as if my life had expired, and I didn’t stop pushing it toward my team. I blinded both moon-touched and creature alike in pure, unfiltered sunlight.
The sky shifted, and the sun took precedence over the dark sky, albeit weakly. The monsters turned, staring at the light coming from me before they changed course. Amo and Tabitha screamed, both moving into the water blindly behind the creatures to reach me before the monsters could. I slid my daggers from my sleeves into my palms as I awaited their arrival. Exhaling a shaky breath, I watched unwaveringly as the creatures moved toward me.
My eyes rolled up the cliffside, noting Torrin watched while his men stared up at the sun that had filled the sky with daylight. The first creature reached me, and I swung wide, flipping my body to render a killing blow as my sword swung down onto it. More slid from the water, and I backed up, calculating my moves before a banshee let a scream rip from her mouth. I rushed her, jumping at the last moment to seat myself on her back as my blades stuck in her shoulders. Using them and my weight, I flipped over her shoulders, sending her body sailing with the power of mine.
One creature touched my back, and I flew backward, sending my leg in the air, catching its legs, and I came up as it went down. I whipped my blade out, removing the head from its body before I swung at the next one.
One after another, I slaughtered the creatures as sweat beaded on my brow and neck, slicing and fighting while the girls worked their way through the now empty water. A banshee wailed, and I turned, shoving a blade into her mouth to stop her scream from splitting my head in half. Another echoed her, and I slammed my blade into her throat, twisting it.
I turned toward the sound of feet scurrying over rocks and gasped as a monster ran forward, piercing my chest with its steel-like claws. I lowered my eyes to my breast, then looked up, sending my blade into the creature’s eyes. Twisting the blade, I turned, dispatching the beast over my shoulder in a defensive move.
The sounds of blades meeting flesh filled the day as it slowly turned back to night. I withdrew my blade, dropping it from my shaking hand. Pulling my shirt open, I stared at the seeping wound with black lines already spreading as the creature’s poison filled my bloodstream.
The sound of splashing filled the night, and I turned, seeing more creatures pushing through the surface of the water. Retracting my blades, I moved toward them, coughing violently. I spit out blood, staring down at the ground barely long enough to notice the crimson painting the earth as the sun began to set, and the world returned to darkness.
“Formation!” I shouted, coughing while I took a stance, facing the wilted and water-logged creatures.
I drew my blades wide and waited until the line was formed. The moment we stood together as a unit, a creature sprinted forward, and I scissored my blades across its neck, removing its head. Lifting my blades again, I spun, slicing through another, peeling it like an apple. One after another, they fell, my strength waning as the poison rushed through me, driven by the adrenaline pulsing in my veins.
My knees gave out as a monster ran toward me, but a blade slammed down onto it, and Amo moved in front of me. Her eyes widened in horror. Tabitha stepped beside her, and I dropped backward, landing on the ground, coughing up blood and poison that exploded from my lungs.
When they were done fighting, my team surrounded me. Amo searched my body and discovered the festering wound with panic-stricken eyes. I didn’t need to tell her what was happening because the pain was there, burning her vision.
“Get me on Chivalry. I am not dying on the ground,” I murmured.
“You can’t die. You can’t leave us, Lexia. We need you,” Amo sobbed, standing to move away from me.
“Amo, get me on my horse and move out,” I demanded, and she turned.
“We’re not leaving you!”
“Well, you can’t take me with you unless I’m on my fucking horse.”
She laughed soundlessly, peering up at the cliff. “Torrin has the tonic.”
“And we don’t,” I whispered, turning to cough violently.
“You can’t die. You promised me you wouldn’t die! Everyone leaves me. You can’t do that too! Do you hear me? You’re the leader. We follow