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The travesty of someone allowing their thirst for blood and power to overcome empathy is something I will never let happen to me . Not when I grew up seeing power chosen over love at every opportunity. Power over land. Power over control. Power over their own family.
My mind slips in concentration for only a moment, and my thigh aches with pain. A particularly large Underling smirks as if he just won a fucking war.
I turn to him, eager to whip that smirk off of his pocked face, when a voice calls from behind. Only years of Solarball readied me for the quickness of the strike to come. I close my eyes just in time for a blayze flash of light, so intensely bright it could only belong to one person.
“Got you, Cas,” Leaf says from my right.
I give him a quick nod of thanks.
He draws his longsword, and we stand shoulder to shoulder. Two brothers ready to fight together. Die together.
Because I would, I realize, blood draining from my face.
I would sacrifice myself if it meant the man standing next to me would live.
As if sensing my thoughts, Leaf turns to me with a wicked grin stretching across his face. “You look like shit.”
I grin back, knowing full well that my already bloodied armour is about to get bloodier. We turn in unison back to the approaching shapes. “Together?”
“Together.”
Then, we charge.
Our blades move as extensions of our bodies, our thoughts, from training since birth to fight in a world destined to break apart once more. We were ready. Are ready.
Taman screeches again. Leaf turns back, and I cover him, giving him time to assess the situation. Parts of Underlings rain down in severed pieces. The rocs are vicious with their attacks, scooping up fully armored Underlings and shredding them into ribbons before dropping them on top of their kin.
Blood rains in heavy droplets. Taman’s shoulder is still bleeding.
Leaf shouts to the sky. “Taman! I order you to return to the Aviary!”
I will not leave you, Sapling.
Another arrow arcs through the air toward the dark bird only to disintegrate into a ball of ash from a well-placed sphere of sunfyre thrown by Ramona.
As more Underlings charge, I ready my blades. I can handle a few, but ten? “Leaf, I need you.”
“TAMAN, AS THE ROYAL HEIR TO THE FOREST TRIBE, I ORDER YOU TO ABANDON POST. RETURN TO THE FOREST TRIBE IMMEDIATELY.”
My entire body erupts in shivers at Leaf’s commanding tone, so different from his usual demeanor. Power drips from every syllable and into the environment around him. This isn’t Leaf, the young Watcher. No, that man left the moment his roc was attacked. The person I see before me is Leaf, the heir to an incredibly powerful throne. Taman is at risk if he stays, and Leaf knows it. Wing injuries are the most serious for rocs. If he doesn’t get help soon, he may never recover. Eventually the bird relents, flying off into the distance, but not before snatching up an Underling then dropping him for good measure.
A scream echoes across the barren land. I whip my head in the direction of the sound.
Five Underlings approach Akemi and Esther from the shadows.
My vision tunnels.
Ramona’s mouth is moving as she runs, approaching Leaf and me, but I cannot hear.
Heru is off to the side, cornering another handful of Oksvakt.
Leaf hits my back. “—hear me? CASTOR!”
Suddenly, everything moves slower. Leaf grabs my chin, forcing me to look away from Akemi and Esther.
“Ramona and I have this. GO!” Then he pushes me back toward camp.
My first few steps are like wading through heavy currents, then all at once, the world snaps back into action. All of my muscles are fully engaged, pushing into the earth down to the final push from my toes. Closer. I need to get closer!
