* * *
It felt like I’d slept for only moments before I heard Sinivyn whisper my name. My eyes snapped open. There was only one reason that he would wake me.
Nyx.
I jumped to my feet and peered out the window. Yes, Nyx stood in the middle of the field. Directly where the portal had led. Sinivyn seemed to shake next to me. I patted his shoulder and saw that Rose was awake as well.
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “Stay here. Whatever you do, don’t leave this hut. Nyx will abandon the fight to kill you.”
“Isn’t there anything I can do?” she asked. Concern filled her green eyes. They’d changed colors as all fairy eyes did.
“Be patient, and don’t leave the hut unless you see me fall. If that happens, the gnomes will get you to the village so that they can warn everyone. There’s a backdoor out of the village. It will take time for Nyx to find the village as long as everyone stays near the gnomes.”
I turned to Sinivyn. “You know what to do. Keep everyone safe, but don’t leave unless I die. If I survive, I’ll need help.”
Sinivyn put out his hand, and I took it. I could feel the fear and sadness flowing from him, but he stood tall. At least as tall as a gnome could.
Enivyn ran over and hugged my leg. I patted his back, and he looked up at me. “Don’t die. We’ll miss you too much. And no one will bring us goodies.”
“I’ll do my best, friend,” I whispered.
Rose stood up, and I walked towards her. She wrapped her arms around me and whispered, “Don’t die.” Then, she pressed her lips against mine and every emotion that she felt flowed from hers into mine.
Passion. Fear. Sadness. Lust. Even now, she lusted after me.
I pulled back and smiled at her. “I’ll try.”
Then I turned from all three of them and stepped out of the hut feeling nearly as ragged as I’d felt when I’d got here. The sun was shining. One thing that was in my favor. The wind blew through the trees, and I took a deep breath. I’d thought I would live forever, but all things must end. At least this would be in the pursuit of fixing things, of protecting someone that mattered. That mattered to the world. That mattered to me.
I took another deep breath and began to walk to the field where Nyx was waiting. I walked towards the battle and, almost assuredly, to my death.
Chapter 19
Sebastian
“You’re hungry, aren’t you?” Nyx said in that voice made of ash and smoke.
“I could eat,” I said, smiling under my hood.
“You know you’re going to die, don’t you?” He wasn’t going to enjoy this fight. Neither was I for that matter. Unlike most of the battles I’d been in, I genuinely respected Nyx.
He was nothing like me. Descendent of dragons, he was my opposite. He was a murderer, but who wasn’t in the Dark Court. Unlike me, his honor was unshakeable. His reputation, infallible.
Yet, he respected me for the things that I’d done. Things that others had condemned me for. And I respected him for his skills and strength. For training me when no one else wanted to be near me because of my father.
“Once again, I don’t want to fight, Nyx. I just can’t let you have the girl. She matters more than your honor and even more than either of our lives. Even if it takes my life to protect her, I won’t let you have her.”
“That’s too bad, Sebastian. I’d hoped that if it was going to come down to one last fight between us, at least you’d make it a good one.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, centering myself. Letting my awareness expand and take in all of the sounds, all of the feelings. Even from Nyx. Being half-incubus allowed me access to the emotions of people. Not exactly the same as mind reading, but the closest I could come to it.
Confidence. Sadness. Readiness. And a strange fear. Keying in on it, I explored the fear. He was afraid that I was right, that he was doing something that was actually against his own code.
I didn’t want this fight. I was sure that I was outmatched. I would not make the first move. Not this time.
Nyx knew that this was the way that things would happen, and he didn’t wait for my move even though he was a much more defensive fighter when evenly matched.
He leaped towards me soaring off the ground almost twenty feet above me, and I crouched as the air around him began to warp as he heated it. His daggers were in his hands as he fell towards me, and I waited, conserving my strength until he was only a few feet away.
And I flicked my hand out, my only dagger appearing from mist and flying towards him as I rolled away. He had to twist to dodge the throw, but it still caught him in the shoulder, cutting through the cloak and leaving the slice a shining crimson.
When his feet hit the ground, the earth seemed to shake with his impact. My dagger turned to mist and reappeared in my hand as I crouched, waiting for his next attack.
Fire. He would use fire next. My control over the mists was worthless against it. I squatted down as I waited for him to attack. His face didn’t even register the cut on his shoulder. It would be just another scar on his body. A trophy from killing the Prince of the Dark Court.
Nyx did not let his wounds heal in battle. It was why I didn’t bother to dip my dagger into my sheathe to coat it in the iron shavings. Healing took power, and in the midst of battle, he wanted every ounce of power for killing his opponent
