Knocking it to the bowstring, I tore down the hill.
Fire and light illuminated the night. Light.
The Solhearts were out here, with the monsters. They were one and the same. Allies.
Silhouettes danced between the trees, too many to count. I saw a man in white, with a streak of red hair—Paragon Tiernan. He clashed with a man in ebony armor, a mere blur against the night.
Raising Siotha, I tried to steady my aim, eyes darting around the glade.
A sea of trees spilled down the hill to my north and west, dark and obscuring. How many Solhearts hid within that darkness? My eyes shot east, scanning the sloping hills of snow, the jagged crystals rising from the white.
Gentle blue light spilled off the crystals, illuminating the empty fields—empty, save for a single silhouette walking toward us.
Golden threads burst from the shadow and wrapped around my wrists, nearly tearing the bow from my grip.
The radiant threads drew back, releasing me. They flowed back to the shadow under the crystals, a man dressed in all black, eyes glowing bright yellow.
Quinn, Glenn—whatever his name was—I was going to tear him apart until he told me the truth.
Turning from the battle, I raced after Quinn. He whirled on his heel and sprinted into the sea of crystals.
"Diar!" Ferris shouted after me.
Fitting my arrow back to the bow, I lifted it and fired. A streak of ice followed in the arrow's wake as it flew long, whirling past Quinn. He turned, flicking his hand back. Golden threads ripped through the air, looping around Siotha and snapping it in half.
I felt the bow give, and expected to look down to see myself holding its broken pieces. The ice within the bow shifted, melting, reforming. Twin daggers sharpened in my hands.
'Paragon weapons can shift to fit their wielders.'A wicked grin tore across my face.
Flipping the blades around, I threw them toward the Solheart's back. He ducked at the last moment, and the daggers soared over his head, thudding into the crystal formation behind him.
The blades shattered into shards of ice, then reformed in my hands. Throwing myself forward, I lunged at Quinn. His threads whirled around him, reforging into a sword that blocked my strike.
I slammed my blades against his—a golden sword composed of light.
Just like the assassin had wielded, that night.
Quinn slipped away from me, and I gave chase. We traded blows, magicked blades clashing against one another with an unearthly ring.
Our battle didn't last long, but it was enough. Enough to tell this wasn't the man who'd taken my brother's life—his movements were slow and powerful, practiced and careful—nothing like the lithe dancer I'd glimpsed through the smoke.
Wind erupted between us, forcing us apart. Quinn slid back through the snow and looked up with a sneer.
"Turning traitor, Ferris?" He called.
Stiffening, I twisted my neck to look behind. Ferris stood beneath a glowing crystal, hand outstretched. The emerald dragon floated at his side.
"You didn't know, did you?" Quinn said, breathing heavily. "That Ferris was one of us."
My teeth ground together. "And who is 'us'"
"Who else?" Quinn lowered his blade. "The people who should be your allies. We who killed the Emperor."
Blood pounded in my ears, drowning out the world. Hot, fiery rage boiled inside me.
How dare he? How dare he claim to be my ally when his people had taken my brother's life? They would have killed me, too, had Akemi not pulled me from my burning room.
I threw myself at Quinn again, but the raging wind tore us apart. I tried to fight the gale, but for every step forward I took, I slid two steps back.
