Page 97 of A Kiss From Death
Blood rushes to my head, turning me dizzy and disoriented; I lose my dagger in the sand next to us, so I resort to raining down blow after blow with my fists. Quickly, she turns into a bruised and bloody mess. Through it all, she never lets up on my throat, and I can feel myself growing weaker by the second as my punches slow in their assault.
One of Jade’s hands slips from my throat, landing in the sand next to us, and I gasp my first deep breath. Prickling at the edge of my brain makes melook left,and just as I turn, I spot something moving through the air towards me.
I try to bring my hands up to protect my head, but I’m too late, only deflecting the blow slightly, just enough to make a difference. Jade’s hammer connects with my head, knocking me sideways.My brain rattles in my skull, but luckily, Jade’s growing weakness meant the blow wasn’t at her full strength.
Warm liquid drips down the side of my face while I gain my bearings. Before I can collect myself, Jade’s face comes into view above me—she straddles me and presses the handle of her hammer against my throat, cutting off my airway once again.
I can already feel the bruises forming around my throat, and I wince as my eyes grow fuzzy. My bloodied hands claw desperately at the wooden handle, trying to pry it away for another breath.
Jade’s bloodied smile and swollen, bruised eyes grow darker with each second she has me pinned below her, deprived of any air. My hands grow weaker until one falls slack next to my side. Finality flickers within Jade’s eyes as she celebrates her impending win. I try to push through the pain and everything stacked against me, for Theo…for Hade. This is not how we meet again.
I won’t allow it.
“I believe in you,” Hade’s strong voice whispers against my ear as the final moments of my life flicker by. A small light of hope illuminates deep within me, careening me towards my will to fight for my life until my very last breath.
I am Nyxi, born from Vagrant, rebirthed by survival, and I willnotsuccumb to my enemies today.
I repeat the chant inside my head, growing louder each time until it’s etched within my very fate, rewriting the stars depicting my life.
My hand connects with something smooth and cold buried in the sand next to me. That flicker of hope turns into a full-fledged fire raging beneath my skin, like a phoenix rising from the ashes of its enemies.
“This is more satisfying than I thought,” Jade grunts above me, bloodied spit flying from her mouth. She looks like a rabid beast plaguing the lands and feasting on lost souls.
She is everything I stand against.
She is everything I wish to eradicate from this world.
She is first on my hit list of purging all evil from this world.
“Hey, Jade?” I choke out between strangled breaths. “Say hi to Aeron for me.”
I plunge my dagger deep into the side of her neck, all the way to the hilt in one final, killing blow. Life drains from her eyes above me, a ghostly look taking over her features. Shock is frozen on her face, permanently etching her haunted look into my memory forever. She chokes on blood, making a gurgling noise as blood sprays from her mouth.
I rip my dagger from her throat, and her lifeless body falls on top of me, trapping me below her. I draw my first full breath into my lungs, over and over again until I’m hyperventilating.
Ikilledher.
My weak arms try to shove her deadweight off me frantically as my breaths get louder and choppier. Sickness takes over my stomach, and I dry heave between frantic breaths.
“Breathe, Nyxi,” Hade whispers against the side of my face, gently pushing Jade off me. “You did good.”
The weight of her body off mine feels like a slice of heaven for the briefest moment before reality comes tumbling back at me in full force.
“I killed her,” I choke quietly.
He reaches out, pressing his thumb against the pulse of my neck, reassuring himself I’m still alive, a habit I’ve noticed of his. “You did what you needed tosurvive,” he says calmly, reassuringly.
I nod numbly, my breaths now almost calm. The adrenaline of the fight floats away, leaving me hollow and aching. I slowly stand, my eyes never blinking as Hade lets me lean on him for support.
My face, a mask of indifference.
My soul, a swirling mixture of every emotion.
My body, stillalive.
“What a wonderful performance!” the Empress’s shrill voice registers somewhere in the distance, but I’m checked out. “There you have it. Our second and final contestant moving on to the final round of the Crucible. Nyxi from Vagrant Sector,” she chants.
I barely register my hand being raised for me above my head in victory, as life is playing out in slow motion. Taunting laughter and chants come in and out of my hearing like blips in time. My body shakes slightly as I stare with blurred vision at nothing in particular, the world becoming one large blob in front of me.
