Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
A blur of black sprinted toward me, blade in his hand, ready for blood.
My blood.
Before the warrior made it to me, he crumbled in a heap, his body motionless. Blood instantly coated the jade blades of grass in a sickening scarlet. A scream stilled in my throat, my eyes snapping to Maalikai’s. He held a bow, his face an unreadable mask like he was impervious to having just killed a man.
A loud, piercing whistle cut through the air as Sebastian stormed forward, signaling for our guards to do what they were meant to be doing—guarding us.
Sebastian didn’t wait for them to arrive. Blade in hand, he advanced on our assailants, slicing them down like they were nothing. Muscles moved in predatory grace as he slinked forward. Retribution glowed in the feral heat of his liquid-fire gaze, a storm of vengeance simmering just beneath the surface.
A primal growl grew low in his chest before it erupted in a lethal war cry. No matter how many of the warriors he slayed, they kept coming—multiplying like shadows in the night.
Ten.
Twenty.
Shit.
Where the fuck were the guards? I looked over my shoulder, seeing our guards defending their own lives at the line of Aelinthian Forrest.
We were on our own.
We were so fucking screwed.
“Emylia, get behind us,” Maalikai seethed through gritted teeth.
I didn’t need to move, both Sebastian’s and Maalikai’s bodies were already in front of mine, protecting my body with theirs. They launched forward, cutting and slaying men like it was as easy as breathing.
Everything moved in slow motion as I watched Sebastian and the guy I was falling unequivocally in love with, cut down our enemies, moving with the grace and skill of seasoned warriors.
But there were too many of them and our guards were still fighting for their own lives, or already dead.
My stomach curdled as I watched warriors surround Sebastian. There was no way he would be able to fight his way out of this one, there were too many of them.
If I didn’t act now, he’d be dead.
I nocked the arrow, its weight almost forgotten between my fingertips, and fired before hesitation could take hold.
A body crumpled to the ground, motionless. My heart plummeted, a hollow ache billowing in my chest—heavy, suffocating, inescapable. An ominous shadow enveloped me, all-consuming and asphyxiating, my soul whispering the truth as it recoiled—this could never be undone.
This was a line I could never uncross.
I was now beyond retribution.
With my bow in one hand, I reached for a blade with the other. The familiar weight of a blade felt perfect in my palm. Without thinking, I threw it, sending it hurtling through the air, finding its mark with a sickening crunch.
Blood splattered, spraying the warrior’s comrades with a fresh sprinkling of scarlet liquid before he collapsed to the ground.
Before I had time to react to the man’s death, I sprinted forward, diving for my quiver. I had three arrows.
My eyes found Sebastian. He was trying to fight his way out of the group surrounding him. Without thought, I adjusted the bow and pulled the string taut. I released a single breath and let the arrow fly.
It landed in the eye of one of the warriors who was about to attack Sebastian from behind. The next one pierced straight through the heart. With the final arrow, I went for a warrior that was trying to sneak up and slash Sebastian’s ribs. He fell after my arrow struck his shoulder, and Sebastian turned just in time to stab him with a sword, through his chest.
Sebastian’s gaze collided with mine as he nodded his thanks.
Standing at my full height, I whipped around, facing my foe. How were there thirty of them now?
Where the heck were they coming from?
Jumping into action, I swung my blade, blocking the blows of an armed warrior. He was good. But I was better.
This was nothing more than training with my uncle and Sebastian or with my father. Muscle memory took over.
I parried the blows, easily weaving in and out of his assaults as though he was standing still. As lethally as Noctharis, I struck out at my prey. Blood sprayed my body as I sliced through his exposed throat before he fell, writhing in the bloodied dirt.
Another man had taken his fallen comrade’s place before his body fully hit the ground. I whirled around, my blade glinting recklessly as I found another weak spot, spilling the guts of a warrior before he had a chance to defend himself.
Sweat dripped off me, salty beads running down my face, stinging my eyes and blurring my vision. Like a novice, I took a second to wipe them, a second I didn’t have.
Pain seared through my left arm like white-hot agony.
Gods fucking dammit.
Anger and disbelief flared through me.
He struck me.
He had actually friggin’ struck me with a blade.
Bastard.
I ignored the blood gushing from my arm, the warm liquid coating me in sticky acrid fluid.
“You’re dead!” I hardly recognized my piercing cry. I didn’t care; my arm still screamed with pain. I was furious.
No, it was more than that.
I was murderous.
Out of nowhere, a burst of energy tore through me. With inhuman speed, I launched myself at him, parrying his blows like I wasn’t just a descendant of Elessandria but Elessandria herself; or at least a version of her before she had forsaken weapons. All wrath with no room for mercy.
But it felt justified—just as the Goddess had been. Not a corruption of good but fueled by a righteous anger.
A look of surprise flashed over the warrior’s face for only a split second before he rose to my challenge. Energy pulsed through me, my vision blurring in blind rage as I continued to attack, my lips curling into a vicious snarl.
I must protect them.
His body hit the ground with a satisfying thud; I stepped over it, attacking another warrior before he had a chance to reach me.
Power crackled at my fingertips, my blade glowing a sickly red as I swung it over and over again, slaughtering the men who threatened the existence of the people I loved.
Blood sprayed my face as my blade sliced through muscle and bone, piercing vital organs as I pushed the sword through the chest cavity of another warrior. I tried to dislodge the blade, but it refused to come loose.
Protect them.
My eyes met the eyes of a warrior that was half a decade older than me, blonde glossy hair, sticking to the sweat on his forehead. His chiseled shoulders remained bare, his jaw all sharp angles, dusted in dark stubble. His eyes flashed a deadly crimson; he thought he was at an advantage because I was weaponless and wounded.
But I knew the throwing knives he held were no match for me. He was underestimating the strength of my wrath.
It was all-consuming.
My bloodlust ravenous.
Sprinting forward, I ran at him like I had nothing to lose. I veered to the left, narrowly missing a blade as it whistled past my ear; cold air blasted my face, the only remnants of the close call. His eyes widened with fear as he watched me descend.
Before he had time to throw his second blade, my feet left the ground, flying weightlessly through the air, the soles of my boots hit the center of his chest, sending him off balance and hurtling toward the ground. The blade came loose on impact, the weight of the blade a reassurance in my palm as I snatched it out of midair.
Pain shot through my hip as I fell to the ground, frustratingly trying to move around the billows of my damn dress. In a heartbeat, I’d straddled his body, his fist finding my cheek before I had a chance to act.
“She can bleed.” His tone was laced with malice, his eyes narrowing as he studied my bruised, bloody cheek.
Fuck him.
I bared my teeth, a low feral growl growing in my chest.
Without hesitation, I brought my blade down, slamming it in the center of his chest. Crimson liquid sprayed my face as I ripped it from his body, plunging it in again.
And again.
And again.
Blood completely covered my body as I sliced through the warrior’s artery, saturating me in scarlet liquid. It coated my hair and clothes until they were completely drenched. My knife pierced his ribcage so many times I easily ripped open the warrior’s chest cavity, shredded muscle and sinew looked like it had been chewed up and spat out.
A sardonic laugh escaped me, echoing through the almost vacant field as I continued to plunge the blade into his now massacred chest.
“Emylia...” Maalikai’s voice reached me, but I was too ensnarled to react with anything other than violence.
Somewhere in the distance, a crack of thunder rumbled, reverberating through my whole body like it had originated from me. My fingertips tingled as they had the day I touched the roots of the Tree of Life.
My fury was its fury.
And I was fucking livid.
Pressure clamped on my shoulder, a blade biting my skin. In one swift move, I turned and kicked out, my foot colliding with a female’s stomach, giving me a chance to roll away, grabbing a sword as I stood. A scream tore through the warrioress as she launched at me.
Spinning in a tight circle, my sword came down hard, reverberating when it connected with a skull, slicing halfway through her calvaria. Blood and brains stained my shoes and dress as I used my foot as leverage to dislodge it.
I spun in a circle, my eyes oddly blurry as I tried to focus on my next victim.
“Emylia, stop. They’re dead. They’re all dead.”
I whipped around, my eyes narrowing dangerously. On some subconscious level, I knew it was Maalikai who faced me, his sword at his side, the tip almost touching the ground. For some unknown reason, I couldn’t get my body to listen.
I tilted my head at his appearance, like he was my next victim.
Before he could say anything else, I continued my attack. This time on him. It silenced Maalikai, his blade parrying mine as he backed slowly away, giving me more ground.
Every inch of the battlefield was drenched in crimson, the iron-rich scent clinging to my lungs, sharpening the edge of my fury. My foot slid on the blood-slicked earth, the air heavy with its taint, feeding the storm rising within me.
“Fuck.” The word left him in shock. Not in anger, but in exasperation.
I ignored him, my sword glowing with vengeance as I resumed my assault. Advancing, I broke through his defenses, my sword finding his fragile skin, slicing into the epidermis, blood leaking down his tawny-brown flesh.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but if you don’t stop, I’ll have no choice.” Panic edged his voice, his eyes flaring dangerously.
A demonic laugh escaped me as I pressed my advantage. A lethal snarl ripped through him as he pushed forward, meeting my own blinding range with his own.
Before I could make sense of what was happening, he had me flat on my back, his legs straddling my stomach, the rise and fall of his chest erratic.
“I said that’s enough.”
I fought against him, fought against the weight on me and the hands that bound me. I screamed and screamed, until my throat was raw.
I needed to kill them.
I needed to protect.
How dare they attack me? Me!
Even as the thoughts swirled in a tornado in my mind, a small part of me knew something was seriously wrong.
I knew that the thoughts weren’t entirely my own, or if they were, they were being amplified. The power however was entirely my own.
A living, breathing entity coiled within me, its dark tendrils snaking through every molecule of my existence, weaving into my very essence—until even my breath rippled with raw, untamed power.
“Emylia.” The calm rage in Maalikai’s voice pulled me from my heavy daze.
Confusion swallowed me whole as I stared up at him. But it wasn’t enough, the veil that cloaked my emotions settled back over me, covering me in a layer of uncontainable rage.
Using a series of attacks I didn’t even know I was capable of, I dislodged him from my body, facing him with my resolve.
“Emylia.” My name was a breathless whisper on his lips.
A quick kick to his ribs shut him up, making him focus on what was at hand. The next kick he stopped with ease, returning a blow of his own. But I easily blocked it.
Unexpected pain radiated from my thigh, Sebastian’s booted foot connecting with my body.
I whipped around, facing him, spittle frothing from my mouth.
“Em, it’s me. Sebastian.” He was winded, his arms raised, ready to defend himself.
Both men circled me.
Sebastian blocked my fist as I sent it flying for his face, and then the other, as I countered. Before I had a chance to sweep his feet from beneath him, pressure imprisoned my neck, cutting off my airway. Gulping in a mouthful of air, I tried to rip the arm from its confinement, but it was too strong.
“Stop fighting me.” Maalikai’s voice was a low hiss in my ear, commanding me to obey.
My fingernails bit into his skin, scratching at his exposed flesh, trying to get his forearm off my windpipe.
“Emylia!” A guttural roar reverberated through me.
Not. Going. To. Happen.
Starbursts swam before me, threatening to take my consciousness. I fought harder, my gulps of air becoming more frantic.
Flashes of lightning exploded across the sky, showering us in a blaze of fire as it connected with a nearby tree. Smoke instantly tingled my nose, burning my nostrils, but still, I fought. Another series of lightning strikes lit the sky, striking uncomfortably close. Warmth tingled through my body, making the hairs on my arms rise, as the electricity danced along my skin.
“What are you doing, princess?” Maalikai said heavily in my ear, still grunting at the effort to subdue me.
I heard Sebastian shout from somewhere around us, “Neutralize her, Maalikai!”
“I’m sorry,” Maalikai whispered in my ear as his grip became impossibly tighter.
Black starbursts swarmed in front of my eyes until all there was, was midnight abyss.