Frangos unlocked the vault and dragged open the door. The boy joined him, and Father Frangos locked the both of them safely inside.
That left me to engage the third man. The exhilaration of battle made my scar tingle with the memory of the blade that had rent my flesh. I had faced more frightening enemies than these, but my elicrin stone had always allowed me to maintain a little distance. Now I had no shield to erect, no spells to cast, no control over the magic that had already brought misery to the innocent people of Perispos. I didn’t even have a sword, my weapon of choice.
But I would have to make do.
The man lunged for my gut, and I resisted the urge to try to block him, as I would with a much longer blade. Instead, ducking under his elbow, I slid the knife beneath his ribs, ripping the bust of Stasi’s dress clear up the seam in the process. The cut into his flesh was long but shallow, earning only a grunt before he whirled on me.
Taking a cue from Sev, I danced around unpredictably. In my periphery I could see Sev wrestling with his opponent. They had suspended each other’s knife-wielding hands and were jabbing with shoulders and knees to try to regain the advantage.
The leader recovered and made another dash for the exit, desperate to catch Navara. Kadri chose a more appropriate spell, umrac korat, but her aim was so haphazard that the bright light struck the wall far over his head, carving out a divot.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t have a clear shot!” she said to me.
“Use praenthar ilmen!” I yelled. The spell would erect a stone barrier to stop him. She repeated it and a wall of stones appeared from thin air, but it was too late. He was gone. It only barricaded us inside with our remaining opponents.
The distraction cost me. My adversary pounced closer and seized my wrist, turning my knife away from him. I bared my teeth, struggling against his sheer strength. He spun me around and shoved me against the wall. My cheek smashed against a painting of a woman suffering at Themera’s feet.
“Glisette!” Sev yelled. Even in the midst of my terror, there was something so powerful about hearing him call out my name.
“Got any more knives hidden under there?” my assailant whispered in my ear, his breaths grazing the back of my neck. His greedy hands, damp with sweat, bunched up the folds of my skirt as he felt along my thigh.
Fury burned like a wall of fire in my chest. I smacked the hard back of my skull against what I could only hope was his nose. He released me and stumbled away.
Kadri intervened with the slashing spell. I heard a guttural noise. When I faced my opponent, he was swaying on his feet. He fell with a hard thwack on the stones.
Kadri stared at the deep, bloody carve marks crossing his back.
Those magic-etched, murderous slashes…the edifice…
The searing, horrid memory of Perennia pummeled me. I felt like I was falling, drowning in icy darkness. I needed to get control of myself. Guards waited at the entrance to the village, guards seeking any sign of me or Navara, who was alone and exposed.
My untethered magic, driven by grief, would not respond to the small voice in my head that tried desperately to soothe. But Kadri was already here, catching me in her embrace, bringing the kind of warmth and love that had previously felt as distant as Perennia’s smile.
I wept into her shoulder. I didn’t realize I’d spoken my sister’s name aloud until Kadri said, “I know. I’m so sorry.”
Concern for Sev and Navara yanked me back to the present reality. I realized how oddly quiet the edifice seemed now, following the shouts and cries of pain.
I looked through the blur of tears and found Sev standing over his fallen opponent, his brow shimmering with sweat. He had jammed his knife deep into the man’s chest and now ripped it out, trailing fresh blood as he dashed toward me and knelt.
“Are you hurt?” He didn’t touch me, but I could see the instinct to do so pulsing in the raised veins of his strong and slender hands.
“No, I’m all right.” I waved him off and pushed myself up, reclaiming my knife and lifting my skirt to sink it back into the sheath. Was it my imagination, or did his eyes follow my movements? “Let’s go find Navara,” I said,