Chapter 19
Fallon and I wove through the cluster of trees, our movements a rhythmic clash of steel and footwork—a violent dance where neither of us yielded.
The night air bit at my skin, but the heat from our sparring burned hotter; sweat slipped down my spine.
My hair clung to my neck, my pulse thrummed with every strike and parry.
Each movement was deliberate—pushing, testing, daring the other to falter.
This week had been brutal, but the moment Fallon tossed a short sword into my hands, I knew.
There was a raw, intoxicating weight to the blade—a promise of finality in every swing.
Holding something that could end a life in a single breath made me feel untouchable, more powerful than any element I could summon.
The short sword was still too heavy in my grip, but each day it felt a little less like a stranger.
I’ve already planned my first stop when we return to the Hollow—the blacksmith. If I’m lucky, I’ll have the daggers Rhodes made me earn, assuming I can track them down in Mageia. Then I’ll have a longsword made to match.
Today was our last day on the road. Nash mentioned a small, tucked-away village ahead where we could rest without drawing attention. Tonight, we would sleep at an inn. In an actual bed.
After a week of war with the unforgiving ground, my body ached for something soft. I even missed my hut back in the Hollow. I would have enjoyed sleeping next to Rhodes every night much more if I hadn’t been so exhausted that I drifted off the second my head hit the thin bedroll.
I lunged from behind the tree, swiping my sword up to block hers.
Our weapons pressed together. My sister grinned. “Not bad.”
I shoved her weight off, angling my sword up for another parry. “I’d say I’ve had a good teacher, but I don’t want to make your head any bigger than it already is.”
Fallon spun and arced her blade, knocking me off balance for only a second. I sidestepped, put her back to a wide trunk, and penned her in. Our blades clashed as we continued our dance among the trees, and I think I heard a form of a laugh coming from my sister.
But her laugh immediately halted, and her eyes widened. Fallon’s focus shifted to her left.
“What?”
She put her finger to her lips to shush me.
Lakota informed me that River had sensed intruders. He and Noemi weren’t supposed to stay too close to us, lest their presence reveal our location, so every night they found somewhere hidden to fly off to, but not too far that they couldn’t swoop in within minutes.
“You can communicate with wolves, too?” My curiosity peaked.
“Don’t insult me.”
Before I could roll my eyes, River’s snarling growl echoed through the trees. The sound of crunching bones and a deep yell followed, and Fallon took off in her direction.
I ran after her, weaving through the thick trees with only the moon’s glow to guide me. My heart stopped once I made it to our camp, where Rhodes and Nash were surrounded by men I'd never seen before, but who wore similar leathers to the ones we ran from at the market.
“There she is,” called a man as he slowly stepped out of the dark forest. His attention locked on Fallon, who stood before me with her sword raised. “We have been looking for you, lass. I’ve been dreaming of those hazel eyes.”
“Nice to know you’ve been dreaming of me. It’s funny, I haven’t thought of you at all,” she said, teasing.
What. The. Fuck.
What in the elements was she playing at?
He clicked his tongue. “Oh, you will. Once I’m done with you, you’ll never forget my face.”
The men closed on Rhodes. Nash stepped forward. I raised my sword. That snagged the leader’s attention.
“Oh, look, boys! Two-for-one special tonight. Each of us will have seconds.”
More men appeared from the dark woods as the sound of wings thundered in the sky. All the men looked up briefly before focusing back on our camp.
“The forest is too thick. I can’t intervene without starting a forest fire, and the other humans and her pup are not fireproof,” Lakota roared in anger. “You all can either run or fight.”
My heart was fighting to escape my chest.
What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?
“How about we play a game?” Fallon spoke.
My breath caught. I didn’t mean literally what was she playing at.
“Fallon!” I whisper-yelled, but she didn’t budge.
“I’m all ears, lass.”
She straightened, propped her sword on her shoulder, and approached him. The only sounds were the fire’s crackle and River’s low growl at the man she cornered against a tree.
“If you win, I’ll make your dreams come true.”
She cut his whistle off. Fallon pointed her finger in the air.
“But if I win, you tell me exactly why you’ve become a traitor to Arya.” The smirk on the man’s face dropped. “And what is it you need to drop at their—soiree? Is that what your guy called it?”
“No deal.”
“Aw. Afraid you’ll lose?”
For the next few moments, it was pure silence. Only the sound of dragon wings above us and the crackling fire signaled how long it took before the man said—
“Take them.”
Blades sang.
The clash was instantaneous. The men lunged like wolves unleashed, weapons glinting in the firelight. Fallon was a blur beside me, meeting steel with steel, her movements sharp, controlled, and devastating. She moved like someone born to fight, and maybe she was.
Rhodes pushed the men guarding him with a flash of flames while controlling it enough not to set the entire forest on fire.
Nash did the same on his side, but with a wave of water that appeared from his hands.
Rhodes pivoted, catching a dagger midair with the flat of his sword before driving his boot into the attacker’s chest. Nash had two short swords, twirling them like extensions of his arms, carving through the chaos with precision.
I stood there.
Frozen.
“You either kill or be killed. It’s your life or theirs. What will you choose?”
The sound of Fallon’s voice in my head, much like Lakota’s, startled me.
My sword raised just in time to block the first blow aimed at my head.
The impact rattled through my bones. I twisted, brought the hilt of my blade up into the man’s jaw, and when he staggered, I drove my shoulder into his gut, sending us both crashing to the ground.
I rolled off him, kicked my legs under me, and stood just in time to see another charging. His war-cry split the air—and cut off when River tore into him from the side. Blood sprayed onto the ground as she tossed him aside as if he were made of straw.
The ground shook beneath me, knocking me off my feet as Lakota and Noemi landed from the sky, toppling the trees over in their path. They prowled amongst the men, using their talons, spiked tails and teeth to tear through our attackers.
Fallon met the leader head-on. Their blades clanged with each blow, sparks flying. He was stronger, broader, but she was faster. Smarter. She ducked under his swing and slashed across his thigh.
He roared and struck again, barely missing her ribs.
Another man charged me, axe raised. I stood up and dodged left, swung low, and caught his knee. He screamed, collapsed—but he didn’t hesitate. He flicked a dagger in the air, grazing the outside of my thigh.
I shrieked but kept attacking him with the knowledge Fallon had taught me so far. There was no time to think about the warm, sticky blood running down my leg.
Time slowed, but everything moved too fast.
Metal clashed around me—too loud, too close. Sparks flew in the dark, and every time I turned my head, someone was inches from death. My breath caught in my throat like it didn’t know whether to stay or flee. I couldn’t tell if the screams were theirs or mine.
Rhodes—his blade swung wide, shielding Nash like a wall of muscle and fury.
Fallon, too close to the enemy leader, her cocky grin cracking at the edges.
I wanted to scream at her to get back, to stop playing with him like this was a game.
But my voice was gone, swallowed by the sound of bodies hitting dirt.
I could barely keep my grip on the sword. It wasn’t fear making my hands shake—it was knowing. Knowing that this could be the last time I saw any of them breathing. Knowing that if I froze, even for a second, it could cost a life.
But it wasn’t my life I’m worried about losing. No, I haven’t felt the survival instinct to protect myself since Laney died in my arms. It’s the ones around me that fueled my next motions.
A man lunged toward me, and I moved without thinking—blocked, twisted, hit back. The sword did something brutal. He fell. He didn’t get up. My stomach turned, but I didn’t let myself feel it. Not yet. Not now.
I searched through the chaos, looking for my beacon in the storm.
I raced towards him, pivoting and clashing my blade against another who tried to take Rhodes down from behind. Rhodes finished the man before him before turning my way and sinking his blade into a man’s chest, splattering my face with blood.
His eyes frantically searched up and down my body as I nodded, telling him I’m okay.
Behind me, River’s growl vibrated in my bones, deep and primal. I turned to see her teeth sink into someone’s shoulder. The crunch echoed like thunder through the trees.
The leader grabbed Fallon by the collar and slammed her into a tree, pinning her with one hand, sword raised in the other. She gasped, kicked at him—missed.
“FALLON!”
I couldn’t reach her in time.
But Nash could.
He barreled into the man like a ram, knocking him off her. They hit the ground hard. Fallon staggered, clutching her ribs, then set her blade to his throat.
He grinned through blood. “Arya will burn.”
“Then I’ll be the kindling,” she rasped.
She plunged the blade into his chest.