“I thought maybe you meant Ellowyn,” Lex said calmly, approaching the soldier who had just struck me from the rear. In a flurry of short moves and swings, Lex had the man disarmed before he rammed his sword deep into the enemy soldier’s chest.
The man sank to his knees as Lex pulled the sword free, blood coating the blade and running down onto Lex’s hands. Unbothered, he cleaned the blade on the fallen man’s tunic before wiping his hands down his pants.
Blood coated almost every inch of his skin and matted his brown hair to his skull. It was hard at this point to discern what was his blood and what was that of his victims.
Lex’s eyes flashed with something I couldn’t name as I nodded my thanks.
“Her, too,” I grumbled, pulling my hand away to inspect the damage beneath. It was deep, but not fatal, thank the gods.
If my magic was locked and inaccessible, would hers be as well?
I didn’t want to think of that possibility—if neither of us had access to our magic, there was little chance for victory here.
“I’m sure she’s fine, brother,” Lex said, his words and voice oddly calming as he spun back into Ilya’s orbit, attacking with renewed fervor.
I grunted, though it wasn’t Ellowyn’s absence that worried me.
Solace’s lack of appearance? Nowthatwas cause for alarm.
Chapter One Hundred Seven
Rohak
Hours had passed since the fire had lit the night sky, illuminating our enemy, standing only feet from us.
Hours of letting my mind numb into the repetitive cadence that came with battle:thrust—parry—dodge.
Over and over, I let my muscles dictate the course of the day rather than my mind. For if I thought too hard, delved too deeply, I’d be wracked with grief and distracted by the fact that I left Faylinn in Vespera.
Left her to die at Sasori’s hands.
The fact I was still breathing, the Bond still pulsing in my chest, meant she was still safe, still alive.
For now. My arm momentarily faltered at the unwanted reminder.
My opponent—a lithe and rather quick woman who was nearly half my age—saw the opening, her eyes gleaming with early victory. There was nothing I could do, no move I could make to block the strike that I knew was imminent.
I turned at the last possible second.
Her blade reached across and skewered me, pressing deep into my shoulder rather than my heart, where it was aimed seconds before.
Murderous frustration gnarled her features as her mouth pulled back into a sharp snarl. She wrenched the blade free from my muscle, the burn of the exit far more debilitating than the entry.
I cried out, tired muscles seizing and failing as I collapsed.
Wasting no time, the woman gripped her sword in both hands and stepped closer, raising it above her head for the killing blow.
I love you, Faylinn, I said down the Bond before shutting it completely. I didn’t want her final moments to be plagued by my agony, caused by my own stupidity.
“Oh no, you don’t!” A cry came from behind me just as the strongest, hottest blast of Fire Magic I’d ever felt coursed over my head, singeing the top of my hair. I fell back on my ass and looked on with wide eyes as my assailant was engulfed completely, her body instantly turning to ash as her sword fell to the ground in a twisted, melted mess.
The Fire Magic cut off suddenly, the scent of ash and singed flesh nearly causing me to gag as I turned cautiously over my shoulder.
There stood Art and Gene, the former holding a metal rod in his hands. Looks of awed pride washed over both their faces as Gene knelt to help me to my feet. His glasses were fogged and covered in soot, but I could see the gleam of victory, nonetheless.
“We did it, General!” he exclaimed gleefully, gesturing to the item in Art’s hands. “Behold! Charise!”
I coughed a surprised laugh, but Art’s suddenly wide-eyed expression cut it completely.
