Page 121 of Captive of the Stolen Empire

Gabriel exchanged his sword for one of the flaming ones and rushed for the injured soldier. My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out the battle around me as I followed him. The woman bellowed her pain and frustration as she swung at Gabriel. Her sword crashed into his, sending it flying to clatter across the floor.

No.

Time slowed. The woman pulled back, readying for the killing blow.

I wouldn’t make it. Not in time.

“No!” My scream split the air as the woman’s body jerked, halting in her backswing. The point of an arrow stuck out the front of her throat. Blood bubbled from her lips as she fell limp to the ground. Behind her, Elin lowered her bow.

Praise The Four.

I slid to a stop near Gabriel. “Are you okay?”

He stared at me wide-eyed, panting for breath.

Alive. He was alive.

Warren spun, slicing the last of his opponents to the ground in a brutal move, but the victory was short-lived.

My chest clenched at the sight beyond him. Blood marred Reyna’s side through a burned hole in her dress. Zurina panted heavily, rocking slightly on her feet. Kasida had discarded her helm, smirking at her victims as she circled with her twin blades, ready to strike.

Zurina bellowed as Kasida’s blade sank into her injury, bringing her to her knees as blood dripped from the wound onto the floor. Reyna rushed forward, swinging her own light blade, but Kasida knocked it from her hands with ease and sent it clattering across the floor.

Kasida jerked her weapon free. Zurina gripped her wound, blood running around her fingers as she slumped toward the ground.

With blades pointed at both women, she cackled, “Anyone moves and they die.”

Eerie quiet reigned, punctuated by the occasional crackle of flame as the room lit from fallen weapons. The tang of blood and burned flesh filled the air. Distant shouts and screams echoed outside the broken door.

“Drop your weapons and walk over here. No mischief,” Kasida ordered.

My scalp tingled. The hair rose on my arms.

“Do it.” Warren’s voice whispered into my mind.

Magic.The odd sensation vanished as quickly as it came.

A cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck as I walked with the others toward Kasida. Zurina’s blood dripped onto the ruined rug where she crouched. Reyna’s, too, painted lines down her side, though she refused to cry or cower. Instead, she stared at Kasida, her chin raised and teeth gritted. I took my cue from her, summoning the last of my courage. If I died, it wouldn’t be sobbing or cowering in fear.

“Kneel, all of you. Hands on the ground.”

Elin’s pale form shivered as she knelt next to Warren, so close they nearly touched.

“That’s right, like good dogs,” Kasida taunted.

I knelt next to Elin, Gabriel to my side. “Let’s talk ab—”

Kasida cackled again as she slid her sword forward, the tip nearly digging into Reyna’s neck. “I think not. Now…” Kasida looked between Zurina and Reyna. “Which one should I start with?”

Fire blazed outside the windows, hitting us with a wave of sudden heat. Another form stepped through the ruined doorway, one that sent a surge of bile crawling up my throat.

“The fools and the whores,” Orson grunted. “Don’t you know you’ve lost?”

An icy chill locked around my heart.Lucien. Where was Lucien?

He looked to Kasida. “Starting without me?” Lines of flame raced across floorboards like fish along the seafloor, cutting off any retreat to the hall or the kitchens should we try to run for it. Orson’s lecherous gaze locked onto me. “You, I’ll kill last.”

“I’ll decide who lives and dies.”

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