34. Riel
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
RIEL
“You must, Avery, you must.”
Instructions spilled from my lips, but I didn’t know if Avery could hear me at that point. There was so much blood. Her body spasmed periodically as her strength fled her, and I could feel her growing colder by the second. In moments, she would be a corpse, and my worst nightmare would be realized. Helpless, I held her close and prayed.
Valuen, grant us mercy. Goddess, give us strength.
I should have sent her home a long time ago. I should have seen this coming; this was always how it was going to end. How could I have protected her better? How did I not anticipate that Solois was bitter enough to go after her? Truly, he was no longer the brother I grew up with. Any honor he might have had was gone, hate and anger in its place. I should have known better.
My fault. My fault. My fault.
Avery’s eyes were closed, which terrified me, but it was a small mercy. At least she wouldn’t feel the extent of her wounds. I drew what little mending ability I possessed to her injury in an effort to staunch the flow, but her lifeblood still drained unimpeded, painting my clothes and the marble beneath us a startling shade of crimson.
“You always were so sentimental,” Solois grunted from nearby as he recovered from the blow I’d dealt him and got to his feet. “It’s a good thing you weren’t born first—you wouldn’t have been able to shoulder the responsibility of being our family’s heir. She’s just a human, for Valuen’s sake. She manipulated you so that her allies could catch us unawares and slaughter us all. I’ll admit I underestimated her, but you… what, you think you love her?”
“Be quiet,” I snapped, trying to maintain my focus.
“This is how it needs to be,” he continued, directing a contemptuous look down at Avery’s body. “Humans were never meant to carry the Goddess’s blessing. It was a divine accident, nothing more. Now, come. Our support is needed against Leimor’s forces. You still have a chance to redeem yourself—don’t throw it away.”
Leaving Avery here to die was out of the question. But tied to duty as Solois was, he wasn’t about to let me go get help. There was only one way this could end. Perhaps it was always going to end this way. My hands clenched into fists at my sides.
I assessed Solois out of the corner of my eye. The two of us weren’t evenly matched—I never won when we sparred. But thanks to Avery’s efforts, my wounds were gone. I also didn’t miss the way he favored his left side, where I’d managed to hit him with lightning before Avery’s arrival. His breathing was labored. And he didn’t have someone important to protect. This was an opportunity, if I was fearless enough to claim it.
Goddess, give me strength .
I got to my feet slowly, eyes pinned on the growing puddle of blood at my feet. How long did Avery have? There was no doubt that this was a fatal wound, but Farisen had to be somewhere outside, and he was a skilled mender. If I could find him in time, maybe there was a chance. As long as I could finish this quickly, there was a chance .
With that thought in mind, I moved. Solois, apparently expecting me to come quietly, was caught by surprise. He threw his hands up to shield himself, but I barreled into him, knocking him off his feet. I called mana , my chest aching from the effort. That was a good sign—if I was near my limit, surely that meant that Solois was too. The air sparked with energy as I created lightning, the heat of it warming my fingers and making the hair on my arms stand on end.
My brother twisted underneath me before I could cast it, throwing off my balance and sending me skidding across the floor. Before he could get to his feet again, I was there, grasping his ankle and reaching for the marble with my other hand. As he hit the ground, I summoned another burst of mana for a change, turning the floor under him from solid to pliable. When he tried to get up and put space between us, his foot sank into the surface, halting his progress.
He swept an arm between us, and I leapt back as purple flames licked the collar of my shirt and seared one cheek. The attempt was weak. He was growing sloppy.
“Astonriel!”
Solois spat my name as though it were a curse. He reached down to free his trapped leg, and I surged forward for another attack, not giving him even a moment to catch his breath. We clashed so hard that the impact jarred my bones. My hand closed around Solois’s neck, and I forced him back against the ground with my weight. He didn’t go quietly. His fingernails gouged bloody furrows down my forearm as he struggled, but I refused to release him.
Too much was at stake. This was how it had to be.
The rage in his expression merged with fear as, resolute, I squeezed tighter.