Under his breath, Julius mutters, “And outmatched.”
I nod, realizing they intend to give me no time to warm up, and it will be straight to action again. I take a breath to steady myself before separating my feet to get into my fighting stance.
My eyes narrow on Odessa as I prepare for her to go on the offensive. She glances at Julius, and they square up.
Odessa leaps at me, sword out, jabbing quickly at my stomach.
“Good,” she utters as I deflect her sword and bring mine back in front of me, readying for Julius’s attack.
My skin tingles like a gentle current running all over my body, and I see the move he plans to make before it happens and dodge out of the way. They share a look. Confusion twists Odessa’s face.
They didn’t expect me to be ready.
The bottom half of my sight becomes hazy, a faint glow radiating up from my arms as I hold my sword out in front of me. Risking vulnerability, I quickly glance down.
I am, in fact, glowing; a light golden hue gleams from my skin. Odessa’s eyes widen, and she gasps.
Julius takes a step back.
“You’re using power,” she whispers.
Odessa looks over at Julius fearfully.
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t know, it just started happening,” I insist, shock coursing through me. “My skin began tingling, and I could see in my mind what you were about to do before you did it.”
I lower my sword and twist my arms, studying the light as it shimmers on my skin.
Julius frowns, turning to face Odessa, who’s still staring at me, her mouth agape. “We can’t allow this,” he murmurs quietly to her.
My ears prick at the insinuation, and I glance up at them.
“What do you mean?” Wariness floods through my veins.
They share a long look. Something deadly passes between them before Odessa nods.
My necklace begins pulsing, its icy chill becoming painful.Odessa swallows, turns back to me, and raises her sword. Pure hatred coats her features.
“What are you doing?” I retreat a step, my stomach bottoming out at her challenging stare. “What’s going on?” I demand, but my voice shakes lightly with fear.
Julius launches himself at me, not pulling his strength at all. He swings his sword down in an arc meant to decapitate me.
Luckily, I see it happen a moment before he’s actually launching himself at me, and I manage to dive out of the way. Fear pulses through me, causing my hands to tremble, and I grip my sword tightly.
A new vision flashes of Odessa skirting around me, and I struggle to discern what’s about to happen and what’sactuallyhappening.
She tries to ease around me as I battle against Julius, and she sneaks a punch to my face as I block his latest swing. Spots erupt in my vision from the force of her blow. But I turn to the side, keeping them both in my line of sight, as they work me back towards the fence.
The clang of metal upon metal echoes around us, the pace becoming more frenzied. It’s an effort to control my breathing. I don’t want to gas out from the exertion it’s taking to battle them both. My muscles ache with the effort it takes to continue to move quickly while deflecting their oncoming blows.
They continue slashing and jabbing at me, working in unison to break me. Constant flashes of what’s coming followed by what happens vie for priority.
I misinterpret a few attacks, and it costs me a punch to the face and a burning sensation ripping across my ribs. I stumble back in shock.
My blood boils.
It’s not fair.
