“Come on, sweetheart.” He straightened and flashed her a bloodied grin. “You know I’m not that easy to kill.”
Nik lunged forward, blade flashing through the rain. He moved with grit and precision, but he was bleeding, ribs cracked—or worse. Katell deflected each strike with the braces on her wrists and countered.
A sharp wrench disarmed him, his blade spinning through the air.
But Nik didn’t stop. He drove forward, shoulders lowered, teeth bared.
She caught him mid-thrust, and for a breath, held him there.
Nik’s mouth opened, maybe to speak her name, but then her boot slammed into his torso. The force hurled him off his feet, body colliding with a standing stone. He slumped at its base, still and unmoving.
Alena’s heart seized. “Nik!”
Her scream tore through the storm. Katell turned towards her, rain streaking her face like war paint. Even unarmed, she radiated danger. She’d always been a strong fighter, but since leaving Camp Bessi her skills had sharpened. And with her unnatural strength, she was more than formidable.
She waslethal.
Alena raised her blade, heart racing, memories of their sparring matches flashing through her mind. There had to be a way to reach her—some ember of the sister she knew was still buried deep.
“Alena, get out of the circle!” Leukos’ voice cracked.
She shook her head, pulse pounding as Katell closed in, fists clenched. “I’m not leaving you!”
Leukos was already moving—sprinting towards them with reckless speed. “Alena,move!”
Katell drew a dagger from her belt and spun, impossibly fast. With a brutal twist, she drove it into the gap beneath his ribs—right through the weakest part of his leather breastplate.
“Leukos!” Alena lunged forward.
A flash of motion—and pain tore through her cheek. Katell’s backhand struck full force, knocking her sideways.
Her vision blurred.
She blinked through the haze just in time to see Leukos stumble forward. One hand gripped the dagger jutting from his side, blood soaking his fingers. His face was white with pain, but his eyes burned.
He lunged, trying to reach Katell, to stop her, to shield Alena.
Terror crushed Alena’s chest. A strangled sob tore from her throat. “Leukos?—!”
Katell’s hand shot out, seizing his shoulder. With a violent shove, she sent him skidding through the mud. He slammed into the nearest stone with a grunt, clutching the wound. Crimson spread beneath him, and he crumpled to the side, unconscious.
The world tilted. Alena couldn’t breathe. The roar of the rain faded beneath the pounding in her ears.
He wasn’t moving.
No, no,no!
The nightmare she’d never dared speak—never let herself imagine—was here. Her sister might’ve just killed the man she loved.
But Katell was already upon her.
Her strikes came fast and brutal. Each blow landed with the force of thunder, reverberating through Alena’s arms in relentless shockwaves. Her knees sank into the mud. Muscles trembling, she raised her arms to shield herself.
Rain lashed the earth that had long since turned to sludge. The sky was a bruised grey, thunder and battle rumbling in the distance.
Across the circle, Nik’s chest rose in shallow bursts, while Leukos lay facedown, wheezing. Rain traced rivulets down his bare arm, mingling with blood.
Alena stood alone.
