Page 81 of Powerless

He blinks at me, slicking his brown hair back from his face with an irritated huff. “Fine.” His eyes darken. “Have it your way. I don’t mind having to get messy.”

And then he’s striding towards me, reaching for my arm. I don’t hesitate before firing my arrow into his thigh, aiming to injure and not to kill. I refuse to give the king and the people what they desire: death.

Except, the arrow never meets skin, never sinks into flesh. It flies right through him. The illusion blows away like smoke on the wind, tempting me to scream in frustration.

Another Ace steps out from behind a tree a few feet away, leaves crunching under his feet as he claps slowly. “Wow. Good try.” He grips a sharp spear in his hand, smiling like a cat.

“Quit hiding behind your illusions, you coward!” I’m fuming, adrenaline pumping through my veins.

This one is the real Ace, I’m certain of it. The leaves gave him away, crunching when he stepped on them, unlike the first time he walked over to me. He seems to sense that I figured it out, and right as I’m about to bury an arrow in him, he surrounds himself with a dozen duplicates, hiding within them.

They all speak in unison as they begin to surround me, masking the sound of any crunching leaves. “If you give me the band now, I won’t hurt you. Badly.” They laugh and it’s a sickening sound, seeming to bounce around in my skull.

I spin in a circle, not knowing who to aim for. I only have six arrows now, and I can’t afford to waste a single one. They are closing in on me, closing in for the kill.

Find the real Ace.

Easier said than done. They all look and move exactly the same, all holding spears and ready to stab me, though only the real one can do any damage.

“I’m going to enjoy this, Paedyn,” they say, smiling.

My eyes flick over each of their bodies. I take in their identical stances, their identical facial expressions, their identicaleverything.

I will not die. I will not die. I will not die.

And then my eyes snag on a particular Ace, identical to the others.

Found you.

The tiny bead of sweat trickling down the side of his temple is all it takes to give him away, the only sign of his struggle to cast the illusions.

I raise my bow towards him at the exact moment he lunges towards me. I jump to the side, but not before pain irrupts across my stomach. Searing, stinging pain that I ignore as I release my arrow, letting it fly straight into the flesh of his leg.

He screams, dropping to his knees in the dirt, hands trembling as they wrap around the arrow protruding from his thigh. But I don’t give him, or the Sight now watching, a second glance before I spin and sprint.

I don’t know how far I’ve made it. Don’t know how much distance I’ve put between us before the adrenaline bleeds from my body, reminding me thatI’mbleeding. The searing pain is back, punching me so hard in the gut that I’m panting.

I lift my loose shirt to reveal the silky tank beneath it, now sopped with blood. I take a deep breath and pull up the layer of cloth separating me from the wound before shuddering at the sight of it. A long, bloody gash slices open the skin right beneath my rib.

A spear wound.

My breaths come in shaky, shallow pants.

At least I’m alive.

But I sure as hell don’tfeelalive. It’s excruciating. The pain is biting and blazing, setting my nerves on fire. I gingerly pull off the large shirt, wincing and choking back cries of pain with every lift of my right arm. The movement pulls at the skin, the gash, causing it to gush even more blood.

I rip the bottom hem of the shirt, creating a wide strip of white fabric. I work as swiftly as the injury will allow me, gingerly wrapping the cloth around my waist and over the wound. I gasp for air at the throbbing pain this causes, blinking away tears as I pull on what is left of the shirt, so large it still covers my stomach.

I need to find water.

I heave a shaky sigh, that action alone jolting a sharp pain through me as I begin walking again through the forest.

No,stumblingis more like it.

ChapterTwenty-Five

Paedyn

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