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“I accept.”
The orb disconnected the intricate psychic ties that were intrinsic to the sovereign-clan bond. Instantly, the mental footprint of his clan dissipated into nothingness, leaving Isaiah completely alone inside of his own mind.
It was a feeling he despised—and one his clansmen echoed.
After years of maintaining the complex psychic connections between him and his people, the severing of such a bond was disturbing, almost painful. And it happened every time he was challenged.
His katana manifested in his hand seconds before Jaden attacked with his own blade. Blocking the first assault almost as an afterthought, Isaiah deflected the blow with a single parry of the black blade. In the first moments of a duel, he nearly always took the back foot, assessing the prowess of his opponent while firmly maintaining his ground.
Jaden, however, was faster than he’d anticipated.Good.
Countering the other Raeth with a clash of steel, Isaiah felt a smirk kick up on his lips. Even while fighting for his life, he savored the thrill of the battle, the hint of oncoming destruction.
It was his nature.
In an anticipatory move, Isaiah pressed a wave of telekinetic energy at Jaden, scrutinizing how the other Raeth redirected it away from him and into the ether. It’d been a mere flicker of power, but one meant to test the mettle of his opponent.
Jaden came to a halt several yards away from him, katana in hand. During the split-second lull before he attacked again, Isaiah attempted to portray a vision into Jaden’s mind.
Instantly, he knew it wouldn’t work.
The fabric of Jaden’s mind was impenetrable, its shielding preventing any psychic attacks from taking root, like a wall of steel. And it meant that one tool in Isaiah’s armory would be rendered useless.
A slow smile spread across Jaden’s features. “Your visions won’t work on me, Isaiah. I’m immune.”
“Are you?” Isaiah gave a single, appreciative laugh. “Perhaps this will be a challenge after all.”
Many Raeth challengers had fallen victim to Isaiah’s blade, but several had lost their lives when he’d caged their minds in a vision. Beheading a kneeling, barely conscious man was as detestable as it was boring, but he would do it to keep his people safe. This time, perhaps he’d be given a run for his money.
“Time to stop fooling around, then?”
“Indeed.”
Jaden straightened, the joviality disappearing from his face. No longer a cocky youngling, Isaiah’s opponent suddenly wore all eight hundred years of his life in his eyes. His subsequent assault was vicious, demanding, and took every ounce of Isaiah’s concentration to withstand.
Isaiah was undoubtedly stronger and had superior swordsmanship, but his opponent’s speed was an element of surprise. Whenever Isaiah gained the upper hand, Jaden would flit away, disappearing to recover from the wounds Isaiah inflicted.
Isaiah didn’t like playing turtle to his hare, but without his ability to cast visions, he’d have to inevitably rely on his other power to end this fight.
And there were few things he hated more.
Jaden retreated again. Isaiah felt a distinct prickling of awareness behind him. He dodged most of the daggers telekinetically flung at him. But not all of them.
One sliced the flesh of his flank, going through skin and muscle like butter, before it lodged itself in the earth before him. Heat exploded along the wound, but he ignored it.
He wouldn’t falter over a little thing, regardless of the amount of blood staining his leathers. Instead, he simply decided it was time to end it.
Jaden vanished.
A whisper of displaced air was his only indicator. There was no sound behind him as the other Raeth’s katana came down to sever his head from his body. But Isaiah was no neophyte, and he spun to catch the blade in his open palm.
With a flick of his wrist, he broke the blade clean in two.
The other Raeth darted away from Isaiah, as if trying to conquer sudden panic. Slowly, malevolently, Isaiah took a single step forward, allowing the strength of his power to pulse through the air and beat into the other man.
Gulping, Jaden’s eyes narrowed at the threat, as a bead of sweat dripped from his brow. A golden plated battle axe manifested in Jaden’s grip while he shifted on his feet, readying himself for the final assault.
Isaiah tightened his grip on his katana but made no move. Jaden exploded forward in a flash of speed, raising the battle axe above his head to lodge it deep into Isaiah’s core. If he made to move out of the way, Jaden would see the readying tension.
