AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t think he can do it alone,” Slyth replies, after taking a few seconds to think seriously. “But I also don’t think he is alone. He’s got Rory. And he’s got me. And I think you could be a powerful ally in that struggle, too.”
“You really think so?”
“Killing Prince Zalith wasn’t what you needed to do. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be needed. Sometimes it takes time to find what you’re needed for. But I believe you will find something. And I believe you’ll do it well.”
“I hope that’s true. But I’ve trained myself to be a killer for so long. What if that’s all I know how to do?”
“I don’t think you just trained yourself to be a killer,” he says, laying his hand on my shoulder. “I think you trained yourself to be a protector.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you don’t fight because you like to kill people. You fight because you want to stand up for people who have been trampled down. You don’t want to destroy. You want to save.”
I’m about to try and come up with something to respond, but we’re interrupted by the sound of shouting and clashing metal. Something’s going on outside. But what?
Ripped from our tender moment, Slyth and I both stand up and draw our weapons. With him by my side, I’m ready to protect the man who a moment ago I was planning to kill.
27
SLYTH
My body stills. My muscles relax.
I grip Lorelai in my arms, smoothing her hair back to reassure her. Tears still fall gently from her eye down her cheek.
It’s a delicate moment, positioned somewhere between tranquility and chaos. I continue to wipe away the moisture from her soft cheeks, kissing her and embracing her. I’ve just finished telling her that she’s a protector, not a murderer. She thinks of how to respond. I can see her blushing.
She jumps to alertness. “What was that? What’s going on?”
In the window, I can see that the once serene moonlight has turned orange, and just noticing the glow of fire outside, my body grows hot.
Screams fill the castle halls leading to us.
The sounds of metal scraping against metal now surround us.
I’ve trained my whole life for this. I grab my sword, trying to prepare for something I can’t even define. I don’t know how to answer her question. I don’t know what’s happening. But I have to face it, anyway.
There’s a small voice inside my head that torments me.Somehow, she’s responsible, it whispers to me.
I shake it off, watching her grab weapons of her own. I want to believe she’s using them to help. To be the protector I just told her she could be.
“We need to go,” I tell her.
She grips my hand and joins me as we race out of the room and into the halls. We only make it a short way before we run into Zalith, and at least I know he is safe for the time being. Whatever is happening down there, he is with us. We rush through halls and down flights of stone stairs until we see the carnage on the floor below.
Blood stains the normally pristine stone floors. Looking out, we see guards, entrenched in combat against familiar enemies.
“Kriseri.”
I ready my sword but immediately see a bright light to my left that swells and fills my vision. Looking over, Lorelai’s hand ignites, producing a hot, swirling ball of orange energy that expands in her grasp.
My heart stops, and I remember the office. The enlarged green eyes of the guard, as he turns his head to glance at Lorelai, match the bright coloration of his scales.
The fire hurtles from her hand, colliding with Kriseri’s soldier, then dissipating to nothing as his scales are left black and charred and he falls to the ground.
“Oh, come on,” she says. “Don’t let me have all the fun.”
She turns toward us. Zalith’s eyes are orbs, bulging out of their sockets, mouth hanging open. I can’t bring myself to wonder why I doubted her, even for a moment.
