but I knew we wouldn’t be for long as her aura began to grow in enormous amounts. With a deep breath to get rid of my nerves, I zoned my mind into battle mode, as if this were now a tournament and I was on the final fight.
We pushed away from each other, using the tactic to give us the momentum to start the next wave of attacks that happened like shockwaves of wind as we pushed off the ground and began to clash.
Our speeds were somehow equal - every slash either hitting flesh or metal. I could feel the cuts beginning to break through my combat attire and leaving marks upon my flesh, but I was doing the same to Brianne, in hopes the pain would somehow cut through the endless flow of darkness and retrieve her from the shadows.
The loud sounds that came from our clashing swords were nothing like the aftershocks of energy bouncing all around us, making more debris and shattering glass left and right. We'd be lucky if this training room survived the impact of this intense battle, but I couldn’t care less about this structure.
My goal was to save Brianne the only way I knew how.
We fought long and hard. Elijah had no choice but to watch, as did Jax, Finnick, and Connor. Our speed was so tremendously fast and dangerous, interfering would be like a death wish.
"Brianne," I called her name again as I sought some sort of emotion within her, but it seemed like I was hitting a wall. I bit my lip before I got the upper hand to spin my body around to avoid her attack before connecting my foot into her ribs and sending her flying into a wall.
The crash was a little harder than my expectation, leaving me to curse before I debated whether to check if she was okay. Maybe the impact would knock her down, or even get her out of that dark shell.
Instead, I double cursed and lifted both swords to crisscross in time for the massive golden spark of electricity that surged at me with so much force I was literally sent flying across the room into the opposite wall.
I'd be lying if I said the impact didn't hurt like a bitch. I wasn't sure if I'd broken a damn bone or two, but I'd definitely be sore in the morning. I had to force myself to recover quickly, worried she'd go right in for the kill, but when I got up to assess my options, I noticed how Brianne's body shook with so much charged power, I was worried it would kill her before it destroyed me.
I bit my lip hard, enough to taste blood, but I had to do it to help me think outside the box. I had to reach her somehow. She needed to see that light at the end of the tunnel. I knew I could get to her if I just found a key clue, and then it suddenly clicked.
When I moved with force, her heaving body grew rigid as she prepared for impact, but I stopped a second early. The action landed me right in front of her before I let go of my blades for a brief moment and pressed my hands upon her cheeks as she tried to ready her sword to stab into me.
Without a doubt in my mind, I allowed my magic to soar into my lips as I unlocked my gift and slammed my lips onto hers.
The world seemed to still entirely as the searching kiss pulsed with so much magic it almost felt like my lips were on fire. My lips may have been scorching hot, but Brianne's were ice cold. The combination made the connection sizzle with streams of steam.
I didn’t care as I did what my gift was always able to do – retrieve what I wholeheartedly desired at the peak of the moment.
Brianne. My lovely Brianne. Our Notorious Queen. Red. You're free now. Run to the light. Run to me. Come back to me. To us. Come back home.
It felt like the kiss was eons long, but it was only a few short seconds before I pushed back in time to avoid her sword.
But she spun her body around, moving swiftly as I landed on my feet. I mentally cursed as my body froze. Brianne's blade reached my neck, the very tip touching my flesh.
I stared into her eyes at that very moment, the stillness of silence rushing