Page 45 of Winds of Destiny

The rams are running toward the incoming fighters. There are only four of them left, but they’re fast, fierce, and armored. The one on the far left smacks straight into a man, butting him hard in the gut and knocking him over, then stamping heavy hooves onto his head. The cries of outrage and pain and the insanity of the situation are almost enough to distract me from the fact that the first of the attackers has nearly reached us.

Until Morfan screams a battle cry and attacks.

“Don’t break—damn it!” Kai cuts off whatever he was going to say as the sound of metal on metal fills the air.

For a few seconds, the sounds of fighting are all I hear before all of a sudden Rusen staggers into sight half a dozen yards away. He’s got two javelins in him, one in his leg, one in his shoulder, but he’s still wielding his sword.

A Kamoran runs in to fight, dodging Rusen’s first strike and slashing him across his wounded leg. Rusen shouts and goes down to the ground, barely able to raise his sword to block the next blow.

Deran is there a second later, stabbing his attacker in the back. He kicks the man off his sword, then turns to Rusen. “Get up, you sorry son of a—”

“Go protect the prince, idiot,” Rusen replies, looking straight at me.

Deran shouts a curse, then runs to me. “Get ready to mount up on that overgrown chicken of yours, you—”

A massive sword swings into view, slicing him straight through the neck. He should have seen it coming. He should have been prepared for it, been prepared to fight, but he wasn’t.

He wasn’t, because he was paying attention to me.

I’m running before I even think to stop myself, sword drawn. A second before Deran’s head hits the ground, my sword is cleaving his attacker’s arm off at the shoulder.

“Cam!”

Turo. He’s probably furious at me.Good.

Let him be furious. He fights dirty when he’s angry.

The man I’ve disarmed—literally and figuratively—is staring at what he’s lost, jaw dropped, lips dumb. He raises his eyes to me just in time for me to drive my sword through his chest. The scale mail resists my blade, but I manage to force it through. It’s all I can see—him on my blade, so heavy—but it doesn’t feel like I can let him fall.

If I let him fall, that means…

I’m a killer.

Oh gods,no. I’ve never wanted this. Never. My arms are shaking, I know I’m going into shock, but there’s nothing I can do to stop it. If I let him fall…if I—

Something hits me hard on the side, knocking me to the ground. The moment breaks—my mind forcibly refocuses on the fact that I’m in the middle of a fuckingbattle for my life.I lift my newly freed blade to strike down against the person who knocked me over, but I halt when I see that it’s Rusen.

He’s bleeding from his mouth, and the trail of blood behind him—he must have crawled to me. “Get behind th’ fuckin’ wagon,” he says, then chokes on a gout of blood that pours from his mouth. He’s trying to speak but there’s too much blood, and I…

I leave him. I stagger to my feet and leave him, just like Deran did, leaving him to die choking on his own blood. My vision is blurry—I blink my eyes clear, then raise my head to look around the edge of the wagon. I have to know what’s happening to Turo and Kai. Ihaveto know.

The lumpy bodies of the slaughtered rams lie in the distance, as well as some Kamoran attackers. Morfan is dead as well, his own massive spear driven through his back—I don’t know if it was used to kill him or if someone did it after the fact. There are three men dead beside him, so at least he made the cost of his life very dear. As for Turo and Kai, a little way in front of the wagon…Oh, praise Ophiucas. They’re alive.

And Kai looks like he’s on fire.

It’s like the trick he did during the aurochs stampede, a bright spark running along the blade that turns into a flaming torch with every strike, sending a wave of fire out along with it. It dies within a few yards, leaving a ring of smoke behind, but it’s got the four men surrounding him spooked. They aren’t close enough to engage en masse, so Kai has to focus on oneat a time, leaving his back open.

I wince as a blow from one of their swords slides across his armor but doesn’t penetrate. He turns, parries the next attempt, and sends out a wave of fire that makes his attacker rip his helmet off—the bronze must have overheated. Kai moves in for the kill, but another of the fighters attacks then, stealing his focus. He won’t be able to keep this up for long.

Turo is also surrounded. He has no fire to help him, but he doesn’t need it. I can barely track his movements, he’s so fast—he darts in and out like a wave wending its way around rocks, and when he retreats, it’s to a blood-red tide. Every person around him is wounded, and that’s only counting the ones who are standing. There are two on the ground, unmoving.

There’s one more Kamoran out there. He stands back from the others, and he manages to look calm and relaxed despite the desperate fight happening before his very eyes. I can tell the moment he sees me—his shoulders straighten and his helm lifts. He raises his arm…

And ten more of his people rise up out of the grass.

No.

They’re running like they’re planning to flank Turo and Kai, who are barely able to handle the men they’re already defending themselves against. They’re coming for me because I foolishly confirmed my presence. I’ve ruined this.

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