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We turn. Patrick and a dozen Tenebris soldiers come into view. “So grateful you have once again delivered her right where I need her,” he says. “Almost makes me want to spare your life out of sheer gratitude.”
Carleah and I both raise our blades.
“Go ahead and fucking try,” I growl.
“Get rid of him,” he orders the Tenebris. “But leave the princess to me.” With his remaining hand, he unsheathes his sword.
“Just princess now?” Carleah asks sweetly. “I thought I was your queen.”
“I have no use for you now. You have proven to me that you are far too naïve to see the bigger picture.”
The Tenebris rush forward, and I meet them, my blade crashing with theirs. I spin, slicing the gut of one attacker open.
Another plants a boot in my back, sending me thudding to the snow. I’m up quickly though, back in the fight in seconds. These men are strong. Fast. But I’m twice the soldier they are, and I have a hell of a lot more to lose should this go poorly.
The deep snow makes it difficult to move as smoothly as I should, though it also hinders their movements, so I use it to my advantage, all while keeping an eye on Carleah. She fights with such grace, bringing her sword up and holding Patrick at bay.
I drive my blade into the chest of a Tenebris soldier, but it gets caught in the armor, and I’m forced to leave it, falling back toward the snow without a weapon. Heart pounding, I scan the snow for a fallen soldier, spotting one only a few yards away. I lunge for it.
The remaining soldiers do, too, but I reach it first and bring it up straight into the eye socket of the closest soldier.
With sweat gleaming on my brow and cold whipping at my face, I fight for the Queen of the Third Realm.
For my Carleah.
And doing that grants me even more strength than I ever thought possible. The guards fall to my sword, one by one, until the white snow is painted in crimson Tenebris blood.
Then, I turn my attention to Carleah and Patrick.
He’s fighting with a newfound strength as well while Carleah is doing everything she can to hold her own. Her face is set in a determined line, her gaze sharp, but she can’t see the bigger picture.
Not like I can.
My heart seizes because I see where he is leading her. And the gaping hole in the icy surface is just behind her. “Carleah!” I roar. “Watch out!”
Patrick swings out with his blade, and the tip slices the side of her cheek wide open. Crimson pours from the wound, falling into the cavern below.
I run, sprinting as fast as I can in the deep snow, but it’s not fast enough. He brings up a boot and slams it into her chest, and she falls back.
Everything happens in slow motion.
Her eyes widen.
My heart thunders.
She loses the grip on her blade, and it tumbles into the cavern right alongside her.
I waste no time with Patrick, running right past him and diving in after her.
She reaches for me in her free fall, and I grip her hand, pulling her into my arms and spinning so it’s my back to the ground.
We slam into it.
Bones crack.
Pain explodes through my body like thousands of lightning bolts all hitting at the same time.
Breathing becomes impossible. Carleah sits up and cups my face, screaming something at me that I cannot hear, given the ringing in my ears. Her face is a blurred shape before me.
