Tristan spreads his wings, using them like a shield, but the creatures still rip the sword out of his hand.
He chased a few away, and I sink to the floor as they zoom around the room, filling the air with the scent of cruelty. For once, I’m not their target.
Gloombane moves his arms, forehead wrinkling in concentration, but Tristan won’t let him finish the spell he’s working on and flings himself straight at him. The shadow spikes flash in the mossy glow of the torches, and I hold my breath, eager to see Gloombane bleed.
Is that what he’s made me become? Someone with so much hurt in their heart that another person’s suffering feels like a reward?
I hate him.
I hate this bastard so much.
I squeeze the knife in my hand. I’m so dazed I forgot I took it with me, but my survival instinct must have not let me part with it. I can’t do much with it against a powerful shadow wielder like Gloombane, but I get a vague sense of safety from holding a blade.
My eyes are glued to the men fighting as I crawl along the wall. Where would I even go if I made it out of the tower? I can’t swim in my state, and just the idea of plunging into the dangerous water makes me struggle for air as panic weaves its way through every fiber in my body.
For a moment I worried that Tristan might be defenseless without his sword, but with a roar of absolute fury, he hurls himself at Gloombane. The shadowy spikes he grew all over himextend, their pointy ends like a barrage of pikes aimed at only one man.
His whole body is a weapon.
Gloombane can’t react fast enough, and Tristan topples him, pinning him to the floor. Spikes sink into my jailor’s flesh with a nasty squelch.
The agonising scream Gloombane lets out makes me still in disbelief, tears I thought I didn’t have left pooling in my eyes.
This isn’t a dream.
Tristanreallyis here.
He’s come for me. And he’s about to avenge every single evil the captain has inflicted.
Warmth spreads through my chilled bones. I crawl closer, lured by the tartness of blood, but when the cold blue eyes find mine, their fury has me flat on the floor, cheek pressed to damp stone. Revenge is coming, and I will feel every indignity Gloombane is forced to suffer now.
His teeth are stained with blood as he stirs under Tristan, suffering a hard punch to the side of the head, but shadows crawl from between the stone bricks and dark corners, buzzing with fury as they once again transform into bats and fall onto Tristan’s unprotected back.
When he slaps them away with his wings, some of them attach to his legs, while others latch onto his arms, melting over them into a solid goo that won’t let him punch Gloombane.
The focus on the captain’s face is so intense he doesn’t pay me any mind. To him, I don’t even exist. After all, he’s told me many times how I’m not even a person, just a means to an end. A very useless one at that.
Tristan grunts in frustration, face flushed. They’re like two beasts locked in a deathly embrace neither can escape.
“You will bleed out like this,” Tristan hisses and spits into Gloombane’s face.
The captain’s cruel eyes narrow, and my stomach clenches in terror. This look means agony to come.
With a nasty snap, the bubbling shadow covering one of Tristan’s arm like a cast bends it out of shape, and my knight howls, jerking over Gloombane like a frog leg jolted by electricity.
Gloombane’s bloodstained face twists into a satisfied smirk, and I can’t watch it any longer.
I have barely any strength left in me, but desperate fury fuels my forward stumble. I can’t keep myself upright, so I support my upper body with my hands, but once I reach the two elves and Gloombane finally remembers my existence, it’s too late for him.
I stab his throat before he can hurt me with another cruel word.
Blood erupts from the severed artery like a fountain, and the blade slips over bone, sinking deeper toward the spine.
The captain gurgles, his eyes widening with rage and contempt.
I don’t want him to look at me. Never again.
I jab the knife at his face, and it slides down the bastard’s upper cheekbone, diving straight into the tender jelly of his eye.
