Page 5 of Black Sea

His mate’s two parts sagged and split open, collapsing to the ground. With heartbreaking sounds, my brother sank down next to her, cupping her face with his hands and pressing his forehead to hers, his shoulders trembling with sobs.

With a painful vice tightening around my heart, I turned in horror to my king, who was staring at his shattered spear.

Stand up, Father, please.

But he was overwhelmed.

So, I shifted my focus to Mornon, who brushed the Crystal on his chest with his fingertips.

“I hope you’re watching, Calien,” he said, sounding almost disgustingly intimate. “I will end your bloodline, and your pain will be so great that you will no longer have the strength to fight me. Finally, your power will be mine.”

He grasped the hilt of his broadsword with both hands and lifted it, ready to stab Araton in the back.

Using my race’s supernatural speed, I charged at him and blocked his blade with mine, pushing it back so forcefully that he slightly gave ground.

“Then start with me,” I said, stepping in front of my family.

The moment Mornon looked at me, his eyes burned more intensely. “As you wish, young elf.”

He attacked me with a ferocity I had never experienced before. With each parry, the impact of his strike buzzed through my bones, making my teeth clench. Despite my quick dodges, his blade scratched my armor multiple times, emitting a faint screech. Despite his size, he was faster than I was.

Stronger.

And he was just toying with me. I could tell from the ease with which he defended himself from my attacks, from how he gave me a few seconds to recover when he threw a punch at me, looking at me rapaciously.

As the minutes passed, I started to struggle. Mornon’s sword broke the chainmail visible at the crook of my elbow and then sliced into my thigh, tearing my leather pants.

The blood rushed to the surface of my skin instantly, flowing copiously down my knee and forearm, coating my hand and making my grip on the hilt slippery.

However, something else emerged with it.

A voice speaking my name. Over and over.

I got distracted, and the tip of his black weapon sliced into my cheek, causing me to burst out in a sharp scream. My gaze was drawn to the Crystal in the center of Mornon’s chest, and that’s when it hit me.

Calien was calling me.

Focused on her despair, I didn’t notice the enemy had come closer until he was towering over me, and I was powerless to do anything when he seized me by the throat. Instinctively, I released my sword, and my hands went to Mornon’s iron glove, his wrist so thick that my fingers couldn’t wrap all the way around it.

“Nauriel!” Father screamed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him stand up, pick up Araton’s sword from the ground, and throw himself at Mornon.

The enemy simply swung his dark weapon through the air, using an invisible force to push King Erech back and send him crashing into the same spot he had been until that moment.

“Father!” I yelled, punching Mornon’s arm in a futile effort to break free.

He turned his attention back to me and slowly tightened his grip. The frantic beat of my heart pounded in my ears, drowning out any sound except my panting breath.

Until Calien’s call overpowered every feeling of mine.

As if hypnotized, I removed one of my hands from Mornon’s arm and reached out toward the Crystal. I pressed my palm against it, and I was sure I sensed my enemy flinch.

“What are you doing?” he hissed.

My eyes darted up to him, and the words Calien was reciting in my mind started to spill from my lips.

“ You can’t take it. It must be given.”