Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

" T ake those you wish to sell. Kill the rest." Levon points to me. "But leave her to me."

So it seems Levon is a part of this. He steps forward, meeting my eyes with a smirk before whipping forward. Our blades meet in a resounding clash, his sword to my dagger.

"What a pitiful blade," he sneers.

"This pitiful blade is going to gut you in a minute," I tell him with a smirk.

I push forward and he leans back to gain his balance, but before he does, I slash my blade across his arm, leaving a nice, long gash.

"A taste of what is to come," I tell him.

Instead of hissing in pain, he looks me in the eyes and laughs. A deep chuckle that crawls down my back like ice.

I shoot forward and he blocks my next attempt to gut him, but he leaves his side unguarded, so I twist and slash my blade across the top of his thigh before spinning out of his range.

Again, he doesn't cry out in pain or check the wound. Instead, he looks at me with eyes filled with venom.

"Go back to your cages and we won't hurt you."

I quickly glance over at the girls to see them huddled together and frightened as the guards surround them. The guards smirk at the indecision in their eyes.

"You are not powerless," I remind them as Levon lunges forward to attack. I block him and slash my blade across his other arm. "Protect one another. Do not let them win."

This time when I circle Levon, there's more than just loathing in his eyes; he's livid. It seems I have provoked him enough to take this personally.

Good. Now he realizes that this won't be as easy as he assumed.

I hear a scream and glance over to see the guards reach the girls. The guards have them surrounded and are trying to break them apart.

I let my Sidus power build within me, dragging it up and up from the depths of me before reaching out and releasing it, aiming at each guard. My strings of light snap out, coiling around each of their necks and tightening, cutting off their air supply.

I block another attack from Levon as I hold my Sidus light and shout over to the girls.

"Do not let them take your power. Take it back. Take it back and unleash it upon them."

I catch something flash in one of the girls' eyes, the one who was the first to leave her cell, and she steps out as her shadows begin to build around her.

Just like last time, it takes just one. Just one person to light the flame. I release my hold on my Sidus light as one grows to two and then three and four, until the entire group of them are joining their shadows to the first, growing and expanding it to become a shield of shadows and smoke, pushing the guards back and blocking their path to them.

The guards try to use their own shadows to slash at the shield, but it doesn't budge.

I turn my full attention back to Levon and attack with unfaltering strikes, my movements swift and the slash of my blade precise. I manage to cut him another two times before he is foolish enough to open his mouth.

"Chaos and death will come for you all," he says in an ominous tone.

" Chaos is already here," I remind him as I raise my blade. "And your death is near." I strike again, this time managing to get close enough to his face. The red line slashed down his left cheek is a nice addition to the rage now pulsing throughout his eyes.

His hateful eyes pierce me as he grows completely still, wiping a drip of blood from his chin.

I move and he follows. I attack, and he does the same, his movements a mirror of my own. I attempt another attack, but he does the same, mimicking my movements once more.

I spring forward but spot my mistake too late as his eyes narrow and he dips to avoid it, catching my wrist to slide his blade along my arm, drawing a hiss from my lips before he moves back with a chuckle.

"An eye for an eye. Isn't that what your kind says?"

My kind. He says it as if he is not the same. As if what we are is beneath him.

I think back to when I've seen him use his shadows and realize I never have. He is strong, yes, and a fighter, but he has never wielded any shadows around me. And his immediate disgust for the Sidus and our powers assures me he has no light.

"You're Fae," I say, and his smile widens. I should have expected it after Veles said his blood had trapped him in the cell.

"You are all going to die here," he says before surging forward with a thrust of his blade.

But I quickly catch it and get the upper hand, twisting around to swipe his legs from under him. He slams to the ground with a grunt as I step back to put some distance between us.

A small black ball rolls toward me, hitting my shoe before turning white.

I glance over at Levon, wondering if this is one of his tricks, when I catch his eyes widen on the ball.

"Orbis," he whispers before looking at me with eyes full of interest.

A loud bang rumbles throughout the passageways, and the ground shakes beneath me, throwing me sideways and distracting me from Levon's strange expression.

But instead of panicking, something inside me loosens, and I know somehow that my new friends have arrived. I just need to hold off Levon and the rest of the guards long enough until they make it here.

After gaining my feet, I glance back at Levon, only to find him gone. But I don't have much time to think about where he went, as more guards spill in from every position and surround me.

They eye me up with a smug grin before attacking. They use their swords and shadows to strike, but I evade their shadows and fend off any attack.

Time quickly disappears as I fight without mercy and block any of them from getting past me to the girls. I can't see them anymore, the dust and crumbling brick blocking my view. But I can hear them fighting back with their shadows, so I know they must be close.

I continue to hold my own against the onslaught of attacks from all angles, but it won't be much longer before they overwhelm me.

Another blast bellows out around us before tapering off to a deep rumble. But it's enough to throw the guards a few feet away from me, allowing me to get my footing once more before they continue their attack.

I spot Asra and Veles first. They make their way over to me and gain ground with the guards farther away from me before cleaving a path through them. They're beside me within minutes, guarding me as if I'm the one who needs protecting. Though I am grateful for their help.

"The girls?" I ask.

"With Kestral and Cyra," Veles answers before stabbing the nearest guard in the neck and pulling it out with a pointed look. "Stab first, ask questions later, remember ?" He nods without waiting for a reply and continues to stab, maim, and carve a bloody trail wherever he goes.

It's brutal and chaotic, but even I can admire the efficiency with which he works through each guard.

A female voice shouts out in rage, and it reminds me of the other women. Those Leora mentioned in the other corridors we had yet to find.

My eyes widen, and as if they sense my inner panic, Asra and Veles both turn to look at me.

"There are more women in the other corridors. Go, now. Find them and free them. I can take care of the rest." I nod my head to the half a dozen guards stumbling around us.

"Are you sure?" Asra asks.

I give him a narrowed look that makes him smirk before he grabs Veles by the collar and pulls him away in the opposite direction.

Turning back to the guards, I move through them quickly, avoiding their slash of shadows and sloppy attacks before turning to find the others.

There is dust and debris everywhere, but I scan my surroundings and spot Veles and Asra leading a group of women away from here, and the tightness in my chest slowly unravels.

My gaze lands on Oryn, and his eyes widen when they meet mine.

"Seren," he shouts as he makes his way toward me.

I open my mouth to let him know his sister is here and hopefully safe with Cyra and Kestral, but just before he reaches me, a sorrowful bellow rings out around us.

I glance over to find Nevan holding one of the women's bodies we passed earlier, and my stomach drops.

His wife…

He clutches her tightly to his chest, his face drenched in agonizing pain and heartbreak.

Oryn stares at him in horror, his face ashen as he moves to search the bodies around him.

I rush to him and stop him. "She's alive," I tell him. "Leora is alive."

Once he hears her name, he stops his search and whips his head to me.

"You've seen her?" he asks, and I nod. "Where is she?"

"Kestral and Cyra led them away from here. She was with the group when I last saw her."

He nods to me, a determined glint in his eyes now as he gets up to go search for her. But just as he takes a step forward, a light blares to life beside us. A Sidus light.

I turn to look at it and find Nevan's hand weaving light to encase his wife. More and more surrounds her before encasing her entire body and absorbing it whole.

Just like when a Sidus passes, nothing is left behind. Nevan stares blankly at his hands as I glance up at Oryn in shock.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," he says and winces at me. "Nevan is also like me."

My eyes widen. "He has both Sidus and Caligo powers?" I ask, and he nods, confirming it.

I'm so lost to my shock that I don't realize Asra and Cyra have stepped up beside us until it is too late.

"What happened?" Asra asks.

I share a worried look with Oryn, hoping they didn't hear us. But before either of us gets time to worry about it, another blast roars out around us, flinging us all apart from one another.

My head smacks against something hard, and the world around me dips and spins, my vision clouding with dark spots.

Squeezing my eyes tight, I try to right myself and shake the loud ringing from my ears before stumbling to my feet.

When my gaze finally clears, it lands on Levon and the smirk on his face as he holds Leora in his grasp, a sword to her neck.

My heart drops, my chest tightening as he drags her backward and out of sight.

I follow without thought, quickly catching up to them as his hold tightens on her, and she gasps.

"Let her go," I demand.

"Is your Sidus power quicker than my sword?" he taunts and slides it closer to her neck while his cruel smirk grows.

I pause and he chuckles. He knows I cannot use my powers. Even the ones he isn't aware of. Neither of them would be able to pull her away before he slashes the blade across her neck, instantly killing her.

"I'm going to kill this spineless stain of a being, and you will be able to do nothing but watch," he sneers before continuing to drag her away as she whimpers.

He brings us to another long corridor and through a passageway before I hear it. A loud bellowing blast. And another and another.

The rumbling roar ripples out behind and beneath me, and I whip around to find my way back quickly closed off.

Steeling myself for what I must do, I turn back around and carry on, following Levon's callous laugh while sending a silent prayer to the gods, hoping that everyone else behind me is safe and alive.

I'm not so naive to believe this isn't a trap. I know he has lured me here. But it is for that reason that I blindly follow him, because I know it is me he wants, not Leora.

With my sliver of hope, I move ahead and follow them, hoping I will have a chance to buy Leora a moment to escape.

We quickly move upward and along the inside of the palace, to a long, open hall with huge pillars on each side.

I glance around for anything to use as a weapon, having lost mine in the blast, but find nothing.

Levon brings Leora to the edge of the hall before he looks to me with a smirk and slams the hilt of the blade into the back of her head. Her eyes roll backward before closing as she drops to the ground.

I lunge forward to catch her when shadows whip around my arms and legs, encasing my entire body, only leaving my head free.

A man steps out between me and Levon before he turns to me. My eyes widen as a slash of fear shoots through me.

"I was hoping we'd meet again," the Breaker says.