Brandt used the momentum of his spin to bring his sword back around, stepping once again into Kye’s guard.
His attack was fierce and sustained, but he couldn’t break past Kye’s impeccable defense. His two swords created a wall Brandt couldn’t pass.
Brandt took two steps back to regain his focus, but Kye had no intention of letting him have that moment. The governor launched himself forward, taking the offensive for the first time.
Brandt had seen fighters good with two swords. Ryder had specialized in the technique and used it to great effect. But this was something else.
One cut led straight into another, an endless flurry of blows coming from different directions, nearly impossible to track. Brandt blocked, deflected, and dodged, but the only way to avoid the storm of steel was to give up ground.
Faster and faster, Brandt retreated, Kye’s swords never more than a hand’s width away, seeking to cut him open.
It was only a matter of time.
One of Kye’s blades found his shoulder, another his hip. Neither cut was particularly dangerous, but pain ran through his body, causing him to falter and lose more ground. Kye stabbed him, catching him in the left shoulder again as Brandt desperately twisted out of the way. Another lance of pain exploded across his body. He didn’t even see the kick that sent him stumbling to the ground.
His focus shattered as the back of his skull struck stone.
He’d given everything.
And it hadn’t been nearly enough.
Kye stood above him, uninjured. The governor barely looked winded.
Brandt tried to stand, but Kye stepped forward, keeping to Brandt’s left side, and kicked him in the stomach. Brandt gasped, his lungs screaming for air and unable to draw a breath.
Brandt refused to fail. He summoned every last bit of his strength and swung his sword with everything he could muster.
Kye deflected the blow with ease, blocking with such strength the sword flew out of Brandt’s weakening hands. Kye stabbed down at Brandt. Brandt tried to roll away, the sword cutting through the side of his chest.
Brandt reached down and grabbed the knife at his belt. It was nothing special, an everyday knife he carried for cutting food and daily tasks. He swung wildly at Kye’s legs, causing the governor to back up two steps.
A look of disgust passed over Kye’s face as he looked down at Brandt. He took another few steps back, well out of Brandt’s range. Then he relaxed into his defensive pose once again.
Brandt swore. “Are you too cowardly to kill me like a warrior?”
“There’s cowardice and there’s wisdom. I know the difference.”
Brandt hated that Kye was right. Up close, Brandt had a chance, however small. But at a distance, there was little he could do. He would bleed out until he lost consciousness, and then Kye could finish him at his leisure. Kye didn’t need to kill him. He only needed to stop him.
Brandt tried to stand, but exhaustion and despair caused him to crash back down.
There wasn’t any point.
Kye had spared him once, but not again.
After everything, Brandt had failed.
62
How many times had she thought about this reunion? How many nights had she laid awake, wondering exactly what she would do if she ever came face to face with her brother again?
Alena took a step back. The fire in her brother’s eyes frightened her.
He gave her no opportunity to reply. He flung himself at her, moving with unexpected speed. Her air affinity warned her of the sword, sweeping around for her neck.
Alena became light, leaping back and away from the slashing blade. The sword cut through the space her throat had been a moment before. Jace attacked without hesitation, the tip of his sword steady as it sought her heart.
Alena ran into a pillar, then ducked low as Jace’s sword flashed toward her chest. The sword stopped short of the stone pillar. Jace cut down, forcing her to roll to the side.
She came to her feet and ran, lightly leaping and bouncing off a pillar. Jace remained right behind her, though, his sword never straying from its intended mark.
If she couldn’t evade him, perhaps she could force him to make a mistake. She darted around the pillars, managing to break Jace’s line of sight for a moment at a time. Her speed and agility surpassed her brother’s, and she slowly put more distance between them.
Until Jace stopped playing the game.
He gave up the chase and took position in front of the door leading toward the blue light. Alena stopped, too. Like the chamber with the Lolani, Jace didn’t need to kill her. All he needed was to prevent her from advancing.
“Why?”
Jace scoffed. “You were always the bright one. Did you really think I’d welcome a murderer and Etari lover with open arms?”
Murderer? Alena was so surprised she took a step back. It took her a moment to make the connection.
Bayt.
Her brother thought she had killed Bayt.
The denial died on her lips. What could she say here that would counteract seven years of hatred? If her family thought her guilty of Bayt’s death, she could only imagine how it would have torn them apart.
But perhaps he didn’t know what ends his master served. “Kye is giving the Lolani a powerful artifact, Jace. We need to stop him!”
“I know, and we don’t. The Lolani will make everything right, Alena. I’ve seen it.”
Words weren’t going to work. Alena saw the immovable steel of belief in his eyes. If she was going to stop the Lolani, her brother had to fall.
She drew her knife and stepped forward, closing the distance to five paces. She took another step. He still didn’t react.
Another step brought her three paces away. She saw the tension running through his body.
The indecision.
He might hate her, but he had still spent most of his life looking up to her. He wouldn’t kill her, not when the time came. She had to believe that.
Alena sheathed her knife.
She stepped forward again, closing the distance to two paces. His sword
