Page 106 of The Ashborn

Tristian snatched Connak’s arm before he could disappear. “Tislin. Go.”

“No way,” Connak scoffed. “There are at least thirty beasts on the stairs alone. We can’t take the risks⁠—”

“It’s a command, Connak. I have Danek. Now go.” Tristian couldn’t wait to see if Connak would listen. He needed to trust that he cared enough for his brother to do it. He pulled Danek down the stairs.

Chapter 42

—Kienna—

Kienna pushed with all her strength as lightning pulsed from her veins. The barrier, illuminated with strobes of yellow and white, lay perfectly in front of her. A storm the Umbrin didn’t dare cross, but the Vorthakai didn’t care. The ghastly beasts slammed their gray, voided bodies into Kienna’s magic, screeching as the barrier pulsed with a violet, shimmering light. They only rose and slammed again. The tension of the magic fought her, pulling against her skin. It began as a papercut, subtle tears that were more a nuisance than pain at first.

The barrier flickered.

Kienna gasped, the power flipping. Panic pulsed at the edge of her focus. What if it broke? What if she let everyone down? Killed everyone? The silence was spinning in her mind, and it grinned with sharpened teeth. Round and round the silence spins—Fuck that song! Where was Connak?

The tiny nicks against her flesh ate at her focus. The pressure in her chest coiled, engulfing her shoulders and her neck. Her mind trembled. She forced her thoughts away from the awful dungeon song. She didn’t want that song to define her in her last moments. She wanted to be defined as the girl who gave everything she had for those she allowed herself to love. Her mind flashed to Moira, the brave woman who cared for her in times of need. Moira, who led the people of Dove Port through the tunnels to get them to a safer place.

More Vorthakai slammed into the barrier again. Kienna’s skin ripped like tiny blades slashing, a resistance pushing back hard as she pushed forward. She screamed out, sweat trickling in heavy streams down her forehead. It crawled into her wounds like liquid fire, eating at the torn skin.

Kienna fought it. She pushed her mind back to the men at the shipyard who encouraged her and joked with her as if she were part of their crew. She recalled the grumbling pride Ash tried to hide when she carved, or when he would appreciate her silence before finding himself in a long ramble about the way things used to be.

Skin across her body split apart. Blood swam with sweat, and the pain grew unbearable. But Kienna refused to give up. She’d die here, and it’d be worth it. She’d sacrifice so the people she loved could live. That truth alone helped her see through all the turmoil. She steadied herself on the memories of Dove Port, on the people she grew accustomed to in her time here. The stories of her mother. Of the purpose.

She saw Elowen bringing them a basket of apples, a peculiar rodent on her shoulder. Children running through the street, giggling and hiding around corners. The Elarent House. The City Square. Her apartment. Tislin. Connak. Danek. Tristian.

All people worth fighting for and fighting with.

“Kienna!” Tristian yelled, his voice sharp with anger and disbelief.

She glanced through dripping blood. She had little energy left. Tristian charged across the chamber toward her, weapon slicing through two Umbrin in brutal, unsparing strokes as he cut a path through the swarm. The pressure in Kienna’s chest deepened when Danek burst through the barricade doors at the far end behind the High Commander. His magic lit faintly on his fingertips as he sprinted toward her, only to falter when he saw the barrier blazing between them.

Danek slammed his blade into the back of a Vorthakai and yanked up, the weapon ripping through the creature’s skin. “How you doing, Kienna?”

A tear rolled down her cheek. She needed to hear someone’s voice before she died. She was glad it was his.

Tristian sliced another Vorthakai, but more were pooling into the room.

A fresh wave of magic crashed against her, Vaerin’s cursed power worming through the cracks of the barrier. Kienna gritted her teeth, the pressure searing her spine. Her body screamed in warning. The magic was unraveling from within.

“I can’t hold it,” she cried. “He’s ripping me apart.”

Tristian met her eyes, and Kienna thought she saw a reluctant awe hit him. She pleaded with him not to stop her. Not to argue. To trust her for once, as she fought against the one thing he couldn’t trust her for. He nodded and barreled toward the door.

“Move,” he barked, holding Danek with a fierce grip.

As soon as she knew he was clear, Kienna let go. She pushed the flood out of her body and let it slam outward.

The barrier cracked.

Then erupted.

A brilliant white light tinged with violet exploded through her body in a shockwave. The room imploded in a thunderous roar, magic pulsing from her like a tidal wave. Stone and wood shattered, walls collapsing in a storm of debris. The Umbrin and Vorthakai were flung like dolls, their bodies swallowed in the ruin.

—Tristian—

Connak was going to kill him. Tristian and Danek barely made it out of the Great Hall before the building began to collapse, the rubble spilling out in the streets. Tristian couldn’t see Connak anywhere. Hopefully, he was far away, helping Tislin.

“We need to go back,” Danek yelled frantically.