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“Nylah!” he shouted and threw the sword toward her.
Nylah had her hand up, power flowing from her fingers that warded off the attackers. But they also had magic. They fought her barrier, and shockwaves of power came toward me as their magic clashed.
Nylah let them go, her sword raised. Magic exploded around her when she let out a cry and brought the sword down on the first warrior.
I couldn’t keep watching. The attackers were on me now, too. I jumped up, and when magic hurtled toward me, I did what Nylah had taught me to do—I shifted my focus inward and fought it off.
“We’re under attack!” someone shouted from the watchtower.
If only that warning would have come a few minutes sooner. Before he could shout again, an arrow pierced his chest, and the limp body fell from the tower.
My blood ran cold, and I had to think quick.
I ran to the equipment rack and found a sword and shield. It was heavy, but adrenaline strengthened me. The hand-to-hand combat came as second nature. I didn’t have to think about blocking the strikes, twist out of the kicks, and return the blows. Dex had taught me well, building on the fighting skills I’d taught myself.
“Ellie!” Nylah screamed, and when I looked over my shoulder, a sword flew in my direction.
I twisted in the air, avoiding the blade, and lifted the shield so the sword clattered to the ground. The next warrior on me had a ball and chain, and I lifted the shield again, blocking the blow before I finished the warrior without a hitch.
They surrounded us.
It didn’t take long before Rainier joined the fight. I didn’t have time to see him with the attacks raining down on me, but it was poetry in motion to watch him in battle. He had fluid movements and a strength that was unparalleled.
The rest of the elite guard arrived, dressed for war, and their collective fury overpowered whatever else I might have felt. When the elite guard joined the fray, we were no longer overpowered. All around me, swords clanged, and screams created a backdrop for the arena.
“What have we got?” I heard Zita asking one warrior while she fought effortlessly. She made it look like a warmup.
“A bit of excitement, for a change,” the warrior answered.
Zita laughed and finished off the attacker with ease.
“Ellie, watch out!” she yelled, and I spun around.
Another attacker came toward me with a large sledgehammer. I was painfully aware of their medieval weapons when everything around us seemed state-of-the art. It was almost primitive.
I wasn’t strong enough to fight off the enormous man, and Rainier ran to me. He blocked the blow, and it was as if that gateway between us had opened again. We fought side by side, and I knew what he would do and when he would do it. Together, we took on a few more men. We moved in unison. I struck when he blocked and vice versa. When he ducked, I was there to fill in for him, and when he stood, I came from behind.
One by one, the bodies dropped. Fury and fear fueled me. Fury, coming from Rainier. It was searing hot, like a heatwave pressing down—and acrid fear, my own. But we succeeded. I fought off the clutching hands of terror that threatened to wrap around my throat and squeeze. I took deep breaths, ignoring that my breathing was getting harder. Ren had asked me to stay because I was a good fighter. So, I would be that fighter. The fear would not take hold of me. I wouldn’t let it.
When the fight was over, bodies lay strewn around us on the training arena floor. Blood stained the sand. It was on my hands, splattered on my face and neck and smeared on my arms and legs.
The other warriors looked just as bad. Zita had smears of blood on her face, chest heaving, but she grinned white teeth. She lived for the fight.
I didn’t feel elated at all.
My heart hammered against my chest, and my breath rasped in and out of my lungs as I gasped for air. My legs trembled, my knuckles were sore, and my fingers felt fused to the hilt of the sword.
Rainier and I locked eyes. His chest rose and fell in sync with my own breath. Sweat glistened on his brow. Was he aware of the connection?
I started trembling. The adrenaline faded, and I sank to the ground, unable to keep myself up anymore. I’d been detached, watching as if from afar. Now I crashed down to earth, and I was in the center of it all.
“Oh, no…no,” I said, looking around.
There was so much blood, so much carnage, and so muchdeath. And at my hands.
“It’s okay, Ellie,” Nylah said, coming to me. She looked just as dirty and splattered with blood as everyone else, but her eyes were steely, her expression solemn. “This was an act of war, and you did what you needed to do.”
“How did they get into the palace?” Rainier boomed, turning toward the palace like a thunderstorm.
