Page 108 of Unseen Eye
I follow him, already flinging my dagger at a hellhound lunging in our direction. With a flick of my wrist, the blade returns to my hand, a newfound control over my magic making retrieval effortless. Cal carves a path ahead of us, his sword cutting through anything that gets in his way. His strikes are fluid, deadly, and unrelenting, as if he’s been waiting for this moment to unleash everything.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a group of villagers, vastly outnumbered by a nightmare. Without hesitating, I channel my magic, sending a beam of light in their direction. The nightmare collapses before it can strike. The villagers, wide-eyed, nod in thanks before returning to the fight.
The battlefield is utter chaos. The snarling of hellhounds, the clash of weapons, and the cries of combatants fill the air,mingling with the crackling of fire and the acrid stench of fear and blood. Cal fights alongside Theo now, the two of them back-to-back, cutting down enemies with terrifying precision. As I call a blade back to my hand, Izzy finds her way over to me, slicing through an enemy as she reaches me.
“How the hell did they find this place?” I yell, barely audible over the clamor of battle.
“No idea! But I’d love to beat it out of someone!” she shouts back, sending a gust of wind toward a pack of hellhounds, knocking them off balance.
Despite the chaos, one figure stands out— the shadow warden. He’s still hanging back, watching, almost like he’s waiting for the right moment to strike.
And then I see him—Malachai, the elder of Ardu, locked in combat with a pack of hellhounds. He’s fighting valiantly, but he’s starting to falter. The warden has spotted him. His focus sharpening, and with a swift movement, he advances toward Malachai, raising his massive axe.
I freeze for a heartbeat, and then it’s as if everything else fades. Without thinking, I’m sprinting toward them. My feet carry me without hesitation, and my heart thunders in my chest. I can’t let him—he can’t—
“Don’t you dare,” Izzy calls after me, her voice tinged with panic as she sees my direction.
But I don’t hear her. Malachai is in danger. I have to stop the warden before he—
I gather my energy and send a beam of light straight at the warden, catching his attention—and everyone else’s.
“Cal did say the next one was mine,” I call over my shoulder, my voice barely cutting through the noise.
Izzy’s curses follow me, but I don’t slow down.
The shadow warden, hell-bent on finding me, swings his massive axe in all directions, cleaving through hellhounds andnightmares alike, clearly focused on one thing: me. I spot Cal in the distance, handling six hellhounds at once. Showoff.
I hurl a few more daggers into the fray before finally reaching the warden. Or rather, where he’s been waiting for me. And just as I get there, it dawns on me: no sword, just four measly daggers.
“Well, that was smart,” I mutter, more annoyed with myself than anything else.
The warden notices my lack of weaponry and lets out a low, eerie chuckle that makes my skin crawl. “Missing something?” he taunts, voice dripping with malice.
“Nah,” I say with a shrug, forcing nonchalance. “It just makes beating you more interesting.”
Without wasting another second, I send up a quick prayer and fling a dagger at his shoulder, aiming for the gap in his armor. It hits, thank the gods. He bellows in pain, tearing the dagger out and disintegrating it in his hand.
Three daggers left. Fantastic.
He swings his axe with a brutal, wild force, each strike threatening to split me in two. I duck and dodge, my pulse pounding in my ears. The more he misses, the more erratic his swings become. I retaliate with a quick, sharp throw, aiming for the smallest weaknesses in his armor. The dagger hits, but it’s more of an annoyance than real damage—if anything, it’s just making him angrier.
Suddenly, he lunges, faster than I expect for someone his size, and I barely roll out of the way in time. Coming up on one knee, I channel a beam of light straight at his chest. It strikes, forcing him back with a snarl of pain. Taking advantage of the moment, I send another dagger flying, this one embedding just above his knee. He roars, more in fury than pain.
“You’ll pay for that, girl!” he bellows, ripping the dagger out and crushing it to dust.
Two left.
I summon more light, feeling it flow through me like fire in my veins. Another beam shoots from my hands, but this time he deflects it with his axe, sending sparks scattering across the battlefield. He charges again, but I’m ready. I sidestep, hurling a blinding flash of light straight into his eyes.
“Is that seriously all you’ve got?” I taunt, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice. Adrenaline’s making my hands shake.
He swings wildly, furious and blinded. I duck and dodge, using my smaller size to my advantage. His wild attacks are getting sloppier, his breathing heavier.
I take a split second to glance around the battlefield. Cal’s still hacking through enemies like he was born for it. Theo and Izzy are holding their own nearby, and the villagers… well, they’re fighting, but I can see them starting to tire. This has to end soon.
Cal catches my eye, his expression shifting from intense concentration to wide-eyed alarm. Apparently, he missed my earlier display of light. His look promises a long talk later—assuming I survive. He starts pushing toward me, but he’s got a whole mess of enemies between us.
I don’t need him.
