Page 75 of When Storms Ruin

This was everything I had trained for, and whether I was ready or not, the time to fight had come.

I stopped dead in my tracks when my gaze snagged on a familiar face. It wasn’t the one I had been expecting, but it sent a shiver down my spine all the same. His lips stretched into a menacing grin as he caught my eye, moving towards me with his sword raised.

Fletcher had found us, and he had brought an army.

The sky was on fire.

The sun had set, escaping below the horizon and cloaking Prins in darkness, lit only by the flames of the buildings as they burned relentlessly. I gripped Stormslayer tightly in my fist as Fletcher advanced, a smirk across his lips. I whirled, searching the smoke and flames for any sign of Nik or Puck, but they had already jumped into the battle.

My breath caught in my throat as I stood my ground. I blinked away the tears from the smoke and dipped into my well of magic to be sure it was ready. There was no time to think about whether my magic would escape my control again or not.

This was life or death, and I would not die here today.

“Funny seeing you here,” Fletcher called out over the sound of clashing blades and gurgling screams.

“How did you find us?” My voice was almost swallowed by the sounds of the fighting, but it didn’t waver.

“Our dear friend Corian. You all but gave yourself away in that dream, Diana. You never did understand we are smarter than you, always one step ahead. If you surrender now…I’ll take you and your friends back to The Stone Palace and leave the rest of yourresistancealone.” Fletcher laughed, as if our resistance was a force so meek he could crush it beneath his boot.

“And what will you do with us?” I asked, raising Stormslayer between us to keep him at a safe distance.

Fletcher’s eyes moved to the blade, then met my gaze again with a smile.

“You don’t think you could take me on, do you?” He laughed, taking another step forwards. “If you surrender, onlyyouwill face Donika’s wrath.”

“I don’t believe you.” I swallowed hard, holding his gaze. My grip on the dagger was tight despite the sweat greasing my palms.

“It doesn’t matter either way. Either you die here, along with everyone else, or you die in the Stormvault. Your choice.”

“Not much of a choice at all, is it?” I asked, dipping into my magic and allowing it to flow through my fingers. “I am a Stormshade of the Kotova bloodline,and you cannot break me.”

I made the first move, bringing my dagger down in an arc towards Fletcher’s face. His expression lit with surprise, but he managed to duck and avoid my advance. He hadn’t been expecting me to make the first move.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I remembered everything Warrick and Nik had taught me. Stay low. Use my speed and my size to my advantage. Don’t let him back me into a corner.

Fletcher brought his blade around and I blocked his forearm with mine, my teeth clashing at the force with which we collided. The elbow of his other arm shot out and hit the side of my headhardand my vision swam. Before I took a step back, I brought Stormslayer up and caught his jacket with the blade, tearing it open.

Fletcher’s eyebrows lifted in surprise as he sliced at me again. This time I whirled, kicking at the back of his knees with my leg to sweep his feet out from under him.

Was I going to have to kill him?

Was I capable of that?

Fletcher’s eyes were cold as he hit the ground on his back, the wind knocking from his lungs. He rolled quickly, finding his footing effortlessly. He was clearly a seasoned soldier. We circled each other as the battle raged on around us, my eyes flicking to the higher ground to see if Donika watched.

Was she here, or had she simply sent her army to slaughter us all?

Fletcher advanced quickly, his blade slicing my thigh before I had a chance to block, and a scream tore from my throat. The blade cut deep, blood dripping onto the cold ground. I held my hand to my thigh, the blood oozing around it and through my fingertips.

A smirk filled with malice graced Fletcher’s lips as we circled once more.

I needed to heal myself.I needed to find Liss.

I would have to end this…I had no other choice. The only way I could keep from killing him was to go with him willingly…and that was not an option.

I had survived Donika’s torture in the Stormvault.

I had survived the loss of both my mother and my father.

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