Page 239 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
“Stay back,” I hissed her way and jumped to my feet, dagger held tightly. “He’s mine.”
The pulsing light followed me as I stalked forward.
It gave me courage.
It filled me with hope.
This wasn’t the maze on Sanctua Sirena where I’d faced the arrows alone.
And I was no longer the same girl who’d raced out of harm’s way to save the others.
I wasn’t prey.
I was The Huntress.
The figure who’d dared come after us staggered back to his feet, swinging his swords around.
I swooped down upon him with vengeance.
His movements were steadier, more precise than the cloaked figures I’d taken down with my arrows. Even his mask looked different, the copper tinged with green at the edges.
But I didn’t need my bow to protect now.
The thuds in the walls became more frantic.
Another scream broke through the stillness, more desperate this time.
My power burned in my chest.
All the anger, all the despair, every tear I’d shed or swallowed in the past weeks melted into my arm. I swung at him like a woman who had nothing to lose.
Like a woman who had enough of being tricked and attacked in the darkness.
None of my foes had dared face me directly. They had to skulk and hide to get the upper hand.
But I saw this figure now and I wanted to make it pay.
He criss-crossed his swords right above his neck as my dagger glinted toward him.
I pressed harder, gripping the handle with both hands.
He slashed them loose, pushing me back. I bent backward, my foot coming up and hitting him square in the jaw. The ring of my boot connecting with his metal mask was music to my ears.
As fast as my racing thoughts, I straightened, coming down upon him again.
And again.
My blade sparked against his, not giving him a moment to breathe. If he even needed air.
The light came after us, its pulse almost a cheer underneath my feet.
“Light! We need light!” Vylkor cried out, sending chills down my spine.
If that mountain of a man was scared, the battle in the passage had become desperate amid the darkness.
I had to help.
The figure slashed one of his blades at my head once more. I dove underneath his arm and pressed my dagger into his chest.
