong arms wrapped around her like the thick ropes of a ship. Vi writhed against them and Deneya hoisted her upward. The pain in Vi’s arm seared in a way that almost felt delightful. “Enough!”
“I should’ve killed them ages ago when I had the chance.” Vi kicked her feet, trying to break free of Deneya’s hold. The woman was a rock behind her.
“But you didn’t because it’s not you,” Deneya shouted in her ear over Vi’s grunts and snarls. “You didn’t because you aren’t a cold-blooded murderer.”
“Clearly I am!” The darkness had finally overwhelmed her. Vi felt completely charred. Just when hope had begun to take root again, she burnt it away. Giving in was easier. “I am worse than them; I can be worse than all of them.”
“But you’re not. And you should never try to be.”
“This is what the world needs me to be.”
“The world needs compassion from its Champion, not killing. You can kill a thousand men, Vi, but their blood won’t quench that fire burning within you.”
Vi went still and pressed her eyes closed. Her head dipped and her chin nearly touched her chest as she hung limply. Deneya set her back down gingerly. When it was clear Vi wouldn’t fight any longer, she unraveled her arms.
“I don’t know what pain fuels your flames, but I can see you’re burning alive.”
Her head jerked upward and Vi stared, slack-jawed at the woman. She felt seen. For the first time in a long time, someone other than Taavin could see her. Really see her. It was terrifying and vulnerable, but in an oddly welcome way. Vi gave in to the sensation, leaning forward and pressing her forehead against Deneya’s uninjured shoulder.
