Page 5 of Blood of the Fallen
“The sword will not save you, Captain Silex,” I said in a hushed tone.
Val stood to her right and a guard to her left. They both had enough sense to look more terrified than their captain.
My gaze fell to the captain’s belt, where she carried a knife. I reached for it. She flinched but didn’t move as I unsheathed it and raised it to examine it.
“Jaz, what are you doing?” Val hissed.
Lazily, my gaze slid to meet his. I didn’t speak but made sure the hatred in my eyes let him know that whatever friendship had existed between us had burned in the pyre he’d allowed them to light at my feet.
I returned my attention to the captain and, fast as lightning, took a step forward, grabbed the collar of her jacket with my free hand, and pressed the knife to her throat. Our gazes locked, the intensity in mine matching hers like never before. I had always admired her, looked up to her. She’d trained me for countless hours while I aspired to master her fighting skills. I never had the chance to get there because they’d decided I was spendable, something worse than garbage, worthy of nothing more than a mass grave.
I let the infinitely sharp edge of her knife cut into her skin. Blood dribbled down and stained the collar of her blue uniform. She swallowed, her throat bobbing up and down. Still, no fear registered in her expression. The woman had ice in her blood. She had to know she wouldn’t leave this clearing. She had to see in my eyes that my rage and hatred for her and every single person at the Academy boiled with heat more intense than the one she’d viciously started with her torch.
Behind me, the triad pulled closer. I sensed the wolves’ presence and the invisible support they offered me by merely standing there.
“Traitor,” the captain said through gritted teeth.
“Even as you stare death in the face, you lie,” I said, my words quiet and calm.
She sneered, her nostrils flaring.
“I will destroy Lux Academy until there is nothing but rubble left. And its reign of tyranny and lies will end. The way you end today.”
Her eyes widened at my last sentence. She made as if to pull back, but I was swift, leaning on the blade and sliding it across her throat.
A spray of blood jetted through the captain’s fingers as I stepped back, and she clutched at her neck. Some of it squirted on my face, but I didn’t bother to clean it. I just stood there, impassively watching as she made gurgling sounds and dropped to her knees. The remaining guards and Val stared, horrified.
Captain Silex coughed up a mouthful of blood, then fell face-first to the ground, and at last, did not move anymore. Her death gave me no satisfaction. No shock or horror at how easily I’d ended her life assaulted me. She deserved it. For Mary, Richard, and all the others who never made it out of the Academy.
With a desperate battle cry tearing from his throat, Val charged me, sword slicing through the air. The remaining guards followed suit, but the wolves took one each, leaving me to deal with Val.
Raising my knife, I parried the blow. Metal clashed against metal. Val pushed his weight forward, trying to overpower me. He had always been stronger than me, and how would he not? He was taller and more muscular. Our sword and knife skills were almost equal, so it was always his strength and stamina that helped him beat me.
But tonight, he was weak from blood loss and from trudging through the woods. And me? I was reborn, energized by Bethel and Ila’s magic—not to mention by my unadulterated hatred for the Academy and anyone who had anything to do with it.
“You let them burn me,” I hissed through my teeth as I pushed the knife’s blade against his sword, steadily driving the sharp blade toward his face.
His arms trembled as he fought to hold me back. “You’ve turned into a monster. You deserve to die.”
“I’d like to say that one day you’ll learn the truth and that no matter how much regret you feel, I’ll never stop hating you for what you did tonight. But I can’t. Because, like your beloved Magistrate Magnus and Captain Silex, you won’t live to see another day.”
Stepping forward, I tried to jam my knee into his crotch, but he saw it coming and took a step back. Swinging his sword arm in a circle, he attempted to dislodge the knife from my hand. It was a maneuver we’d both practiced many times. Muscle memory kicked in, and as the knife threatened to slip from my grasp, I tightened my grip around the hilt and made a twirling motion of my own.
Val gasped as the sword flew from his hand and impaled itself in the ground with atwang. He made as if to run for it, but I took a step forward and blocked his path, brandishing the knife in front of his face. He froze, eyes darting to and fro.
It was then that I noticed the surrounding silence. The wolves weren’t snarling, and the guards weren’t grunting anymore. In fact, they lay immobile on the ground, Kall, Maki, and Novuk looming over them. They’d made quick work of them, and now they stood alert, watching Val and I fight, ready to intervene if need be.
“He’s mine,” I said, flashing them a warning glance.
The white wolf with the intense emerald eyes, Kall, lowered his head in acknowledgment.
Val glanced at the sword regretfully. He also had a knife at his waist, but I’d always been better at close combat, and weak as he was, he didn’t stand a chance.
“Not so brave now that I’m not tied to a tree,” I spat.
Slowly, he pulled out his knife and held it up.
We circled each other, knees bent, ready to pounce. I waited for him to make the first move, but after a long moment, it was obvious that he wouldn’t.
