Page 58 of The Last Syphon

She ignored the signs, placed her palms flat on the shield, and pushed. The soldiers stumbled back, righted themselves, and attacked again. Inara continued forward. They retreated one step after the other as they struck out at her. The gap between them and the solid wall behind them was diminishing quickly—too quickly.

As if one being, they noticed what predicament they were in at the same time. They switched from attacking to defending. Their backs plastered to the shield wall, and they dug their heels in, searching for purpose and finding none as Inara continued to push and push and push, propelling them forward.

Panic set in quickly. One of the soldiers decided to cut his losses and make a run for it through the open door she and Felix had first come through.

Inara wasn’t having it.

She slammed a shield up in the doorway, blocking his exit. He barged into it and went flying back, landing harshly on the stone ground with a pained grunt.

The crowd was up on their feet, watching with anticipation and awe. The Crowned Prince was the only one to remain seated.

Inara marched forward, one agonising step at a time, the pressure in her head building and building to the point she feared her head might explode and splatter her brains all over the chamber. Despite the pain, despite the incessant hammering behind her eyes, she pushed on, not stopping until the soldiers were completely wedged, their cheeks plastered to the wall with her shield wall at their backs.

Inara didn’t want to kill them. That wasn’t her objective. The goal was just to…scare them a little bit—the soldiers and everyone watching.

Let it be a warning to those who underestimated the power that lurked in the Borderlands.

Only when they were right where she wanted them did Inara finally stop pushing forward.

She took a deep breath in, trying to steady her wildly beating heart. Breathe in, breathe out. In, out. In, out. Her teeth clenched as she blew out each breath, the pain beginning to sneak into every part of her body.

Inara had to end it quickly, or she knew what would happen next.

Spinning on her heels, she bolted, calling on her magic. She wound her arm back and threw an underarm throw. A shield bridge roughly five inches wide appeared, spanning the distance between the two ledges.

She didn’t slow her stride, running across the makeshift bridge to the other side. Only when she was safely across did she raise her hand and clench it into a tight fist. Her shields blinked out of existence as quickly as they had appeared.

The pressure that had been squeezing her finally relinquished its hold. She released a shuddering breath. Inara felt as though she could finally breathe without it causing pain.

There was a brief moment of silence before the crowd roared in celebration. It was loud. Thunderous. People clapped their hands. Stomped their feet. Cheered until their voice went hoarse.

Inara panted, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried desperately to catch her breath. A wave of disorientation washed over her. It took everything she had to keep her body from swaying. Felix clasped her shoulder roughly. She clung to him mentally and physically, using his strength to help ground her.

“Let’s go, Nara,” he whispered softly. His voice was strong but soothing as he urged her forward. Not only that, but it was coated in worry. Felix only called her Nara when he was scared for her.

He let her take the first step so it wouldn’t seem as if he was leading. There were thousands of eyes upon them. It was important they maintain their places.

Inara was to lead. Her Charge was to follow.

Only when they were safely through the door and surrounded on all sides by darkness once more did Inara let the facade slip away.

Her entire body sagged. Felix caught her immediately, his arms snaking around her waist.

“Fuck. You overextended.” He held her upright with seemingly no effort at all. Sometimes, she forgot how strong he was.

“I’m fine.” She wasn’t. But she couldn’t admit it.

“Stop bullshitting me. You’re not. We have to stop this.”

A sudden burst of strength entered her body, and it was entirely hers. It wasn’t from the soul-link. She didn’t syphon it from anyone else. It was born purely from her own willpower and determination not to fail. Perhaps a smidgen of stubbornness, too.

“No.” Inara pushed out of his grasp, standing tall—somewhat anyway. “No. I can’t give up now. I’m so close.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Felix hissed, his anger rising. “You’re down to your reserves. You’ve got shit all left in your tank. To continue on would be foolish.”

“To quit when I’m so close to succeeding would be even more foolish.” Blood dripped out of her nose, and she quickly swiped it away. She couldn’t be any more thankful that they were completely surrounded by darkness. If Felix saw, he would have pulled out if only to save her from herself.

“Nara”—there it was, that worried voice again—“you don’t have to prove shit to these people. Fuck them.”