Page 75 of Veiled Fate
Lycaonus, for his part, was getting angry. His lips had pulled back, with his teeth bared in a near-manic snarl as his attacks were continually stopped.
“One of those will get through,” he hissed.
My eyes flicked past him as our swords clanged together again, and I dodged to the right. The Alpha was fast, however, and the instant my eyes focused on something else, he flung himself away, rolling away from me as the limp body of one of the Wulfhere sailed through the space he’d just occupied.
It would have been the distraction I needed to finish him off, but it didn’t work.
“You’re going to need more than cheap tricks to stop me,” he growled as he stalked forward, sword held out to his side at a downward angle. The blade was still dry. He had yet to even pink me.
Then again, I was breathing hard, my biceps shaking even without the added jerky movements of the sword, and Lycaonus hadn’t even broken a sweat. The odds were slowly tipping in his favor.
On impulse, I lunged forward as he advanced, catching him off-guard. My sword leaped and danced, but the longer blade kept me at bay, forcing me to begin to retreat once more.
Kiel, meanwhile, had finally finished dealing with the Wulfhere and was now sneaking up behind Lycaonus. I slowly backed away, keeping my eyes fixed on the dancing blade, resolutelynotlooking elsewhere except Lycaonus’ eyes and the sword.
“Time to die, you annoying bitch,” he snarled, coming in hard.
I met his charge with all my remaining strength and, with a roar, flung him backward. The unexpected challenge of strength caught Lycaonus by surprise. However, he only retreated two steps without losing control, his sword still in guard.
But I was coming in hot on his heels, and behind him, Kiel snatched at his ankle.
The distraction was enough.
Lycaonus’ head snapped around, his sword already moving to intercept my blow. He saw Kiel, and for a moment, just that one moment, he froze, unsure of what to do.
My blade whipped in hard, a violent tremor working its way up the handle before I even struck a blow. Steel met steel, and my sword shattered on impact, splitting in two where it hit.
Emerald energy exploded from my sword.
The concussive force launched me backward. At the same time, it flung the broken piece of itself into Lycaonus’ chest. A millisecond later, the shockwave blasted the Alpha backward as well. His feet hit Kiel, who was crouched behind him, as he was sent pinwheeling across the chamber. Then it picked up Kiel and hurled him backward as well.
I hit the stone wall hard, bouncing off and seeing stars, gasping for breath.
By the time I could lift my head, Kiel was on the far side of the chamber doing the same thing. The energy, for its part, had risen upward but was now cackling and pulsing, a giant ball in the center of the domed ceiling, glowing green and getting brighter. Tendrils of electricity shot out, blasting chunks of rock free to rain down on the floor.
As my senses returned, I noted Lycaonus was lying on the floor, his head at an impossible angle, blood gushing from where the broken piece of the blade would have pierced his heart.
None of it would be fatal, I knew that, but it was certainly incapacitating. Maybe I could honor my word about putting his head and body in separate places. That would definitely slow down his pursuit of us if nothing else.
But above all that, I had a more important priority.
“Jada,” Kiel said as he scrambled to my side, recovering just that little bit faster. “Are you okay?”
“I think so,” I said, accepting his hand as he pulled me to my feet and into a hug.
I paused in that embrace, basking in the strong, warm tug of his arms around my shoulders. I fit comfortably, resting my head on his shoulder. Above us, the ball of energy continued to grow and expand. More green lightning flickered, and fresh debris pelted us. Kiel draped a thick arm over my head.
On the far side of the altar chamber of the Temple of Blessed Fate, Lycaonus finally began to stir, awareness returning to his eyes, while the flow of blood from his chest decreased.
“He’ll be up soon,” I said. “We should take his arms or legs.”
“They’ll just heal once reattached,” Kiel said quietly. “We can’t kill him.”
“Not planning to. Just want to slow him down,” I said, finding Kiel’s hand and squeezing it.
“Oh, well, in that case,” he said with a chuckle.
We walked over to the crumpled Alpha, hands still interlocked.
