Page 41 of Kiss of Light

But as she gripped the hilt of her knife and dragged it upwards, she recognised her fury was well and truly off the leash. It washed over her, as hot and wet as the guts spilling to the floor.

He had killed Lemar. Someone she’d sworn to protect.

The thought that he was dead left her hollow.

She yanked out her blade and Kaeron fell to his knees, his face a white oval. He clutched at his stomach, trying to hold his insides in place. He didn’t make a sound as he slowly toppled to one side.

“Kaeron!” Seraefa was on her feet, staring in disbelief. “What have you done?”

Her voice cut through the rage clouding Tala’s mind. She dropped her blades and they clattered to the ground, edges soaked in elven blood. Kaeron lay deathly still, curled up like a child. Tala clamped down on her anger, forcing it under control.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a low voice. “He’s gone.”

Seraefa grabbed the tripod and hauled it upright. Most of the arrows had fallen from it during the fight, but a handful remained. The elven’s face contorted in rage as she pointed the weapon at Tala, her finger on the trigger.

“The arrows have the same spell on them as my blades. You’re going to die for what you did, bitch.”

Tala couldn’t shimmer and knew she wasn’t fast enough to get out of the firing range. It didn’t matter. She’d failed in her job. Nush’aldaam would be lost because of her.

And Lemar. Lemar was dead.

She didn’t know why that should matter to her. He was a mark, a despised Vetali she barely knew. But for some unfathomable reason the thought left a pain in her chest. As if she’d taken one of her own blades and jammed it into her heart.

She held out her arms and let her lip curl mockingly.

“Bring it.”

The fae pulled the trigger and three arrows flew towards their mark. As if in slow motion, Tala saw them coming at her. She welcomed the pain they would bring. She deserved it.

So when Lemar blurred in front of her, she was taken by surprise.

He ploughed into her, shielding her with his body and bearing her to the ground. She lay beneath him, stunned.

“Lemar!” She touched his hair, his face. “You’re alive!”

Suddenly she could breathe again. He raised his head weakly.

“I mean, you could have made thetiniesteffort to get out of the way.”

She saw then that while two arrows had missed their mark, the third had hit him squarely in the back.

“Shit. Lemar, you’re hit.”

“I’m aware.”

She reached round to feel how deeply it had penetrated and he groaned in pain.

“Lemar, I need to get you somewhere so I can take a proper look.”

Seraefa loomed over them.

“You’re not going anywhere.” She bent to examine the arrow. “The tip is already worming its way towards his heart. Let’s give it a helping hand.”

She grasped the shaft and pushed. Tala saw Lemar try not to react, but his face twisted in agony. She looked round for a weapon, something to throw, anything to make the bitch back off. But her knives were out of reach.

Acting purely on impulse, using the only thing she had left, she shoved her left hand towards the elven’s face.

The light-bringer released its power, sending pure white light straight into Seraefa’s eyes. The fae screamed as it burned through her retinas, the power at such close range searing her optic nerves. She staggered backwards, clawing at her face, her skin red and blistered.

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