Chapter 60 #2
“I’ve seen her kill five Gifted Samnites with nothing but steel,” Nik warned. “If she still has her healing, then she also has her strength. And if that’s true—we’re fucked.”
“Then we hold her here and buy Alena enough time to get through to her,” Leukos ordered. “But no matter what, she can’t leave the—”
Katell lunged. Steel slammed against Leukos’ blade with a clang that rang through the stones. She pivoted, sword angling for the exposed gap beneath his ribs.
Nik barrelled into her with his shield, the edge scraping her shoulder and knocking her off balance.
She staggered but didn’t fall. Twirling her blade once, she tilted her head, a cold smile curving her lips—the first expression she’d shown.
The torn skin at her shoulder scabbed over and vanished in moments. Leukos had been right. She still had her healing.
Katell struck again. Steel flashed, fast and brutal.
“Alena!” Leukos shouted, parrying. “Keep talking to her!”
Alena edged closer. “Kat! Please—it’s me. They don’t control you anymore. You’re free. Come back!”
But Katell pressed harder, each strike forcing the Megarians back. Their footing slipped on wet earth, arms shaking from the strain. No ice to shield them. Only bone and blade.
Alena drew her sword with trembling hands. Despite all her training with Phoebe, its weight felt foreign as she faced her sister. She forced a step forward, every instinct screaming to stop. Her heart pounded as if it would burst from her chest. “I’m here, Kat,” she said. “I never left you.”
Katell hurled Leukos and Nik back with terrifying ease, then turned, dark eyes locking on Alena.
Her blade hissed through the air.
“Alena!” Leukos gasped, staggering up.
Alena’s back slammed against a standing stone. She ducked, the edge grazing her cheek.
“Kat, please!” she cried. “It’s me! You know me!”
The next blow came faster, heavier. Alena’s arms moved on instinct, raising her blade. Steel clashed against steel, the impact ringing through her bones like struck iron. The shock numbed her hands, but she held firm.
Katell’s face didn’t change. No hesitation. No recognition. Only relentless force.
Alena pushed back, parrying the next stroke and driving her own blade forward. For a breath, she held her ground, trading blows, Phoebe’s training snapping into place—parry, sidestep, counter. Each strike sang through the storm, sparks leaping when steel bit steel.
“You’re stronger than this!” Alena panted. “You’re stronger than them!”
Katell didn’t answer. Her sword came down in a brutal arc, faster than Alena could deflect. The edge smashed against her guard, jarring her shoulders. Her knees buckled, strength draining with every clash.
Leukos dove back into the fray, seizing Katell’s arm and wrenching hard, trying to break her rhythm. Alena rolled aside, the slick earth sliding under her knees. She scrambled to her feet, splattered in mud.
Katell twisted sharply. Her elbow crashed into Leukos’ gut, sending him sprawling.
Nik surged forward in the next heartbeat, sword raised, but his movements had slowed, breath ragged.
Katell’s fist crashed into his shield, the wood splitting with a deafening crack.
He gritted his teeth and staggered, but before he could recover, she twisted his wrist, forcing him to drop his blade with a sharp cry.
She shoved him hard, slamming him into a standing stone, hand clamping around his throat.
Nik’s boots skidded in the mud. He gasped, fighting to stay upright.
Alena’s stomach dropped. “No!” she screamed. “Kat, let him go!”
For one breathless moment, Katell froze. Her grip didn’t tighten. She could’ve killed him—but she didn’t.
Nik’s lips parted. “Kat…” he croaked. “It’s me.”
Then Leukos slammed into her shoulder-first, sending them both sprawling. Her sword flew from her grip, clattering against a stone. They hit the ground hard, but she was faster—rolling, twisting, springing upright in one fluid motion.
Leukos staggered to his feet and kicked her blade out of reach.
Nik coughed, clutching his bruised neck. With his other hand, he dragged his sword back into his grip, knuckles white.
“Come on, sweetheart.” He straightened and flashed her a bloodied grin. “You know I’m not that easy to kill.”
Nik lunged forward, blade flashing through the rain. He moved with grit and precision, but he was bleeding, ribs cracked—or worse. Katell deflected each strike with the braces on her wrists and countered.
A sharp wrench disarmed him, his blade spinning through the air.
But Nik didn’t stop. He drove forward, shoulders lowered, teeth bared.
She caught him mid-thrust, and for a breath, held him there.
Nik’s mouth opened, maybe to speak her name, but then her boot slammed into his torso. The force hurled him off his feet, body colliding with a standing stone. He slumped at its base, still and unmoving.
Alena’s heart seized. “Nik!”
Her scream tore through the storm. Katell turned towards her, rain streaking her face like war paint. Even unarmed, she radiated danger. She’d always been a strong fighter, but since leaving Camp Bessi her skills had sharpened. And with her unnatural strength, she was more than formidable.
She was lethal.
Alena raised her blade, heart racing, memories of their sparring matches flashing through her mind. There had to be a way to reach her—some ember of the sister she knew was still buried deep.
“Alena, get out of the circle!” Leukos’ voice cracked.
She shook her head, pulse pounding as Katell closed in, fists clenched. “I’m not leaving you!”
Leukos was already moving—sprinting towards them with reckless speed. “Alena, move!”
Katell drew a dagger from her belt and spun, impossibly fast. With a brutal twist, she drove it into the gap beneath his ribs—right through the weakest part of his leather breastplate.
“Leukos!” Alena lunged forward.
A flash of motion—and pain tore through her cheek. Katell’s backhand struck full force, knocking her sideways.
Her vision blurred.
She blinked through the haze just in time to see Leukos stumble forward. One hand gripped the dagger jutting from his side, blood soaking his fingers. His face was white with pain, but his eyes burned.
He lunged, trying to reach Katell, to stop her, to shield Alena.
Terror crushed Alena’s chest. A strangled sob tore from her throat. “Leukos—!”
Katell’s hand shot out, seizing his shoulder. With a violent shove, she sent him skidding through the mud. He slammed into the nearest stone with a grunt, clutching the wound. Crimson spread beneath him, and he crumpled to the side, unconscious.
The world tilted. Alena couldn’t breathe. The roar of the rain faded beneath the pounding in her ears.
He wasn’t moving.
No, no, no!
The nightmare she’d never dared speak—never let herself imagine—was here. Her sister might’ve just killed the man she loved.
But Katell was already upon her.
Her strikes came fast and brutal. Each blow landed with the force of thunder, reverberating through Alena’s arms in relentless shockwaves. Her knees sank into the mud. Muscles trembling, she raised her arms to shield herself.
Rain lashed the earth that had long since turned to sludge. The sky was a bruised grey, thunder and battle rumbling in the distance.
Across the circle, Nik’s chest rose in shallow bursts, while Leukos lay facedown, wheezing. Rain traced rivulets down his bare arm, mingling with blood.
Alena stood alone.
Her blade hung at her side, but she didn’t raise it.
Both the Maiden and the White Mare had warned her about this moment—had asked if she was prepared to do whatever it took to stop Katell.
But she couldn’t.
Even now.
Even after everything.
She could fall. She could bleed. But she would not abandon her sister to the darkness.
Katell’s fist slammed into her shoulder, sending her sprawling. Her body hit the ground hard. Mud filled her mouth, rain stung her eyes, yet she forced herself up.
“Kat,” she choked out. “It’s me. Little star.”
Katell advanced without hesitation.
“I’m sorry,” Alena rasped, throat tight. “I failed you. Leukos was right. I should’ve picked up that sword and fought beside you against the slavers.”
Another blow came. Alena ducked, but not fast enough. Pain flared through her ribs; her arm numbed. She gasped, staggered, but willed herself upright, legs quivering under the effort.
“I never should’ve left you.”
Tears mingled with the rain. Her chest burned, body screaming from every strike. She knew she wouldn’t last much longer. The next blow might kill her.
And maybe… maybe she deserved it.
“All this time, I leaned on your strength. I counted on you to carry the weight. Protect the family, no matter what. You always took Father’s words to heart… more than I did. And when it mattered most—when you needed me most—I wasn’t there.”
She reached out with a bloodied, trembling hand.
Katell seized her by the throat and slammed her against one of the stones. Agony exploded down Alena’s spine. Blood filled her mouth—yet she smiled.
“But I’m here now,” she gasped between ragged breaths. “I’m here, Kat. And I’m not going anywhere. Not this time.”
Katell’s free hand rose, fingers curling.
“I know you’re still in there,” Alena breathed, each word a lifeline thrown into the dark. “And even if you kill me… even if this is how it ends… I love you. Nothing will ever change that.”
The rain eased, softening to a steady patter, washing over the standing stones.
The circle held its breath, suspended in fragile silence.
Each heartbeat stretched into eternity. Alena waited—hoped against all odds.
And then—Katell froze.