“Come on, Jasce. Open your eyes.”
Jasce was blinded by an indigo glow as his eyes fluttered open. Warmth flowed through his back and side. At first, he thought he was dead, but the sounds of battle pierced the silence. Surely the afterlife wasn’t an eternity of war.
“Is he healed yet?” Kenz asked.
“Give me a break, will you? He lost a lot of blood.” Kord’s large hand pressed against Jasce’s back. The pain faded; only a stinging remained around the healing gashes. His magic strengthened, renewing his body and mind.
“I can’t hold this shield much longer. Get him up.”
“She’s so impatient,” Jasce mumbled, bracing his hands underneath him. Kord chuckled and helped him to his feet. Kord smiled, silver lining his eyes. “How are you here?” Jasce asked.
“Boys, save the story for later.” Kenz glanced over her shoulder and Jasce’s chest tightened. They were alive for the moment, and he would not waste it. He pulled her to him and kissed her, a quick and passionate kiss that promised more. Her shield sparked brighter, and as he pulled away, she beamed.
Kord huffed. “Please don’t do that in front of me.”
Jasce’s magic surged through him. The magic that had altered his life for the better, the magic that helped him become the man he wanted to be. His eyes widened as he scanned the courtyard. At least fifty Spectrals—Elementals, Shields, Amps—fought side by side against the Watch Guard. Flynt saluted Jasce and launched a stream of fire toward oncoming soldiers; one by one, soldiers fell to their knees clutching their throats in front of Aura; Delmira used her shield to protect the recruits Jasce had shared breakfast with. They smiled at him, and Jasce remembered Sabine’s words: You captivated those young recruits. It seems they would follow you anywhere.
Amycus, donning armor similar to Jasce’s, battled Drexus with flaming whips and cyclones of dirt and stone. Drexus’s black fire burned through everything Amycus threw his way.
Bronn and Caston squared off using their Amplifier magic while Sabine fought Warin, their swords a blur.
“Whose side are they on?” Jasce nodded to Sabine and Caston.
“It seems yours. Caston tackled Drexus while Sabine incapacitated Jaida,” Kenz said.
Jasce couldn’t believe Sabine and Caston had risked their lives for him, betraying Drexus and the Watch Guard. He couldn’t see the other two Hunters, but he found Jaida pressed against the far wall, a silver collar around her neck. Her eyes landed on Jasce and fear and sorrow flashed across her face. His muscles tensed, needing to get her free from Drexus.
“Are you two ready?” Kenz asked, her arms quivering. Kord handed Jasce a sword and they both walked off the platform as the indigo shield lowered. They joined the fray, Jasce vaulting into the middle of the storm, cutting a path between him and Jaida. Everything in him wanted to fight Drexus and Bronn, to get his revenge, but protecting his own came first. His lips curved into a smile.
His own. Finally.
A flash of indigo light sparked in the corner of Jasce’s vision, blocking a sword from an incoming guard.
“Still saving your life, it seems,” Kenz said, ramming her shield into the soldier, sending him into the wall.
“You do have an excellent teacher.” They fought back-to-back as more guards rushed into the courtyard. Jasce cut down the soldiers while keeping one eye on the Spectrals fighting alongside him.
Amycus wielded all the elements to protect the others from Drexus. Aura harnessed her Air magic to repel Vale’s flying rocks, and Flynt hurled fireballs into a group of soldiers, blocking their entrance into the courtyard. A large stone slipped through Aura’s defenses, striking her in the head. Flynt ran to her as she fell to the ground, her blood stark against her white hair. Vale raised his hands and the earth trembled. He yelled, and a mighty crack echoed off the stone walls before a fissure severed its way through the center of the courtyard, causing Watch Guard soldiers and Spectrals alike to jump back from the widening crevice. Vale panted and dropped to his knees.
Amycus cried out as a spear of black fire hit his shoulder, knocking him off balance. He teetered on the ridge of the fissure.
“Amycus!” Kenz yelled.
Jasce didn’t have time to think. His magic tugged and he embraced the darkness. His fingertips grasped the edge of Amycus’s armor.
“Got you.” Jasce pulled Amycus back.
“Thank you.” Amycus’s voice shook. He smiled at Jasce and glanced around the courtyard. His face went ashen. Jasce followed his gaze.
“Is that Jaida? She’s alive?” Amycus’s eyes widened.
“Yes. Drexus has had her all this time.”
Amycus took a step toward her but stopped, his legs shaking. Kenz ran over, using her shield to block arrows, fire, and rocks.
“Get Amycus to Kord and find a way to cross. I’ll handle Vale.” Jasce vaulted over the chasm and appeared in front of the Earth Spectral. “Vale, why?”
Vale’s eyes hardened. “The same reason as you. Power. Respect. To be on the winning side.”
“Look around you,” Jasce said, waving his arm. “Drexus is using you. Just like he used me.”
Vale shook his head and yanked his sword from his scabbard while cobblestones wrenched from the ground, circling his feet.
“I don’t want to kill you,” Jasce said.
“The feeling isn’t mutual.” Vale launched the stones and swung his sword. Jasce easily dodged and blocked the attack. He squinted against the dust and slashed his sword, glancing off Vale’s armor—the same armor Jasce and Amycus had created. The dirt settled and the stones orbiting Vale slowed as his magic weakened.
“Surrender. Your magic is gone.”
“Never.” Vale gripped his sword with both hands, teeth bared. Sweat ran down his pale face.
The reflection of the sun on a discarded arrow caught Jasce’s attention. He vaulted, then materialized behind Vale, shoving the arrow between the protected plates and into his shoulder. Vale cried out, blindly groping for the shaft. Jasce slammed the hilt of his sword onto his head. Vale and the circling stones fell to the ground.
A yell sounded behind Jasce. Bronn smiled and twirled his sword over Caston, who struggled to his feet, clutching his side, blood oozing between his fingers. Jasce vaulted again, blocking Bronn’s killing blow. Bronn lurched back, swearing.
Caston groaned as Jasce yanked him to his feet. He remembered Amycus saying that once he mastered his magic, he could take someone with him. “Hang on.” He dug deep into his well of magic, feeling the tug. They disappeared as Bronn’s sword came down and materialized before Kord. Caston dropped to his knees and retched.
Kord jumped back from the splatter. “What the . . . ?”
Jasce patted Caston’s shoulder and smiled. “Wasn’t sure that would work.”
Caston’s eyes widened, his face a sickly green. “Please, don’t do that again.”
Jasce chuckled. He scanned the area looking for Jaida, but he was unable to locate her through the smoke and dirt. Delmira lay on the ground, blood dripping down her face. A recruit stood above her, sword drawn, protecting the Spectral as two Hunters approached, their skull masks grinning. The other recruits backed into the wall, their eyes wide.
Jasce recognized the girl as the one he helped months ago, right after he received the serum. Her stance and the way she held her sword were perfect.
He vaulted, appearing between the young soldier and the assassins. “Go. Report to the steward. I’ll handle these two,” Jasce said to the girl. “Oh, and nice form.”
The girl smiled and ran with the other recruits through the gate, glancing back with looks of awe and appreciation.
“Elliot, Rafe.” Jasce nodded to the Hunters, twirling his sword. “Drexus isn’t worth dying for.”
“You’re the one who’s going to die, Azrael,” Elliot said.
“I don’t think so.” Jasce tapped into his magic and attacked, combining his vaulting with his speed. Swords clashed and fists flew. The lethal Hunters were no match for Jasce, and within seconds, they both fell.
Jasce heaved a breath and wiped his blade clean. His powers were weakening. He needed to get Jaida out of here while he still had the strength.
Jasce helped Delmira to her feet. “I need you to protect Kord and the others.”
She wiped the blood off her face and nodded, jogging to where Kord fought alongside Caston. More soldiers filed into the courtyard, hemming in the Spectrals from behind. Jasce found Amycus using his scimitar against Drexus’s fire, having used too much of the elemental magic at once. Jasce tried to vault, but his magic refused.
“Kenz! Help Amycus.”
Kenz’s head jerked, then she sprinted across the yard, using her shield as a battering ram to knock soldiers off their feet. Her shield enveloped Amycus, blocking a spear of black fire headed for his heart. She stumbled, a drop of blood falling from her nose. Her arms shook as another wave of fire hit. Drexus laughed, thrusting his hands forward, fireballs erupting, relentlessly pummeling her shield.
Jasce frantically looked around. He couldn’t get there in time to protect Kenz or Amycus. Kord was too far away, engaged with other soldiers, and Flynt was dragging Aura back behind Delmira’s shield, shooting green fire at any approaching soldier.
“Think,” Jasce said, spinning in a circle. A crossbow lay feet away. He ran toward the weapon, yanking an arrow out of a fallen Spectral along the way. He lifted the bow and aimed.
Bronn leaped through the air, tackling Jasce as he let the arrow fly. Jasce swore as he hit the ground, Bronn’s interference knocking the bolt off course. The arrow hit Drexus in the shoulder, twisting him around.
A cry cut through the smoke and dirt. Jaida stumbled toward Drexus, her hands covering her mouth.
Jasce lurched to his feet, grabbing his sword, but Bronn stepped into his path, teeth bared. “Just you and me,” he said, “steel against steel.”
Jasce gripped his sword and settled into his fighting stance. Bronn narrowed his eyes and attacked, his sword cutting through the air at an unnatural speed. Clashing metal clanged, the vibration twinging up Jasce’s arm. He pushed Bronn back, his feet moving along the uneven cobblestones. He dug into the reserves of his strength, relying on instinct and years of training as he blocked and lunged, spinning on one knee and flipping through the air—a savage dance of muscles and steel.
Bronn snarled. “You’re a useless traitor. When I’m through with you I’ll kill that Shield of yours—slowly, intimately.”
Jasce roared and swung his sword, aiming for Bronn’s neck. Bronn ducked and spun, the tip of his blade glancing off Jasce’s thigh. Jasce retreated, hiding his grimace, and Bronn laughed. He paced around Jasce like a lion stalking its prey.
Jasce ignored the jeers from the surrounding soldiers. Sabine spared a glance at him, then kicked Warin in the chest, knocking him off his feet.
Bronn yelled and raised his arm.
Silver flashed.
Swords crossed, sending a shock wave through the air. Jasce stumbled, his muscles quivering, and stepped back, regrouping. His magic was almost gone, and brute force wouldn’t beat Bronn. He needed a different tactic.
Jasce’s lip curled.
Bronn glowered. “What are you smiling about?”
“No matter what, you’re still second best.”
Bronn’s face turned red. He charged, holding his sword above his head, his muscles bulging as he brought the weapon down.
Jasce dodged, smacking Bronn with the flat of his blade as he rushed past. Bronn turned, his eyes bulging, knuckles white on the hilt of his weapon.
“Drexus will never think of you as anything more than his loyal dog,” Jasce taunted.
“Shut up!” Bronn growled, lunging forward, his technique getting sloppy.
Jasce laughed and blocked his strike, elbowing Bronn in the face. His nose broke with a satisfying crunch. “That’s gotta hurt.”
“I said, shut up!” He ran for Jasce, his eyes full of hatred, blood pouring down his face. He raised his sword.
Jasce spun around the attack and thrust his sword into Bronn’s back. Bronn cried out, his knees slamming against the ground. Blood bubbled from his mouth, his eyes wide.
Jasce grabbed Bronn by the neck and whispered in his ear, “Never let your emotions take over.” With a final gurgle, Bronn fell.
Jasce stared at the fallen soldier, expecting to feel satisfaction.
He felt nothing.
He scanned the courtyard for his sister. She knelt next to Drexus, tears streaming down her face. Vale stumbled toward them, pressing his hand against the open wound in his shoulder.
“Jaida, no!” Jasce shouted.
Drexus yelled as she yanked the arrow free. He struggled to his feet and glared at Jasce, sending toward him a bolt of fire that Jasce easily dodged. Drexus flexed his hands and inhaled. Vale helped Jaida stand, shielding her behind him.
Jasce’s magic flickered. He grabbed Bronn’s sword and stalked across the courtyard, twirling both weapons. Drexus stared over Jasce’s shoulder, a vein throbbing in his neck, and he threw his hands forward. Black fire shot past Jasce.
He tracked the fireball as it hit Sabine from behind, launching her forward onto the end of Warin’s sword.
“Sabine!” Jasce ran to her, swinging his blades so quickly Warin didn’t have time to yell as his head separated from his body.
Blood poured between Sabine’s fingers, staining the cobblestones. Jasce pressed against her stomach, trying to staunch the flow, feeling the sticky warmth. He looked for Kord.
She squeezed his hand. His eyes found hers as she ran a bloody finger down the tattoos along his left arm. “Make mine the prettiest, will you?”
Jasce swallowed and nodded. He laid her head gently on the ground, her vacant eyes staring at nothing.
His lips pulled back in a snarl as Drexus’s laughter rang in his ears.
Drexus was smiling, lobbing a black fireball from one hand to the other. “Her compassion made her weak. I’ve put her out of her misery.”
“Compassion isn’t a weakness. It’s a gift—something you’ll never understand.”
Drexus laughed. “You’re a fool.” He launched a volley of fireballs at Jasce—
—or where Jasce had been. He dug into his reserves of power, using his anger and grief to vault. He reappeared a heartbeat later, bringing down his sword.
Golden hair and gray eyes emerged suddenly, forcing Jasce to alter the blade’s trajectory.
Drexus roared as his hand fell to the ground, black fire twirling through the twitching fingers.
“Jaida, move!” Jasce said, his knuckles whitening on the hilt. Drexus hunched over, clutching his arm. Blood poured from the severed wrist.
Tears filled Jaida’s eyes. “I can’t let you kill him.” Vale put a protective arm in front of her, the ground quivering as his magic slowly returned.
White hot fury ignited inside Jasce. He would not allow Vale or his sister to get in his way. Drexus needed to pay for the crimes against his family and the Spectrals. He could not allow this monster to live.
“No,” Jasce growled. He used his speed and spun, shoving Vale into his sister and out of his path. With a roar, he pivoted and plunged his sword.
Jaida screamed, wrenching free from Vale to catch Drexus as he dropped to his knees, his wide eyes focused on the hilt of the sword stuck in his chest.
Blood coated Drexus’s teeth as he smiled. “Where’s your compassion?” He asked as he fell into Jaida’s arms.
“How could you?” Jaida said, glaring at Jasce, tears carving a path down her crimson face.
Jasce tore his eyes from Drexus and stared at his sister, lowering his other sword. “He’s a murderer.”
“So are you!” Jaida stood and fisted her hands. “You’ll pay for this, Jasce. I swear it.” Her hair floated in the air and she looked toward the sky, closing her eyes. Jasce noticed her bare neck and lurched back. Vale smirked, dropping the discarded collar. Rocks rose from the ground, circling his feet, gathering speed.
With a cry, Jaida raised her hands. Every fallen sword and forgotten arrow lifted off the ground and careened toward Jasce and the Spectrals behind him. Sand and rocks followed in a storm of metal and dirt. Jasce turned, kneeling to protect his body, and caught Kenz and Delmira out of the corner of his eye as they thrust their shields forward, blocking the incoming projectiles.
The ground trembled; not from Vale, but from the entrance to the compound. Soldiers on horses galloped through the gate, donning the colors of the royal family. The weapons and rocks fell with a resounding clang that echoed off the walls, drowning out the sound of hooves. Jasce wiped the dirt from his eyes and looked over his shoulder.
A silver collar lay in a puddle of blood next to Drexus’s severed hand.
Jasce moved toward the side entrance, but the queen’s guard blocked his pursuit. His sister and Vale had fled, taking Drexus’s body with them. “Blast it, Jaida.”
Someone called Jasce’s name, the voice sounding far away. Amycus limped toward him with Kenz by his side.
Amycus forced a smile, resting his hand on Jasce’s shoulder. “It’s over.”
Jasce glanced at the older man and then stared in the direction Jaida had gone. “No, it’s not.”