Page 22 of The Divine Lies We Weave

Nothing.

Move!

The drakion lunged.

Before Leela could react, a flush of heat shot up her spine. She threw her katar. The blade coasted through the air before finally splintering bone and flesh. The drakion shrieked and reared back, a dark liquid oozing down its chin. As if her body was moving on its own, Leela closed the distance, wrenched the katar from its ribs, and slit its throat in one motion.

The drakion’s head rolled on the ground, its forked tongue sticking out the side before it shriveled into a steaming pile of ash.

Where did that come from?

I need you, maybe more than you need me, it seems. Count this as a blessing that I am here. You are absolutely useless.

Leela let the snip slide. She didn’t have time to argue with the Viperess. She needed to get out of here before more drakion attacked her, or risk dying like her family. Without the Viperess, however, Leela would have died, and as tough as that realization was, she knew the Flame was currently her best chance to survive.

“Leela!”

Snapping around, Leela saw Jaya sprinting toward her, a weapon in hand. Leela forced the bile down at the sight of a bloody cut covering the side of Jaya’s arm, fabric sticking to the torn skin.

“Are you okay?” Jaya asked.

Leela nodded, her joints stiff and refusing to cooperate. She was still trying to overcome the fact that the Viperess had controlled her, and what scared Leela more was that she had no idea how to stop it from happening again. Still, she told herself she would have time to deliberate later.

Breathe. Or don’t breathe at all.

Gulping, she assessed the burning village. The fire flickered and burned, filling the air along with the stifling screams of death. Everywhere she looked, memories unfolded like a terrible dream she couldn’t escape.

Chaos.

Destruction.

Ruin.

People dying.

Children running.

Drakion lunging and plunging their elongated fingers into bodies.

Screams.

Screams.

Screams…

Nightmares caught her in their web. Her breath clogged her throat. Her mind reeled. She couldn’t do it.

She couldn’t focus.

She couldn’t breathe.

“Leela?”

She barely heard Jaya over the thumping in her ears.

Pull yourself together, mortal, or we die.

I… I can’t…. breathe…