Page 273 of When Sisters Collide
Then—a blur of motion.
Nik slammed into her, a shock of speed and force that sent them both tumbling into the mud.
In the same instant, the Makhai’s blow sliced through the space where her head had been, claws shrieking through empty air. The demon hissed—a sound like steel dragged across bone.
“Alena, move!” Nik’s command tore through the ringing in her ears.
She rolled instinctively as the claws struck again, gouging deep furrows into the silty bedrock where she’d been. The creature loomed above, a towering shadow of malevolence.
She scrambled to her feet, but it was already there, its faceless head inches from hers.
Nik charged from the side, shield raised, a war cry ripping from his throat. He slammed into the Makhai with bone-jarring force, but the demon didn’t budge.
Slowly, it swivelled towards him, as if acknowledging a fly.
Nik didn’t wait. He pressed in with brutal precision—sword flashing, shield driving forward, strike after strike hammering into the creature’s warped armour.
Sparks flew, metal cracked—and then the Makhai moved.
It caught his shield with one massive swing and shattered it like brittle ice.
The blow hurled Nik backwards, his body crashing into the riverbed. He rolled across silt and stone with a ragged groan.
The demon followed, its shadow stretching towards his crumpled body.
“Nik!” Alena’s scream tore from her throat.
Across the path, locked in battle with Dalmatius, Leukos’ head snapped up. In one furious motion, he hurled a spear of ice. It cut through the air and pierced the Makhai’s torso with acrunchof cracking bone and shadow. The creature reared back, pinned mid-stride.
But that second of divided focus was all Dalmatius needed.
He slipped through the veil of steam and appeared before Alena. In the next breath, flames erupted around them, arching high into a wall of searing heat that isolated her from the others.
“Alena!” Leukos’ voice tore through the blaze.
With a tilt of his head, Dalmatius stepped closer, firelight dancing across his golden breastplate. His eyes bore into hers with cold calculation.
“So you’re the sister I’ve heard so much about,” he said, almost amused. Katell stood just behind him, a ghost in her own skin. “The one Katell sacrificed her freedom for. The one she fought so hard to find.”
Alena pushed herself upright, heart pounding. Her braid clung to the sweat on her neck, every muscle thrumming with tension.
“But then she chose strength.” Dalmatius reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from Katell’s face, fingers trailingher cheek as if she were his property. “Power over weakness. Purpose over sentiment. She let go of everything that held her back—including you.”
“Don’t touch her!” Alena growled. Wind shrieked in her ears, rising with her pulse. The South Wind’s Gift stirred in her bones, fuelled by her fury—building like a storm about to break. “She trusted you! You saved her from the horrors of the arena. You knew what she’d suffered, and still you did this to her. Howcouldyou?”
Dalmatius faltered, his smile tightening. But before he could reply, the air split with a suddencrack.
A surge of ice magic exploded around Alena. Jagged spires pierced the fire, hissing on impact, shattering the ring of flames. Smoke and heat gave way to a wave of biting frost.
Leukos stepped through the mist, his expression carved from ice, magic coiling around his armour.
Behind him, the Makhai he’d impaled stood frozen solid in a jagged block of ice already cracking. Nik forced himself to his knees, clutching his side, bloodied face twisted in pain.
Dalmatius clicked his tongue, as though annoyed by the interruption. “I only helped her embrace what she was always meant to be.” Flames surged once more, spiralling around his arms. “She is Laran’s Chosen and beyond your reach now.”
The words slammed into her, breaking something deep inside.
Nothing she’d said had reached Katell. Her sister remained unfazed, and worse—she’d summoned another Makhai.
