Page 324 of Scarlet Wars
But I didn’t have time to interfere. Not when another Alliance Offensive burst out of the smoke on my left, screaming like enthusiasm was a viable combat strategy.
Great.
Instinct took over. I spun and snapped a shield into place in time to deflect the strike, the impact rattling through my arms and straight down my spine. I answered with a burst of flame to the chest. He went down hard, and I turned again, magic flickering at my fingertips in a way that suggested it was also getting tired.
It was all chaos. Absolute, unfiltered chaos.
Something cut through the air toward my blind side.
Steel rang out.
A blade was knocked violently off course, sparks skidding across the stone as it spun away.
Petru Stoyan stepped in at my shoulder, weapon raised, body angled just enough to block the next strike meant for me.
“Try not to die,” Slava’s Leader said flatly. “It’s bad for morale.”
I glanced at the blade still scraping along the ground. “Working through my options.”
He shifted his stance, covering my flank without looking at me. “Maybe start with not standing in the way of incoming death.”
“Bold strategy,” I said, scarlet haze flaring as I turned back into the fight. “I’ll add it to the list.”
“Can you add it quicker?”
I let out a chuckle as I beheaded another Alliance Offensive. “Don’t worry. If I die, I’ll make sure I take all of these assholes with me.”
“Comforting,” he muttered. “And who’s gonna save my ass from Colt if I let you die?”
I snorted, then caught a glimpse of Rachel through the smoke and rubble. She raised both arms and hurled a towering wall of water into a cluster of Sisu, slamming them against the base of a broken statue with bone-snapping force.
My gaze followed her all the way to…Caden.
Caden—gods,Caden—wasprecision.
As if every move had been calculated three steps ahead of the rest of us. He didn’t waste energy. Didn’t show emotion. Simply moved through the fight like it was a game he’d already won.
His Chela in hand, only one punch took out three Coastal magi. A blink later, sparring with two others like he had nothing to lose andno intentionof letting them walk away.
For a second, I couldn’t look away.
He was still at the far edge of the square, surrounded by at least twenty Offensives hammering at him from all sides, but he was holding his own.
And then everything changed.
A chill rushed through the air like something ancient had stirred. My blood ran cold.
I saw it too late.
One of the Chiefs stepped through the smoke, cloaked in obsidian armor. His face was half-shadowed beneath the hood, but his eyes burned. Not with power.
With intent.
And his arm was already raised.
His haze moved like an invisible whirlwind, like something that didn’t obey the rules of this world.
Headed straight for Caden.
