AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nodded, keeping my gaze fixed on Haleika as she stumbled forward, uneasy on her legs. She wasn’t moving with purpose, yet at the same time her pace was picking up with unnatural speed. She appeared to be walking, almost aimlessly, yet her feet were carrying her with the speed of a running soturion. I blinked at the odd visual, unable to wrap my mind around it.
She froze. Her back arched, and a look of pure pain etched across her delicate features.
“It’s starting,” Rhyan said. “Stay calm. You can do this. She’s just a rope, Lyr. She’s just another rope.”
I bit my lip, swallowing hard.
Her arms strained at her sides as she threw them out. Her hands opened and flexed in pain, her muscles straining and tensing. Haleika turned her face to the sky, and a cold gust of wind blew her hair back as a cry of absolute horror erupted from her mouth. It was a scream born of pure agony and pain—of the loss of her soul, the loss of her life, and now, at last, the loss of her body.
“HAL!” A cry just as full of pain reverberated across the arena. The voice was deep, anguished. Galen. “Haleika! No!”
Tears burned in my eyes.
“I can’t watch,” I cried.
“You must. Do not look away from a demon. She’s not your friend anymore,” Rhyan said quickly, his voice urgent. “She died last night. Whatever she remembers, there’s no emotion behind it. Sword out. Lyr. Lyr! Sword! Now!”
I unsheathed my sword, watching the silver of my starfire blade catch the flames of the firelight around us. Haleika screamed again, her voice already changing, deepening, growing louder.
It was happening. There was no going back. Her limbs lengthened, and the expanse of her body grew. The loose tunic she’d been dressed in had been too big for her body, but within seconds she was filling it out. One second, it fit, the next it was too tight. The material stretched and pulled until it ripped down the center, tearing open from collar to waist. Rips slit open the sides of the material to make room for her thickened, elongated thighs.
While her body grew, the black mark over her exposed heart shrank smaller and smaller until nothing but pristine, pale white skin lay between the breasts that were straining against the tunic.
Her skin was splitting open with the force of the growth spurt, her veins openly bleeding across her barely concealed body. She pulled her lips back as her teeth sharpened into vicious canines. Her nails spiked into claws, and with a final primal scream of pain and violence, her head snapped from side to side. The transformation was complete.
Her black eyes reddened, focusing with predatory stillness on me and Rhyan. Horror filled me as I realized what was about to happen.
Akadim went for the easiest pickings. As a newborn monster, Haleika was going to be hungry, if not starving. She wasn’t going to prioritize a fight. She’d want a soul to eat. And for once, the easiest opponent to defeat and conquer wouldn’t be me.
It was Rhyan, bound and tied to the pole. Helpless. I didn’t have to just fight and defeat Haleika—I had to protect him.
Knowing that, something inside of me snapped into place. A fierceness and a readiness. A knowing that Rhyan was tearing himself apart inside over saving me from this fate last night—and a knowledge that I would do no less for him. I would tear down anyone or anything that tried to hurt him, no matter the consequences.
My grip tightened on the hilt of my sword as I lifted it, my stance widening, knees bending, body angling. I surveyed our surroundings. Haleika’s feral body-language intensified as her eyes shifted back and forth between me and Rhyan.
The cries from the stadium started anew, filled with hatred and anger. The fear of the Lumerians had formed a tangible aura that weighed down on me as the shouts of“Shekar arkasva”tried to undo me. At least three more fights had broken out, from the sound of it.
I blocked it all out. I’d finish this first. Then I’d deal with whatever was happening in the stands.
I weighed my sword in my hand, adjusting my grip like I’d practiced, until it felt like an extension of my arm. I took one deep breath, and then I ran, charging at Haleika as the crowd screamed, now with a hint of excitement.
Haleika’s focus immediately jumped to me. If she wanted Rhyan, she’d have to go through me first.
I raced at the speed I’d worked so hard to build these last few months, my feet carrying me forward faster than I’d ever run before.
“Lyr,” Haleika hissed, turning to swipe her claws out at me. “Your grace,” she mocked.
I was ready, and with a thrust of my sword I sliced her hand, my blade drawing blood.
She screeched in pain. Her voice was that of an akadim, loud and dark. It made my skin crawl, and yet…Haleika was underneath it. I could hear her unique tone, her unique personality bubbling at the edges of her words. I would have known it was her with my eyes closed, and this knowledge pierced my heart.
No. No. It’s not her. It’s not her. Gods…forgive me.
I rolled my shoulders back, my fingers flexing to prepare for my next attack.
Haleika—no, the akadim who was Haleika—turned, her huge nostrils flaring.
I ran at her again, my eyes on the slit of her hand, on the blood dripping onto the snow. I needed to cut her again, and I needed to do it in the exact same spot.
