Page 57 of A Kingdom of Lies

Duncan stepped close to me. I could sense his presence like a shadow at my side. Erix noticed too, erupting with a guttural growl as though I was a bone, and he was the mutt who claimed it.

“Keep your distance, Hunter. He is not yours.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell Erix I wasn’t his either, but Duncan spoke up for me.

“Actually, heismine. Now, are you going to make your next move, or do you expect me to begin the dance?” I heard the smile in Duncan’s voice, let alone caught it out of the corner of my eye. “I’m more than happy to start if you have performance issues.”

He was enjoying this.

A deep scarlet crept into Erix’s handsome but tormented face. His eyes widened, the deep, dark veins beneath them more prominent than they’d been before. He looked back to me, spitting his next words as anger took over. For a brief moment, I thought he was struggling against something we couldn’t see, fighting as he twitched and jerked his limbs. “You truly are the vision of your mother, Robin. And just like her, you will die for being an Icethorn.”

Those where not Erix’s words, but Doran’s, spoken as though the man before me was a puppet. There wasn’t a chance to react before Erix jolted forward, swords raised. Duncan followed, putting his body before mine. Metal clashed with metal as Duncan intercepted the attack. I felt the vibration, the swords’ edges painfully close to my face. I would’ve thrown myself back, but the idea of dying was not as frightening as it had been before. Instead, I reached out for Erix, wishing to touch him; to let my magic turn his skin to glass just to watch him shatter.

Except I couldn’t. Because I knew that this wasn’t Erix, not really. My hesitation allowed Erix to move out of my way.

“Get behind me, Robin!” Duncan shouted, pushing me with such force it threw me off balance. I splashed in puddles of rain and gore, soaking my dirtied clothes with the stench of copper. Power poured from my hands, turning the ground where I lay to ice.

Duncan and Erix were locked in battle, grunts breaking past snarled teeth as they clashed sword into sword. Erix had met his match, at least for now.

I got the impression that he toyed with Duncan, leading him into a state of false confidence. But it was clear that Erix underestimated Duncan’s skill. As had I. They moved with precision, jabbing and moving as though it was rehearsed. Where Erix swung his arms in circular, slicing motions, Duncan seemed to hack back at him, both hands wrapped tightly around his broad sword.

Two deadly soldiers, each cut from different cloth.

Kings would pay good coin to watch them duel. Shame my pockets were as empty as my patience.

Duncan was tiring quickly, his movements growing sluggish. If Erix wasn’t controlled by a mad king’s will, then perhaps he would’ve been tired as well. But in his state, there was nothing that could stop him.

I withdrew my power, worried the frozen mist and rain would blind Duncan. That worry didn’t matter in the end. I saw Duncan’s mistake a moment before Erix caught eye of it, a slip of a footing as he glided into bloodied mud.

My instincts took over. I threw out my hands, focusing on the moisture that wet Erix’s boots and the ground beneath them. One simple thought and it hardened to ice as a gust of frozen wind washed over it. Erix’s foot froze to the ground, giving Duncan the time he needed to regain his composure and arc his sword upwards – straight towards Erix’s torso. The blade sliced through his clothing, cutting deep into skin. Erix threw back his head with a roar so mighty I was almost certain Gyah had returned to feast on the bones of the dead Hunters around us.

“Give up,” I shouted to Erix, hoping the slither of old him would hear the desperation in my voice. “Walk away. This doesn’t need to end in death.”

I kept him immobile, encouraging the ice to spread to his other boot before he was able to take a step forward. Even with the scarlet gore dripping down his chest and the cry of pain, Erix didn’t let up, swinging his arms with such vigorous power he hammered his blades down upon Duncan one by one.

“Finish this,” Duncan called, straining through gritted teeth. It was close to impossible to hear him over Erix’s angered shouts and the clang of swords as Duncan held his sword steady. Even in the dark I could see Duncan’s hands shake, his gloved hands sliding over the wet edge of his blade.

All it took was a thought, a single command to urge the ice to creep up from Erix’s boots across his legs. He hardly noticed, too enraged as he swung his swords. Sparks flew as the blades clashed. Even with my power keeping Erix in place, his strength only intensified as the fury took over.

This was the Berserker he warned me about. This was the monster he wanted to hide from me.

Duncan was forced to his knee, arms shaking with the broadsword held above his head. “I can’t – hold him – forever.”

My ice feasted upon Erix’s body. Even with the hardening ice spreading across his chest, down his arms until his swords slowed their attack, Erix did everything in his power to fight against me. Until I stole his control completely – encasing it in a prison of winter.

Duncan dropped to his arse, sword clattering to the ground. His chest heaved with each breath as though he could not quite hold onto one. Sweat joined the droplets of rain running down his chiselled face.

“How long… how long will he hold?” Duncan asked above the screams and cries of Erix’s anguish. I had retreated my magic before it spread above his neck; it was the only body part still able to thrash back and forth.

I reached for the bloodied blade of a murdered Hunter. My fingers were numb as I gripped its hilt and raised it before me. “As long as I allow.”

Erix spat with each snarl, snapping teeth as though he was more beast than fey. Veins exposed themselves across his neck and forehead, deep and red, as though they promised to break at any moment.

“Are you watching, Doran?” I asked, stepping closer to Erix without flinching as he flashed teeth at me. “Is that how your connection with him works?”

I was inches before him, my closeness seeming to calm Erix down. It felt wrong, looking upon someone I’d believed I knew, only to find a stranger staring back at me. A face covered with fury, instead of my hands, my lips.

Erix was lost to me now.

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