I was so consumed by my own heartache, and Stellen’s serene countenance seemed so unshakable, that I only now contemplate what will happen if he loses Lilis today.
Stellen may be heartless, and Lilis may be cruel, but she’s stood at his side for years. She’s the only Frost Fae who would speak with him. The only Frost Fae, it seems, willing to come within a few feet of him. When she came to kill him all those years ago, he let her live.
She’s a survivor. So is he.
I’m determined to stay alive, but I won’t allow a new loss to flood his hollow spaces.
Across the distance, Brunkil gnashes his teeth.
The peace breaks and the first row ofshapeshifters leaps at us, half of them remaining in their fae forms while the other half shift into their wolf forms.
I was prepared to play it safe, stay back, let Nara and Stellen take the brunt of the fight, but my instincts scream at me to act.
As Nara plows toward the wolves on my right, and Stellen leaps toward the shapeshifters on my left, I race toward the gap in the middle.
Two shapeshifters still in fae form see me coming and twist away from Stellen to launch themselves at me, both shifting mid-air, their abandoned fur coats floating behind them.
With a sharp, deliberate shout, I leap to meet them, punching both fists forward, left then right in quick succession.
My reflexes are lightning fast, my aim nearly perfect.
My left fist collides with the first wolf’s shoulder and my right fist hits the other wolf’s neck.
Two hard hits, but it’s my shout that does the most damage.
Silver threads shoot down my arms, separating from the rest of my Lethian armor, tearing through my training suit to form needles as sharp as blades.
Blood sprays as the threads tear through the heart of the wolf on my left and decapitate the wolf on my right.
I land on the newly bloodied ground, aware that the threads along my right arm are keeping to the back of that arm, swirling across my knuckles instead of around my palm to avoid contact with the blood bind, but their more careful path didn’t make them any slower.
I’ve broken through the first row and now the second is upon me.
Ten shapeshifters rage at me, some as wolves, some in fae form, and my focus becomes pinpoint.
As they leap forward, I stay aware of Stellen, who quicklydispatches the shapeshifters he was facing, using only his sword and conserving his frost power.
Nara shakes herself free of the three wolves she was facing and charges ahead, forcing more wolves into my path.
I’m not afraid to face them.
A rush of energy spikes through my body, every heartbeat making me faster, more alert, my senses heightened, as all of my training kicks in.
While my body moves fast, the onslaught around me suddenly feels…slow.
I launch myself toward the shapeshifters quicker than they can leap at me, spinning from one to the next, my silver armor responding to my needs as rapidly as my thoughts can fly.
My fists move in a blur, my silver armor tearing through flesh and bones as I whirl from one attacker to the next, turning the ground around me into a mess of blood and death.
As I spin to my left, I catch sight of Stellen where he fights, still only using his swords and not his frost power.
His focus flashes to me at that same moment.
A rare smile forms on his lips as his eyes meet mine. A full smile. Quietly serene.
His whisper reaches me through air now glittering with silver blades. “Warriorandqueen.”
I don’t know what he means and I don’t have time to contemplate it.
