Chapter 115 Folami
Chapter One Hundred Fifteen
Folami
My feet carved a path of destruction and death through the seemingly never-ending ranks of the enemy soldiers. At one point, it was easy to tell the difference between Solace’s ragtag bunch of sycophants and the well-trained, heavily armored Samyrian soldiers.
Now, though, they all blended together in an endless symphony of blood and death.
The battle was noiseless; the only sounds were the steady thump of my heart and the even cadence of my breath.
Breathe in—strike, parry, dodge.
Breath out—thrust, twist, stab.
It was a deadly dance that painted me in the rich red tones of blood and bathed me in the scent of death.
I loved it—I lived for it.
Blood matted my braids, spraying in a macabre arc whenever I twirled with my spear, thunking against my back wetly until I was just as coated as my spear’s head.
Featureless faces blended together as my weapon never stuttered, never faltered, the exhausted expressions of my Mage and his True Pleasure Bond emblazoned in my mind and fueling my every reach, every thrust, every block.
I fought my way to them, the death that I brought of little consequence.
No one hurt my Mage and lover; no one.
A blur to my right caught my attention, momentarily interrupting the smooth cadence I’d fallen into.
A woman in black leather armor, raven-black hair braided down her back, and a savage look on her face, stepped around a Deucenan soldier.
Her sword swished through the air, momentarily blinding me with the flash of bright light as the steel caught the rays of the sun, before it embedded itself in the man’s neck.
Blood sputtered immediately from the wound, spraying everyone in a five-foot radius, as he fell to his knees with a gurgled cry.
The woman wrenched her blade free with a kick to the dying man’s chest before rounding on me.
I cocked my head to the side, casually wiping blood from my face as it dripped down my eyebrow to land on the apple of my cheek.
She opened her mouth and said something, but it was drowned by the comatose state I’d fallen into as I fought my way across the battlefield.
The woman growled and bared her teeth, ire flashing in her amber irises as she repeated her statement.
Her last word forced me from my fugue, the sounds of battle immediately overwhelming. Cries and moans filled the air as magical attacks whistled overhead. Booms of destruction followed as steel rang against steel.
“Say that again,” I commanded, my voice funny even to my own ears.
“Are you deaf or dumb?” the woman spat, her eyes flashing dangerously. She was unhinged, that much was clear, and relatively unstable.
That was both a benefit and a detriment in battle—she would be impervious to her own pain and more apt to strike uncoordinated yet deadly blows to her foe.
“It doesn’t matter,” she spat, continuing when I refused to answer. “Makes sense that Lex would choose a second Bonded that couldn’t hear or speak back to him. Probably was tired of it after me. Needed that control, that ability to lord his power over you.”
The woman was shaking with rage, constantly twirling her blade in a circle as if to rid her body of the excess energy she’d stored.
“Who are you?” I asked, my voice deceptively calm despite my growing desire to simply hack her head from her shoulders. It’d be difficult considering the shape of my spear, but I would find a way.
I always did.
“Goddess, you’re simply dumb, aren’t you?” She laughed mirthlessly. “I’m Sasori, Lex’s first Bonded. His first choice.”
She said it like it was something she was proud of, despite the way their time together ended. I furrowed my brow and adjusted my grip on my spear. Sasori clocked the movement, not as lost to her rage as I’d originally thought.
“I know who you are,” I admitted. “Though the details I know of your time together are . . . different.”
Sasori scoffed, beginning to circle me. My feet matched hers, always keeping her directly in front of me.
The beginning of a dance to the death—I felt it in my bones, and my soul ached for it.
“Of course he’d tell you something different.
All he wanted was to put that mark on you, solidify his control, and stick his dick in you any chance he got.
Does Ilyas join in, too? Have you been stuck with both of them yet?
Gods, they’re disgusting.” The vileness in her tone should have shocked me, but I forced down my growing animosity.
How dare she speak of Ilyas and Lex in such a way.
“They have been nothing but kind—”
A mirthless laugh exploded from her chest, cutting off my words.
“Of course they have. They’ll be kind until you buck against his control. Until it pits you against his precious General. Then we all know where his loyalties lie.”
I hummed. There was so much anger in her, so much hate. Though I wasn’t sure who she hated most: the General, Lex, or herself.
It was clear Sasori was a broken woman, molded and shaped by a world that spat in her face and forced her down.
But that wasn’t my problem to solve.
No, she was simply an obstacle that now stood between me and my loves. And no caustic words, no brandishing of her sword, could convince me that Lex was anything but good.
When I refused to rise to her bait, Sasori lunged, blade held high with a grunted cry of frustration. I moved at the last minute, swinging my spear to the right. Wood and steel connected as I pushed her away.
Sasori stumbled, growling as she nearly fell before tossing her weapon to the other hand and charging once more.
I fell into a crouch, sidestepping or parrying each of her strikes. I bided my time, waiting to engage when it would have the most impact.
“Fight me, you bitch!” Sasori screeched, sword careening toward my neck in a large slash. I fell backward, leaning until my braids touched the blood-soaked ground. I popped up with a growl, finally moving into an attack maneuver.
Sasori’s eyes went wide as I struck in countless high arcs, my spear a spinning whirl that was nearly invisible.
I danced around Sasori, my spear a flashing blur in the hazy light as I jabbed and thrusted in random intervals.
Twice I struck skin, her armor protecting her from the worst of my hits.
But she was rattled and off-kilter. Her steps faltered as she slowly retreated, sword clumsily and lazily blocking each of my strikes.
With an undercut from my spear, I dislodged it from her grasp, sending it to the earth feet away.
Sasori’s arms whirled in a circle as I stopped suddenly, kicking out with a foot that connected solidly with her chest. Her breath left her lungs with an oomph as she fell heavily to the wet ground below.
In an instant, I was upon her, throat pinned beneath my boot with the tip of my spear thrust in her face. I said nothing, simply looked down upon her with an unreadable expression.
Rage contorted her features as she fought and writhed beneath my weapon, scratching her cheeks with every movement.
I pushed down harder with the heel of my boot, crushing her windpipe beneath my foot.
She coughed and retched as I released it, not yet wanting to end her life.
“Lex wouldn’t want you to kill me—he’d beg you to forgive me,” she coughed, spittle coating my boot from her bloodied lips.
I cocked my head at her, breathing slightly elevated from our fight and the emotion behind it.
“Then it’s a good thing my Mage isn’t here,” I hissed, pressing down incrementally.
Sasori whimpered as I delivered my next words.
“Don’t presume to know anything about what my Mage would want.
His softness that you so deeply hated is what makes him perfect.
That control you spoke so poorly of is given freely by me because he respects me and loves me.
You had to exploit that. Had to make him feel like—”
“You understand nothing,” she spat. “The things I had to do—”
I cut her off with a hard step. “I understand enough to know that you chose that path, Sasori. Just as I now choose to kill you. Never will you haunt my love’s dreams again.”
Sasori laughed a wheeze beneath my boot. “You and I are the same, Folami. He will realize that sooner or later, and you’ll be discarded just as I was. You are just as angry as me—I can see it swirling in your eyes, the pain there.”
“Yes, Sasori. I am angry. I am always angry. But the difference between you and me is vast. I allowed myself to soften—embraced Lex and all he had to offer wholeheartedly. I allowed myself to forgive. You clung to your anger and let it twist and shape you into something wicked and evil. You had a chance to love and be loved by a man who is the epitome of everything good in this world, and you chose to cling to your trauma and anger instead. I did not make that same mistake, and you will die with the consequences of your actions.”
Sasori opened her mouth again, but I’d said my piece, no longer interested in the lies that so easily fell from her tongue.
With a quick, sharp jab, I stabbed my spear through her ribcage, angling it so it punctured her heart. I watched with detached apathy as her eyes widened in fear, fingers grappling at my boot even as blood spilled from her lips and ran down her face to the saturated ground beneath.
Her movements grew sluggish as she choked on her own blood until she stopped moving completely, eyes wide with fear and anger, even in death.
I sighed and removed my spear before stepping off her corpse.
I didn’t regret my choice to kill her, in taking the decision from Lex.
But I would regret it if this little sidestep delayed me enough that I wouldn’t reach Lex and Ilyas in time.
Without so much as a second glance, I took off once more, cutting my way through the sloppy ranks of our enemies in a fevered effort to reach two of the three people who held my heart.
They needed me, and I them.