Nev nodded slightly as she felt a warm, squeezing sensation envelop her hands. Thank you, Wyatt, she thought.
Sagrine saw her cracking veneer mend itself, and he snorted with agitation. “I see. Playing games together. Most interesting and most irritating. I would also like to play games with you. I think I shall take you both back to the emperor. It will be… entertaining to see how torturing one affects the other. Maybe one day, when I tire of tormenting you and you ask very nicely, I will tell you what I offered freely a moment ago. Or maybe I will take those last words that your father meant for your ears to my grave.”
Nev felt her pain and hatred grow. She held her sword and dagger before her. “Or maybe I will pry them from your mind with my mother’s dagger and father’s sword,” she growled.
“So, you do have some inkling of who you are? Good, that will make this so much more fun,” Sagrine said, lunging at her.
Wyatt watched with horror and amazement as Nev and Sagrine traded blows. He knew of no one who had ever dared to face one in combat, until now. Prowlers were exceedingly rare and their skills legendary. Nev moved with a dangerous grace he had only ever witnessed in predators. I am no one’s prey, he recalled, remembering the first words she’d ever spoken to him. They took on a deeper meaning now.
Sagrine was impressed, if not also a little irritated, that Nev was so skilled in combat. He had wanted to face her, truly face her since the first night he had come to this cabin. Of course, she was just a child then and would have proven easy prey had he caught up to her. Perhaps it was preferable she’d eluded him for so long. At least, it would be more satisfying this way.
Wyatt looked for any opportunity he could to help Nev. He triggered flashes of light at inopportune times for Sagrine and caused his dagger’s hilt to grow hot in his hands. Still, the prowler fought with an unnatural and unbending ferocity.
Sagrine paused his assault on Nev and shook his head disapprovingly. “Now, now… two against one hardly seems fair,” he sneered. “Ah, yes. I know you, boy. It seems I was too quick to dismiss those rumors about you all those years ago. Perhaps I should pay your sister a visit? It has been so long since I have had the pleasure of her company.”
Wyatt felt himself become blinded by rage. He was already angry with the prowler for daring to mention his feelings for Nev, but now he was furious. Addi had always tried to keep him safe. Now, he had failed to keep her safe in return. He felt his concentration drift, and he struggled to refocus his mind.
Nev found herself momentarily distracted by worry as she felt Wyatt’s mind waver. The prowler, seizing his opportunity, launched into Nev with concentrated hatred and hunger. She miscalculated the prowler’s movements and paid the price for her mistake. Feeling Sagrine’s blade slide lightly across her cheek, the sting of the wound caused Nev to shriek in pain.
Pausing, the prowler held the blade close to his face. He relished the sight of her blood upon it. Grinning at Nev, he licked the blade clean and visibly shuddered from the intense pleasure. “Well, isn’t that interesting. The power of your blood is undeniable. So much more potent than your mother’s. I must have more. I will hunt you until every drop of you is mine,” he growled, flashing a hungry smile at Nev.
Wyatt’s thoughts were suddenly jerked back into the moment when Nev cried out in pain. Grimacing, he watched the prowler lick the blade.
“I can see why you are in love with her. To have her, all of her, must be a truly exquisite experience. One I shall be looking forward to indulging in myself,” Sagrine taunted, looking at Wyatt and flashing a toothy grin.
Nev was growing tired, but the prowler propelled himself at her with seemingly renewed energy. Make it right, she repeated. Nev deflected Sagrine’s attack at the last moment and landed a successful hit. A sliver of the prowler’s armor floated to the ground, and blood drops from his wounded arm soon followed suit.
The prowler laughed as he saw his blood falling to the ground. “Excellent. Show me what you have. I have waited twenty years for this. For you. I do not want my prize to come too easily or too quickly,” he smirked.
Wyatt watched the events unfolding and felt increasingly helpless to save her from the prowler’s attacks. This time, however, he would not allow his mind to waver. Instead, he endeavored to let his anger grow controlled and concentrated. It burned with focused intensity. Wyatt pictured the air within the prowler’s throat, and then he aimed all his energy into one thought. Burn!
Nev saw a flash or bright light escape from the prowler’s throat as he collapsed. In an instant, he was gasping and pawing at his neck. Nev thought briefly about piercing his throat with her blade, but she quickly felt Wyatt pull her back and away from Sagrine. She watched the prowler sputtering and swinging his dagger wildly as he worked to regain his footing.
Wyatt didn’t wait to act, nor did he really think through what he was doing. He simply knew he needed to get Nev out of there, and it had to be now. Grabbing Nev’s arm, he pulled her close to him. “We can’t beat him, not now. We need to run,” he said emphatically.
Nev didn’t necessarily disagree, but even a wounded prowler would be damn near impossible to outrun on foot. “How? Where?” she inquired, looking back at the prowler. Luckily, he was still reeling a bit, and that had granted them a very brief reprieve.
Wyatt didn’t have a good answer
