Chapter 26
At Elowen's signal, all three combatants vanished.
Rowan struck first. Both palms hit the ground, and the plaza answered him — grass and vines boiling up in a wave of green that lashed toward Lilith and Auriel.
A wooden longbow was already in his hand by the time the tendrils found their marks, and he loosed three arrows of condensed nature magic in a single breath, each one hunting a vital point.
His confidence was earned. But he wasn't careless enough to hold anything back, either — this was his full strength, right out of the gate.
Lilith snorted.
The vines never reached her. Undead power tore out of the earth beneath her feet — Ossuary Colossus — and bone surged upward, locking together around her body until she stood high above the plaza. Waltz of Ashes had grown with her, its blade now a length of dense black mist.
She swung once.
A vast dark arc ripped across the ground, erasing the incoming vines and swallowing Rowan's arrows whole. Bone Magic followed before the arc had even faded: jagged spikes punched up through every stretch of open ground, their edges catching with Deathfire.
One exchange. That was all it took for Lilith to claim nearly the entire plaza and leave Rowan nowhere safe to put his feet.
He blew several spikes apart with a focused burst of nature magic and called up fresh vines to smother the flames. The Deathfire ate them on contact.
Impossible. Those vines don't burn.
There was no time to puzzle out why they had. Rowan kicked off toward the surrounding trees instead, trusting the forest to give him back his mobility.
The moment his feet left the ground, he was in Auriel's world.
His opening salvo had never threatened her. She'd taken to the air at the start and simply waited for him to leave the earth behind. Now golden light flared along her wings, and a storm of radiant blades came down.
Emerald arrows rose to meet it — a full barrage, loosed on pure reflex. Gold and green annihilated each other above the plaza in a chain of detonations, and Auriel shot through the smoke before it could clear.
Too fast to dodge. Her radiant sword smashed into his bow, and for all his peak-Veteran strength, Rowan had nothing to brace against in midair. The blow hammered him down toward the plaza.
Straight toward Lilith.
He summoned vines beneath himself, grabbing for any branch that might redirect the fall. Lilith didn't let him have one. Bone blades wreathed in Deathfire swept out and shredded every vine before it came close.
"Damn it!"
Below him the flaming spikes waited, every one angled toward his falling body. He drew his bow to blast a landing zone clear —
Chains rattled at his back.
Frost-rimed Soul Shackles wrapped his arms and legs before the string could leave his fingers.
His fall stopped. Lilith left him hanging there above the plaza, the nearest bone spike less than four inches from his throat.
Deathfire burned along its edge, yet he felt no heat from it at all.
Only a cold that seemed to reach past his skin and into his soul.
Above him, Auriel hovered with her golden sword leveled at another vital point.
The match was over.
Rowan stared at the weapons hemming him in. The arrogance had drained clean out of his face.
"I lost," he whispered. "I... lost."
Lilith had no appetite for rubbing it in. The spikes sank away, she lowered him gently to the ground, and the chains came loose. Auriel landed beside her without a word.
Blaise handled the celebrating for everyone.
"Oh my God! That's it? It's already over?" Both fists went into the air. "Boss, that was incredible! You too, Lilith!"
He looked about ready to start in on Rowan next, until a single glance from Auriel shut his mouth.
Only then did they notice the Wood Elves ringing the plaza.
A crowd had gathered somewhere in the middle of the fight, and shock sat on every face.
Rowan wasn't one of their race, but he wielded a Wood Elf's power and had long since earned the Clan's acceptance.
Everyone in the settlement knew his talent; at his Rank, almost no one could beat him.
And he had just lost, in moments, to two Lords several tiers below.
He'd held the superior strength. He'd had every advantage the forest terrain could offer. Not one Wood Elf had considered the two-on-one unfair — and not one had imagined he could lose.
Even the Seer looked surprised. Her reading of Lilith's and Auriel's Ranks had been accurate; what she hadn't accounted for was combat talent of this order. She had expected an even match. Judging by what she'd just watched, Rowan might have struggled against either of them alone.
Then she smiled. The result only confirmed her vision — those two truly carried exceptional potential. And this defeat would do Rowan more good than another easy win ever could.
She dismissed the gathered Wood Elves with a wave.
Rowan came to stand before her and Elowen, shoulders sagging. "I'm sorry, Mentor. I lost."
"Our abilities favor charged archery and the long range," Elowen said gently. "Two opponents of equal power, at close quarters — the disadvantage was severe. There's no shame in it."
Rowan shook his head. "No. A loss is a loss. I can accept that."
For the first time, it occurred to him that being the Wood Elves' celebrated Lord wasn't so much to be proud of. He turned to Lilith and Auriel.
"The two extra Essence Cores are yours." A beat, and something hardened behind his eyes. "But remember this. One day I'll surpass you both."
The Seer nodded her approval.
Lilith smiled. "I'll be waiting."
Rowan glanced back at his mentor. "Maybe your prophecy was right after all."
He was a Lord himself. He understood better than most how terrifying a powerful Lord's potential could become. If Lilith and Auriel lived long enough to grow into theirs, surpassing the Wood Elves was entirely possible. The continent itself might come to know their names.
"Please, come inside," the Seer said.
Lilith nodded without hesitation. "Good. I have a few questions of my own."
The group returned to the great tree, Blaise trailing at the rear. As he passed Rowan, still rooted in the middle of the plaza, he slowed and leaned in.
"Hey, kid. Any idea who those two Lords you just fought actually are?"