Rell and Symond surged in.
Symond aimed high—dumb but brave. Rell went low, sliding beneath the bastard’s swing, blade aimed for the thigh gap in the plating.
But Fane wasn’t slow. Even injured, he twisted, one meaty fist crashing into Rell’s side like a battering ram.
Everything spun.
Rell hit the wall hard. His back screamed. His ribs protested. He spat out blood and wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist.
“Damn it.”
Symond’s blade struck true a moment later, slicing across Fane’s forearm, but he paid for it. Fane slammed him into the opposite wall like a thrown sack of grain.
And then, Fane lifted the vial again.
No more time.
“Elora!” Rell barked, eyes darting toward her makeshift cover.
She was there. Pale. Bruised. Steady. And reaching.
The enchanted dagger gleamed in her hand.
One heartbeat later, the blade flew.
It spun once, twice, three times—then buried itself in the side of Fane’s thick neck.
The magic took hold instantly.
Fane jerked, confused. His arms slowed. The fire in his eyes dulled for just a breath.
“Vye! Symond!” Rell shouted. “Move!”
Violette didn’t even glance his way. She fired one last bolt, forcing Fane back a step, then bolted for the door. Symond ran after her. Both of them made it outside just as the vial—still clutched in Fane’s trembling hand—was coming down.
Rell’s blood went cold.
“Elora!” he roared, lunging toward her.
The vial hit the floor with a sound that didn’t belong in nature. Like glass snapping between dimensions.
BOOM!
The shockwave blew through the barn like a monster exhaling.
Rell dove, grabbing Elora by the waist and pulling her into him. They hit the dirt behind the crates just as the explosion tore the building apart.
Beams cracked. The roof folded in. Nails screamed as they were ripped from timber. Splinters sliced past like shrapnel. The world was chaos—fire, noise, heat.
Rell gritted his teeth and curled tighter around her.
“Stay down, Sunshine,” he muttered into her hair, arms locked around her.
Elora trembled, pressed against him, but she didn’t cry out.
The barn groaned above them—a warning.
Then it gave out entirely.
