Page 74 of Veiled Fate
“How about that,” I murmured, and at the urging of the blade, I advanced, driving the Nehringi back across the room, his long sword spraying metal with every attack.
“Impossible,” the assassin rasped.
“Yet it’s happening,” I said with unexpected calmness a second before I swung my blade through his sword and neck in one sharp movement.
The blade, body, and cranium crashed to the floor.
Not a sound could be heard once they’d settled. Turning, I pointed the sword at Lycaonus.
He, in turn, pointed at me to his soldiers. Before they could respond one way or another—and I saw some very hesitant looks on their faces—Kiel flung himself into their midst like a wrecking ball.
“You and I,” I said as I advanced on the Alpha, “have some unfinished business.”
In my hand, the sword started to tremble, causing the light in the room to flicker dramatically and even fade out some.
“Problems?” Lycaonus said, an evil smile spreading across his face as he plucked a fresh blade from one of his Wulfhere and moved it easily into a guard position. “Just hand the sword over to me. I’ll take good care of it. Unlike some, I know how to handletruepower.”
Then he came for me, the promise of death etched into his features.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The unwavering confidence that had strengthened my nerve from the moment I pulled the sword out of my stomach wavered and started to die out. I backed away from Lycaonus nervously while the sword trembled and nearly pulled itself from my hand.
Come on. I need you to help me fight here, please! We can’t die now.
It might have been my imagination, but it seemed like the sword calmed itself, at least for a few moments. When Lycaonus, first of all Alphas, darted in with an attack that struck as hard and fast as lightning, I wasn’t so sure. The blade came up, working with my instincts to block the attack.
Barely.
My skills with a blade were negligible. Lycaonus was a master of the craft. If it weren’t for the semi-sentience that the blade housed, I would have been struck down on the first blow. Even the Nehringi would have made mincemeat of me without the blade.
So, to see it now flickering and acting up was more than a little unsettling.
Lycaonus’ blade was also intact, something I didn’t immediately pick up on. Despite being little more than a plain sword grabbed from a fallen Wulfhere soldier, the blade hadn’t peeled at all from where I blocked it.
Was that advantage gone now, lost to me?
“The scales are balancing,” the Alpha sneered as he launched a series of swinging strikes and slashes at me.
I danced back out of the way, parrying and dodging the blows as they rained down on me, one after another, nonstop. The room filled with the peal of metal on metal. Emerald sparks continued to erupt from every clash of blades. Somehow, I didn’t get hit. But it was a close thing. I also wasn’t even able to spare a thought about counter-attacking.
All I could do was survive as the Alpha slammed his blade into me repeatedly, launching brutal two-handed strikes, nearly knocking me to the floor. Whatever the Fate-infused blade could do to help, it wasn’t making me any stronger, and Lycaonus’ attacks weren’t weakening.
I was.
Time was running out.
“Stop playing with him and end it!” Kiel shouted from where he was busy fending off several Wulfhere by using one of their hapless comrades as his human shield. He had the soldier by the neck and one hand behind his back. He swung the armor-clad shifter around in a circle so fast the booted feet left the ground.
“What makes you think I’m playing?” I half-yelped back at him, reeling from another heavy blow. “Youstop playing!”
Kiel paused just long enough to toss me an incredulous look.
“Oh, don’t give me that. You’re toying with your food,” I barked, dancing away from Lycaonus in what felt graceful but, in all reality, was likely very amateurish.
“Am not,” Kiel fired back.
Then there was no more time to talk. Lycaonus was on me in a flash, and I was fighting for my life. The sword danced left and right, blocking high, slashing low, moving with a mind of its own, only held by my hand. I could never have made half the moves it did without the goddess-powered help.
