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26
ZYRANTH
Everything we’ve worked for has come down to this moment.
My limbs are quivering in anticipation and rage. Ariella attempts to soothe me but it does nothing to stop the hateful glee that comes with this victory. There is no other recourse but to win. To lose…
I catch Ariella’s soft cheek, staring into her fathomless emerald eyes.
“We’re going to do this.”
A smile reaches me, but I shake my head. “Iwill do this.
“Everan is mine to kill.”
Worry creases her brow. “I will stand beside you. Always.”
There’s a pain in my chest, one I can’t quite place, but I loathe the thought of putting Ariella in harm's wayagain. “No,” I growl, the word ripping from my throat. “You will stay hidden. I have to face him alone.”
She looks hurt by my suggestion, but concedes, breaking from me. “Be careful, Zyranth. Even weak, Lord Everan is a force to be reckoned with.”
So am I, I consider, my wings spreading out at the challenge.And I am not weak.
Lord Everan waits for me in a clearing. Ariella acts as my shadow until I reach it, then hides herself among the trees. Even after all her work last night in his manor, Lord Everan has a few guards and servants waiting with him.
They’re expecting Dirnyn.
I won’t let him know I’m coming. It’s effortless to flit into the upper branches, where I can hear their murmured conversation. Lord Everan is confident, too confident. He doesn’t seem to notice that I’m close, a fatal error.
“Where is the traitor?”
Everan’s jaw works. “He should have been here an hour ago. Dirnyn must have tucked tail and run.” His entourage laughs. “A pity, I was hoping –”
I leap from the tree and bolt in his direction, claws and teeth out. I expect to meet flesh but he tenses, twisting his face to the sky and summoning a shield made of air. I collide into it hard, feeling a fatal crack as if it’s made of metal.
I disengage, landing lightly on the balls of my feet, ready to strike again.
His guards reform a defensive position as he retreats behind them. “Zyranth! Old friend, I didn’t expect to see you here!”
I’m shearing through armor and dodging weapons, with no time to speak. My rage for this encounter has been building for some time, and I will not be left unrequited. “Craven bastard!” I snarl, tearing down another of his guards.
They retake their formation effortlessly, never letting me get to their master.
It gives Everan enough time to collect himself for the battle. That is what I was hoping to avoid with my ambush. He’s grinning menacingly as he rises from the group, suspended by his own magic. “Don’t be like that, pet. It’ssogood to see you again.”
I dodge another spear, using my wings to vault me into the air. When I reach him, my claws sweep at his unprotected front. Lightning explodes between us, and I’m blinded briefly. But my other senses are intact, and I swipe in his direction. I hit something. Another force field shatters beneath my brutal strike.
My wings catch air to keep me suspended, and I go for his throat.
He issues a battle roar of his own, lunging to meet me with fire at his fingertips. The heat sears me, but it’s nothing my scales can’t handle. I manage to latch on to him and we spiral up, into the air in an explosive barrage of blows and magic.
Below us, I think I hear a dark elf screaming.
Ariella?
The thought of her fighting his guards alone distracts me long enough for Everan to send a pulse of magic out from his core, sending me flying backward. I’m hurled to the ground, too quickly for my wings to right me, and hit the earth, dirt spraying up around me.
Blood trickles from my mouth as I rise from the divot.
