“Are you okay?”Asha’s voice floated down the Bond, worry coating her words even as she brought her sword up to defend against an attacker. Foam came from his mouth, eyes bleeding, as he attacked my Bonded with a savagery that had her recoiling a few steps.
With a growl, I released my arm, sending a bolt of wood straight through his spine and out the other side, the force of my attack impaling a Mage behind him. Both fell to the ground, blood oozing from their wounds and the corners of their mouths.
“I had that handled!” Asha spit, her eyes as fiery as her hair.
I grunted as I pulled her toward me, shielding her body with my own.
She huffed but let me protect her, knowing that there was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her safe.
The battle raged around us, the sun long past its zenith.
How many more were there? Could we survive this?
I quickly checked Asha’s reserves, noting that we were getting low. With a huff, I felt for the feeling of the trees and grass, as if they had souls themselves. With a quick ‘thank you,’ I gently pulled on their essence, filling my well once more. Asha sighed at the feeling, her rejuvenated energy pulsing down the Bond.
Our moment of reprieve ended when a Mage and their Vessel came careening toward us, Pain erupting from his hands in an arc. It was too fast, too unexpected to block, so I thrust Asha behind me, taking the brunt of the attack.
I grunted with the impact as pain built in my core, radiating out to my arms and legs. It was as if I was being stuck repeatedly with tiny, hot pins, the heat of them scorching my muscles and bones.
Asha’s high-pitched whine had me breaking through the haze for a moment, only to see her bent over, arms clutched to her stomach.
Seconds later, agony flared in my abdomen, fire spreading upward to my chest and down to my crotch.
I roared in pain, the intensity of the attack only increasing with every reaction I gave the Pain Mage.
My vision blackened, dots dancing around my eyes before it all suddenly subsided, not even a residual whisper remaining.
I cracked my eyelids open, breathing in the scent of petrichor and death as hot blood spurted over my face. Panic flared down the Bond, and I shoved myself to my knees in time to see Asha stab the man through his genitals a second time.
Color leeched from the Mage’s face as blood ran down the length of her sword. A look of pure savage delight crossed Asha’s face as she twisted the blade, eviscerating his internal organs.
The man collapsed on the ground, twitching once before growing still.
His Vessel, a young wisp of a woman, stood frozen, her face awash in horror, as Asha rose from the ground like a phoenix.
Asha cocked her head to the side, braided red hair spattered with the blood of her enemies following the movement.
“Go,” she rasped, gesturing with her chin to the now-shaking woman. She was impossibly thin, the bones of her elbows jutting from her arms, her cheeks sunken.
“Thank you,” she rasped, her amber eyes clouded with confusion, before she turned and ran, fleeing the battlefield.
Asha collapsed back in exhaustion, resting her head against my shoulder.
“How did you break through that pain?” I asked.
Asha laughed humorlessly.
“Leave it to a man to thinkthatwas worse than childbirth.”
I laughed then, deep and loud, drawing more attention than I wanted in this moment. I wanted just another minute to hold her, recharge and connect before we were inevitably forced to kill again.
It will all be worth it when we get to see Fia—when we’re all safe.
“How much longer?” Asha mumbled, rocking her forehead from side to side.
I cupped the back of her head, massaging the base of her skull as I kissed her blood-soaked hair.
“Just stay with me, Asha. Stay with me,” I mumbled. “We’re almost there.”
