There were many...too many. The little men would be overrun.
The sound of the gator-guard’s snarls filled the air and, as she watched, terror flooding through her veins, it was as if the tide of the battle began to change.
The little men were being cut down one by one and the number of gator-guards remaining standing was increasing.
It was then that one of them turned, as if alerted by something she did not know, and their gazes locked. Yellow eyes bore into hers and a snarl left the beast’s mouth.
As it stalked towards her, blade in hand, Song stood frozen, fingers trembling over the cool metal in her hands.
The flash of iridescence in front of her vision was quick and, suddenly, the guard wasn’t approaching anymore.
It took her a moment to raise her eyes only to see the guard dangling from the air, his tail lashing as the sound of powerful wings displacing the air reached her ears.
Kyris gripped the guard by the neck. It snarled and gripped his arm and she saw Kyris grimace.
His wounds.
He shouldn’t be out there fighting.
Even now, as he hovered in the air, one of his wings was definitely out of commission. He was dangling without much balance, dipping and rising as he struggled to keep him and the gator-guard above ground.
The gator-guard, seeming to notice the injuries, was putting force on the damaged wing, and Song felt her heart wring in her chest.
It was a battle of strength between the two and, despite what must have been incredible pain, Kyris kept himself in the air.
But it was evident he couldn’t do exactly what he wanted to do, which was to possibly strangle the guard he had dangling with him. The pain in his arm was too much.
Song found herself unable to look away as the struggle ensued. She needed to help him.
As her fingers tightened around the gun in her hands, Song swallowed hard. She couldn’t use it. If she tried to use the gun, she risked shooting Kyris as well.
Watching the struggle in front of her, she wished—prayed—Kyris would win the battle of strengths.
It was a cruel thought, to wish death upon something. A few weeks ago, it would have been an alarming thought. But now, it came to her with clarity.
She wanted to see Kyris break the guard’s neck. She wanted to see it go limp and the beast fall to the ground. She wanted it dead.
But, as Kyris’ powerful wings flapped, he did something she didn’t see coming.
Rising into the air with speed she didn’t think was possible, Kyris shot up into the sky, his hands still locked around the gator-guard’s throat.
As they rose high into the air, her heart beat hard in her chest. If the guard managed to damage his wing further, Kyris wouldn’t be able to keep himself airborne and falling from such a height…
Anxiety rose in her throat.
Kyris went so high, he and the gator guard became small dots, but as they began appearing bigger and bigger, she realized they were heading back down.
But Kyris wasn’t easing up.
She could see he still had his hands around the guard’s throat but they were coming toward the surface upside down.
He was nosediving, and he was coming in fast.
There was no time to think.
He was going to crash headfirst into the ground. He was going to smash his skull if he didn’t ease up.
“Kyris!” the scream came from her lips as she saw him make impact with the ground. And, as a cloud of dust enveloped the area so she could see nothing, her eyes widened as her heart beat in her throat.
It seemed as if the minutes were ticking by slowly...too slowly, almost as if time stood still as the cloud of dust rose into the air. She had to keep her feet planted using conscious thought to prevent herself from rushing into the foray to check if he was okay.
She couldn’t see him.
Had he...?
Please, no...
As her knees gave out and she fell by the doorway, the dust started to clear and he was standing there, wings unfurled and a look on his face she’d never seen before.
There was so much rage, so much hatred, so much disgust and the sight made her tremble all the more.
But when his gaze locked with hers, even from the distance, she could see deep into his violet depths and it was as if she could hear his voice.
He was Kyris. It was just Kyris.
Her Kyris.
Everything was going to be alright.
A loud snarl to her right had her turning, a chill crawling up her spine. The other guards had spotted her and were heading her way. But, before she knew it, another flash of iridescence caught the light as Kyris flew into action again.
Behind him, as the cloud of dust settled, lay the gator-guard he’d had in the air. The creature was unrecognizable. What had been its head was now crushed in as the impact had done quick work of it.
His blade unsheathed, Kyris was cutting the guards down one by one, ducking beneath their swords as they tried to slash at him. She didn’t know how he was doing it, didn’t understand how he managed to move so fast, didn’t understand how he was still standing. But, as he cut through the guards, it was evident that although he was cutting them down, there were too many.
One of their blades sliced into his leg and he went down.
In her peripheral vision, she could see other guards approaching her but for some reason, she couldn’t move.
“Kyris!”
Her eyes were only on him as she watched him struggle in the sand, fighting the beasts that were now crowding him. And somehow, he was still taking them down. But another of their blades sliced his arm and his blue blood gushed forth, painting the sand. He was surrounded,
