Page 130 of Firstborn of the Sun
L’?r? jumped back, and the ground began to blacken and simmer. Soon it cracked open, bringing forth magma from its core. The hot orange liquid poured out, bursting into bubbles that splattered everywhere. Milúà was closest to them, and the deep animal growl that came out of her mouth let L’?r? know that it hurt as she fell to the ground. She barked at her leg, holding it as the skin sizzled. Even from a distance, L’?r? could see the piece of scorched flesh across her leg.
‘No!’ Tofa shouted but he was too far from the maiden.
He rushed towards Milúà, attempting to cross the magma divide but the Lord General grabbed Tofa and pulled him away. ‘You are our future king!’ he shouted. ‘I cannot let you put your life in danger.’ As the Lord General turned to run too from the expanding firepit, a bubble of magma burst under his feet. He fell to his knees – the crash of his weight against the cracked floor sunk his leg deeper. He fell on his side in agony, the magma crawling up his body. Tofa rushed to his side, but by the time he was pulling the man out and cooling the heat, L’?r? knew from the melting flesh and fading screams that the man wouldn’t make it.
‘You’ve killed him!’ Tofa shouted at Alawani, his voice hoarse from the smoke.
But Alawani had used the distraction to run to L’?r?’s side of the foyer, near the main entrance – now, the lava field protected them from the crown heir’s group, which was pushed towards the inner stairs. Alawani collapsed into L’?r?’s arms when he reached her, visibly shaking from overextending his waning agbára. He’d made a deal with the gods, and they were taking what was owed.
‘We have to go!’ L’?r? said – but Alawani was too weak to walk and L’?r? didn’t have the strength to carry him.
The magma spread across the broken floor, and the air around them grew so hot that L’?r? felt the sweat soak intoher clothes. Looking across the boiling pond of burning earth and stone, she noticed Tofa’s agbára shining brightly through the smoke. He was cooling the magma and sending it back down. But Alawani’s strength was recovering – he lifted himself a little from her arms. ‘Okay. Let’s go,’ he said, shakily.
‘Lean on me,’ she urged.
Mercifully, the wind spread the smoke and steam from the cooling magma all over the room, obscuring them from view, and L’?r? and Alawani were out of the keep before anyone could cross the floor.
L’?r? bore Alawani’s weight against her side and helped him as fast as she could towards the graveyard; all that stood between them and the wall. Sand blurred her vision and each step against the wind took so much effort that L’?r? wondered if they were moving at all. Without looking back, she could still feel the maiden’s presence hovering over her like the grains of sand that stuck to her neck. For the first time since Rmí left her, L’?r? wished he had chosen to fight with her. If they wanted a chance at escaping in the storm, L’?r? knew she had to make sure the maiden couldn’t follow. The fighting wasn’t over yet.
The clouds started to turn dark and in the distance, L’?r? heard the rumble of thunder.
They were halfway across the graveyard, a mile-stretch piece of land full of the bones of those who’d tried and failed to cross without permission. Sparse rocks and loose stones littered the scorched, exposed land that led to freedom. A sudden explosion flung them in the air and knocked them to the ground, proving that L’?r? had been right. Milúà marched out of the storm, her maiden’s spear glowing beneath the darkening sky. L’?r? activated her blades with the old magic spell and ran towards the maiden, cutting heroff mid-stride. Milúà plunged the sharp end of her agbára-fuelled spear at L’?r?. She dodged – but not fast enough. The spear sliced her mid-rib. L’?r? yelled as the cut sent a jarring pain all through her body. It wasn’t just the cut, but the burn. The burn of flesh, and the smell of it, made her want to vomit.
She raised her blades in anger.
L’?r? and the maiden were locked in a deadly dance, their weapons clashing in a blur of steel. Milúà laughed as she caught each strike, knocking one of L’?r?’s blades out of her hands. She spun around, delivering a swift kick to L’?r?’s chest. L’?r? kept an eye on Alawani, still sprawled on the dirt.
Milúà cackled and the sound of her voice made L’?r?’s blood boil. L’?r? launched herself at Milúà. She was nothing if not relentless. L’?r? gritted her teeth and redoubled her efforts, unleashing a series of rapid strikes that forced Milúà to step back. When she saw a clear path, she used the back of her hand to slap the maiden across her cheek. The shock on Milúà’s face was all the satisfaction L’?r? needed. She didn’t pause long enough to enjoy it. She kept going. A sharp kick to the stomach and Milúà heaved over in pain. L’?r? drew nearer and struck her face with her knee. Finally, she threw her blade to the ground and went in for a blow to end it all, but Milúà dodged it and formed an air cannon in her hands. L’?r? didn’t see the air around the maiden’s glowing hand simmer and boil until Milúà sent it towards her, and it exploded near her face, sending her straight to the sand.
L’?r? lay in the sand for a few moments. Next to her, she could hear Alawani’s voice calling to her as he crawled over. Her breaths came in even shorter bursts. Without Command’s voice in her head, every move felt unsure, weaker and with much less vigour. She felt like she was fighting blind, unable to predict her opponent’s next move. Unable to hearher commander’s words. She was losing. They were losing, and it’d all be for nothing. Nothing.
L’?r? lay on the floor gasping for air, trying to breathe as the heat engulfed her. Every part of her body stung from the blast. Her ears rang, and her eyes watered. Before she could stand, Milúà rushed to her, driving the sharp end of her spear down towards her. L’?r? caught the scorching-hot staff in her hand and stilled herself, preparing for the burn. No. She couldn’t die here. This couldn’t be the end of her story.
As she groaned beneath the weight of Milúà’s strength, she realized there was no burn. Her palms were glowing.Curse the sun.Her agbára had forced itself out. Water formed where her palms held on to the spear, and her hands slipped. The blade’s edge was now just a few inches from her face.
Suddenly Alawani got to his feet and shoved Milúà off her. She lost her spear in the fall, just a few feet away, but Alawani reached it first and threw it further away.
L’?r? got off the ground and flexed her hands, trying to send her agbára back beneath her skin. Its constant buzzing was a reminder of what she’d done to Command and with Alawani right next to her, she couldn’t risk unleashing the darkness within her.
‘Why are you protecting a murderer?’ Milúà shouted at Alawani.
L’?r? gasped. She wouldn’t. Somehow, the thought that Milúà might expose her made her panic more than when the sharp edge of her spear was mere inches from drilling a hole into her skull.
‘You need to stop this, Milúà!’ Alawani shouted back at her.
Milúà rose to her feet, her face bruised. She spat out something crimson and wet. ‘You don’t know, do you?’
L’?r? tried to avoid her gaze, but that was what gave her away.
‘You did not tell him,’ Milúà scoffed.
‘Tell me what?’ Alawani said.
‘That she’s a murderer!’ Milúà said, pointing at L’?r?. ‘I thought there were no secrets between lovers?’
Alawani turned to L’?r?. ‘What’s she talking about?’ In the middle of the storm every word spoken was shouted above the howling wind.
‘Not here,’ L’?r? said. ‘I’ll tell you everything, but not now.’
