Page 118 of The Blade in the Ashes
But Nessira’s eyes nervously flickered to the men flanking her before she swallowed, squared her feet, and locked her attention on George.
“Let her go!” she demanded, sparks lighting near her fingertips.
I felt his chest rise and fall behind me as he released a taunting laugh.
She lifted her hands in front of her.
And it felt as if the ground fell out from under me as the men moved all at once.
George yanked me further back away from her as my feet skid in the dirt. Wildly, I thrashed within his grasp, my nails digging deeply into his forearms as the two men on either side of Nessira lurched towards her. She twisted to her left, fire snaking down her arm and flying towards the thin, sandy-haired man who ran at her.
All the while, the taller man with a rounded belly and crooked nose stepped casually behind her and wrapped his arm around her throat, cutting off any air supply.
“Nessira!” I cried, heart pounding in an unnatural rhythm within my chest.
“We don’t get any coins for turning you over,” the man spat down at her, pulling so tightly that her features turned purple.
I screamed—wordless, unintelligible sounds—pulling as hard as I could against the arms around my belly to get to her.
George only tightened his grip on me further, his voice falling over me like an inky mist. “Just kill her. We only need the blonde.”
The order sounded distorted to my ears, as if I had heard it through a tunnel.
Across the distance that separated us, Nessira and I locked eyes. Her jaw dropped open in a picture of pure, unimaginable terror.
No!
I couldn’t lose her. I couldn’t lose another friend.
“Don’t touch her!”I howled, not even recognizing my voice.
The man holding Nessira watched me with a slimy smile.
“Or what?” George mocked over my shoulder. “How are you going to stop us?”
His friend laughed, pressing his chapped lips against the crown of Nessira’s head. “We can do whatever we want, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”
If it were possible for time to slow, I felt it happen then.
Nessira held my gaze, both of us desperately struggling against the men who held us. Tiny bits of flame sparked at the tips of her fingers but quickly extinguished. She’d exhausted everything she had trying to save me, and she gave a heart-wrenching whimper as she realized that.
Terror and rage poured through me, making my heartbeat a steady drum that bled away any other sound.
I screamed.
I cried.
I kicked.
I scratched.
I fought for my power. I practically ripped myself apart from the inside out as I searched for it—for any small piece of it.
What kind of Goddess was I if I couldn’t save anyone I loved?
Nessira watched me through it all, the fear on her face melting away. Her body slackened, her eyes sparkled with acceptance.
“Run,” she breathed. “So you can save the realm.”
