Chapter 18 #2
Coldrath pulled up at the last possible second, claws skimming the stone as he staggered back into the air. Perin held fast, his mouth twisted in fury, but he didn’t retaliate. Not yet.
Because he knew what I’d done.
I hadn’t struck him.
I’d attacked his dragon.
It wasn’t just dishonorable.
It was grounds for disqualification.
I clenched my fists, pulling at my magic, reining it in, but it burned like molten steel through my skin. My eyes blurred with the effort. My limbs went numb. It felt like something inside me cracked.
And Kaelith, unamused and unceremonious as ever, dove hard and dumped me onto the Ascension Grounds with a jarring thud.
I hit the ground and rolled, dirt and stone scraping my palms as I gasped, blinking up at the sky.
Kaelith was already gone, her massive wings cutting across the clouds as she soared away without a backward glance.
I’d survived the first trial.
But I hadn’t won.
And the second trial, the ground duel, was still to come.
Kaelith… please.
I reached for her the moment my body stopped aching enough to think. Dirt scraped my knees, the blood on my palms tacky as I pressed them into the stone. My chest rose and fell with ragged breaths. I could barely move. My magic was gone.
Emptied. Spent. Hollow.
The wind carried the sound of Coldrath’s wings circling back overhead. I didn’t need to look up to know what came next. Perin would land. He would come for me. And without Kaelith, without anything—
He would rip me apart.
Please, I whispered again into the bond. I need you.
She stirred.
Not the soft warmth I used to feel, not even the simmering indifference she’d shown these past days. This was ice. Pointed and judging.
You struck a dragon.
Her voice cracked across my mind like thunder. Heavy. Angry. Disappointed.
Perin was trying to kill me, I answered, dragging myself to my feet. You felt what he did. He could’ve snapped my tendons from the sky.
And you would’ve recovered, she snapped. But what you did to Coldrath could have killed him. He should not die because his magic paired with an unconscionable rider. That was not power, Ashe. That was weakness.
I didn’t mean to! My mind screamed the words. I wasn’t trying to hit him! The power—
You let it loose, she said, low and lethal. You lost control. Again. What if it had been me?
My breath caught. I would never—
Wouldn’t you? Prove it.
Tears burned behind my eyes. My body still trembled. I didn’t want this.
Then why do you keep feeding it?
I clutched my ribs, pain lancing with each breath. The dueling circle loomed, and Perin’s dragon was lowering now. The red Swift coiled like a serpent above the Ascension Grounds.
You left me, I whispered, barely able to stand. You won’t anchor me. You won’t help me. What am I supposed to do? Just die for honor?
Silence.
Then—If you die, it will not be for honor. It will be because you chose power over me.
My knees buckled. I collapsed to the ground again, heart breaking in my chest.
Kaelith, I’m sorry, I whispered the words meant for her, but they slipped across the bond like a phantom breath.
I’m sorry, I heard again.
But it wasn’t from me.
Kaelith’s voice, barely audible now, was speaking not to me, but to Coldrath.
I’m sorry you have to see this.
And then she was gone. Again.
Leaving me with nothing.
Nothing but the taste of betrayal in my mouth and the knowledge that if Perin got close, if he touched me, I wouldn’t survive it.
The ring had never felt so wide… or so final.
Perin stepped forward with the casual ease of a man who already knew the outcome. His blond hair gleamed under the morning sun, his armor slick and perfectly fitted, his expression that same smug tilt of indifference he’d always worn, except now, it was edged with hunger.
I joined him in silence, stepping into the center of the arena. The stones were rough, and every movement sent a jolt of warning through my aching limbs. Kaelith hadn’t returned.
She wouldn’t.
This would end badly. Painfully.
But my dragon had chosen this death for me.
So I accepted it.
Say goodbye to Siergen for me, I whispered, unsure if the bond would even carry it that far. Tell him he was wrong, I wasn’t strong enough after all.
Perin and I circled each other like wolves sizing up the weaker link. He smiled at me—slow, cruel. I didn’t return it. My fingers flexed near the hilt of my short sword, but it felt meaningless. A show. He drew his blade.
The crowd was silent. No cheering. No jeering. Just quiet anticipation. A funeral kind of hush.
He struck first.
I parried, barely.
We moved fast, blades flashing, metal clanging against metal. Despite my exhaustion, despite the tremble in my arms, I kept up for longer than I expected. I even landed a blow—an elbow to his ribs that made him grunt and grab my wrist.
His power flared.
A red light shimmered at his fingertips, and before I could move, it coiled around me like an invisible wire.
My tendons snapped tight. My arms jerked backward unnaturally, legs stiffening like iron bars. The pain was blinding, white-hot lightning through every joint.
I screamed.
I collapsed.
It felt like my entire body was tearing apart from the inside. No magic came. No wind. No flame. I didn’t even try to summon it. What was the point?
I welcomed the dark, prayed for the end.
And then strong arms were around me, yanking me back.
“No!” someone shouted, voice ragged.
Remy.
He pulled me from the ring, dragging me across the stone like I weighed nothing, cradling my upper body as my limbs shook violently. He turned to the major without waiting for judgment.
“She cedes the fight.”
Ledor hesitated, but didn’t argue. The crowd remained deadly quiet.
Remy’s glare snapped to Perin. “And if you ever use your power on her like that again, I will end you. Guild rules or not.”