And even as I watched, Myel, on wings of steel, sliced through a group nearby. That little shifter was… something else. I’d never seen any shifter take out elves like that.
Now it was my turn.
Though I hesitated as my sweeping gaze fell to Izzy and the sword puncturing her gut.
She needed me.
She’d freed me, and I needed to return the favor. With another roar, I blasted earth all around me. Though the elves were prepared this time and most defended themselves, stopping my earthen attack.
Fuck!
Myel landed next to me. “Don’t worry about Izzy,” he said with a massive manic grin as he spun, wings out, cutting down more of the foe. “She’ll be fine. She’s got Valnea right where she wants her.”
Truly?
Myel was bound to Izzy in a far deeper way than I was and he didn’t seem worried at all. I should trust him.
Ha!
Trust.
I hadn’t trusted anyone for ages, but…
I did trust this little kick-ass shifter… and Izzy. I trusted her to have my back, to free me from my chains, and to be the indomitable warrior that she was.
So, I joined Myel in this fight. Slowly, we pushed toward Izzy, where Vyns was keeping a space around her.
Then a dragon landed nearby, Koar. And a flaming demon burned through more of the foe, Rook. With their aid, the four of us pushed through to where Vyns kept the others at bay and watched our woman be the badass she was.
IZZY
“How couldyou think you could ever win against me!” Valnea shouted in victory.
“Oh?” I said with a vicious grin, blood bubbling up out of my mouth and down over my chin. I grabbed her hands on the hilt of the sword, keeping them in place, so she couldn’t do more damage by twisting the blade, or moving it, or even withdrawing it. I wanted to keep that blade right where it was.
The exultation and triumph in Valnea’s eyes faltered.
With a thought, I healed the massive internal bleeding. It would hurt like hell when this sword came out and I’d have to heal myself again, but for now, I was stable. And with my hands clamped around Valnea’s she could do little but spit at me.
Because I’d also woven a binding on the earth around us, like I’d done in the titan arena, cancelling any other earth magic which wasn’t stronger than mine. And in the next instant, Valnea must have tried something because her eyes went even more wild.
“What did you do?” she hissed.
“I’ve beaten you,” I whispered, then headbutted her for lack of anything better to do, since my hands were occupied.
Valnea staggered but couldn’t fall back with her hands still trapped by mine. She swayed on her feet, and before she could recover, I bound her.
“Call off your forces, you’ve lost,” I said, stronger.
“Never!” she spat, because I hadn’t bound her to obey me. I’d put the same binding on her as I had on Saldrea. Every violent thought she had against me would happen to her instead.
Later, I would wish I’d done something else, because the binding showed me just how cruel and disgusting the false queen was. It all happened so fast, she didn’t have time to stop it, to realize what she was doing and save herself.
Cuts sliced her skin, flaying her, as long claw marks tore off the skin of her face. Her eyes were yanked out, as was her tongue, then her teeth. Her arms and legs were crushed, bones broken to nothing, then the limbs were ripped right off. A massive slice from neck to navel opened her up and her ribs were broken wide open, her organs pulled out, as what remained of her seemed to be boiled alive.
She didn’t even scream as she disintegrated before me in a horrifying display.
What.
