Author's Note: A big thank you to macaronitsunami, one of my favorite readers 😉, for her encouraging comment, which is why this week's reward goes to her.

***

Rapid footsteps pattered against the floor.

She began to rise, until Elon squeezed her waist, and she settled back down. Akasha had to think they weren't expecting her.

The chill grew stronger at her back, and Carissa suppressed a shiver as her body stiffened. Judging from Elon's strong grip on her waist, he didn't want her to rise and fight yet. But how long was she to remain still?

Akasha stopped at her side of the bed. The hairs on Carissa's neck prickled in awareness. Metal sang as it was unsheathed. Perhaps a sword? Or dagger? The wooden floors creaked with the shifting of weight.

Elon finally loosened his grip. She rolled towards Akasha in time to catch the glitter of moonlight against a blade. A dagger. Akasha held it above her for a split second before plunging it downwards.

As it whistled through the air, Carissa raised her forearms to shield her chest, but she knew it was too late. She hadn't reacted in time, and in moments, the dagger would find its mark.

Elon's sword flashed in front of her, and the dagger crashed against it. Their blades were locked for only a moment before Elon pressed harder, the tip of his sword nearing Akasha's nose.

Akasha grunted and darted backwards, allowing Elon's sword to swipe where she'd been moments ago.

Elon rolled out of bed and rounded to Carissa's side. "The dagger, Carissa."

She drew her dagger from its sheath. From that one strike alone, it was clear Akasha was stronger and more skilled. How could Elon expect Carissa to fight her? She slipped out of bed and stood behind him.

Elon lowered his sword and stepped aside. "Your turn, Carissa."

Akasha's face split with glee. "Allow the supposed warrior to attack me. Excellent idea."

Carissa clutched the edge of his sleeve. "Elon...?"

He smiled softly. "Trust me, Carissa."

A quick glance at Akasha revealed her stance had loosened. Though she wasn't willing to approach Elon, she paced the other side of the room, twirling her dagger.

Finger by finger, Carissa pried herself off of Elon's sleeve. If he knew the future and he loved her, then she had to trust everything would work out. She approached Akasha on wobbling legs and lifted her dagger. To her embarrassment, her arm trembled.

Akasha only paused to snicker before launching into an attack. Her dagger slammed into Carissa's, ripping it from her sweaty grip. As it skidded across the room, Akasha lunged towards her.

Carissa shielded her face with her forearms. This was it.

Steel clanged, and silence filled the room.

Carissa lowered her arms. Elon had blocked the coming blow. "I thought I was supposed to fight Akasha."

Akasha's eyes swirled with darkness as she gritted her teeth.

Elon's gaze never left Akasha, but his expression was relaxed, his posture loose. "Not alone you aren't. You attack her. I'll protect you."

Oh. Her relief spooled into a sigh. Perhaps she could defeat Akasha—so long as Elon was at her side.

Elon shoved Akasha back with his sword before gesturing to Carissa.

She strode towards Akasha, who appeared significantly less confident than she had moments ago. Carissa swiped her dagger towards her, and Akasha glided back. If Carissa were to strike her, she'd have to be faster.

Carissa jabbed upwards, and Akasha blocked her. The vibration of the hit shook her bones as heat pooled in her chest. She drew back and struck again. This time, Akasha barely had time to block.

She followed with a series of quick swipes, growing energized as beads of sweat followed the curve of Akasha's cheek and dampened her brows.

Akasha shot forward—with more energy than Carissa expected from one so weary. Before her dagger could graze Carissa, Elon's sword slid in front of her, deflecting the blow.

How Elon had managed to block the strike so quickly, and without his blade even touching Carissa, she wasn't sure. In fact, she'd forgotten he was there. All she could feel was the heat thickening her blood and the diminishing chill of Akasha's presence.

She was going to slay Akasha, here and now. Carissa's dagger sliced through Akasha's forearm, and a strange energy ran up the metal and jolted her fingertips. Darkness, like black fog, seeped out of the wound before dissipating into nothingness. As Akasha's eyes widened in horror, a cold, grim satisfaction swelled within her.

She was going to cause Akasha as much pain as Akasha had caused her.

Carissa plunged her dagger towards Akasha's chest. But the air had turned to syrup, sapping the speed she'd possessed moments ago.

Akasha's dagger streaked through the air, descending on her like a falcon on a rabbit.

The collar of her dress cut into her throat as Elon yanked her back. She stumbled into his chest as his arms came around her to shield her with his sword. "Careful, Carissa. Focus on the bond."

"Bond?"

"Yes, connecting you to me. If a feeling or thought tears your attention from the bond, you become impotent." He held his sword horizontally, blocking a particularly fierce hit. "Your power comes from me. When you mentally or emotionally sever our connection, what do you think happens?" He released her, deflecting another blow.

"I sever my source of power." She lifted her dagger. "But how do I focus on our bond?"

Akasha slammed her dagger against his sword before retreating back, her chest heaving.

Though Elon lowered his sword, he positioned himself between Akasha and Carissa. "In the same way you honor the gift I've given you: you can learn to love me..."

"And to love others in the way you've loved me." Carissa glided past Elon, and Akasha's eyes flared red as she sank into her fighting stance.

She halted before Akasha, preparing her heart and mind to finish what this woman has begun. "This is for the havoc you've wreaked on Zonah." She closed the distance between them and slashed her dagger towards Akasha, the air whistling in its wake.

Akasha sucked in a breath and stumbled backwards, slamming her back into the wall.

Heat unfurled in her chest, seeping into her arms. Every time Akasha tried to strike, her dagger was already there to block. "For the hearts you've twisted."

Her dagger sliced into Akasha's upper arm, and Akasha's eyes flared as her scowl exposed her snow-white teeth.

"For the people you've hurt." While Akasha was distracted by her injury, Carissa slammed her dagger into Akasha's, and it skittered across the wooden boards before knocking against the wall.

While Carissa's gaze followed the fallen dagger, Akasha latched onto Carissa's wrist and twisted. Carissa could've sworn her bones were creaking beneath the pressure.

Carissa lifted her knee and kicked Akasha's stomach. The force yanked Akasha back, and she staggered before falling. Before Akasha could rise, Carissa pressed her knee to her chest.

Carissa stared into her blue eyes, bottomless and dark as wells.

Akasha dug her nails into Carissa's knee. As the seconds ticked past, a grin carved across Akasha' face. "Coward."

"No, I'm not a coward." She raised her dagger, preparing to plunge it into Akasha's heart—if she had one. "I'm a warrior." Carissa brought the dagger down on her.

The dagger punctured Akasha's chest. Carissa had expected her dagger to thud against bone and slice flesh, but beneath Akasha's skin, there seemed to be... nothing.

Red engulfed Akasha's irises, and Carissa lurched back from her. Black fog rushed from everywhere—her wounds, her mouth, her nose—producing a terrible screeching noise as it fled. Akasha's skin disintegrated, joining the whirlwind of darkness. And then it all melted in mid air. There was no sign Akasha had ever been there, save the dagger on the floor.

Carissa stared where Akasha had last been. "She's gone?"

Elon strode towards her, his body heat warming her side. "She is."

"The lockdown is over?"

"It is."

Her shoulders sagged. "So I'm done."

"No."

She whirled to face him. "No?"

"You called yourself a warrior, didn't you?"

She folded her arms. "I fail to see how that's relevant."

"Warriors don't fight for a single battle; they fight until the war is won."

She propped her hip against the wooden wall as a wave of dizzying exhaustion crashed over her. "How strong of a Reaper was Akasha compared to the rest?"

"She wasn't terribly weak, but many of them are stronger than she."

She stiffened her jaw against a yawn. "And yet she managed to get past Nysia's defenses when the others haven't."

"Only because I allowed it."

"What?" She whirled to face him. "Why?" Who had given him the license to make such a decision that affected thousands of people? But, then again, he was King....

"You wouldn't have realized you were a warrior otherwise."

"And why is that so important? How is it worth a city-wide lockdown?"

Something flickered in his gaze. "You'll see."

She closed her eyes, ignoring the confusion his words aroused. The exhaustion felt like liquid metal in her skull, thick and heavy. Her eyes were drier stale bread, and she wanted nothing more than to close them.

Elon guided her to bed and tucked the blanket beneath her chin before kneeling by her side. "I'd like to leave for the palace to continue your training. Before we leave Zonah, is there anything you'd like to do?"

"Like to do?" Why was he asking such hard questions so late at night? She tucked her hands beneath her pillow. "Yes. I'd like to visit a healer." She peered up at him, hoping to catch his expression in the dark. "A man by the name of Viltus."

He stroked her cheek. "It will be done." And then he settled himself on the floor next to her, the wooden boards creaking beneath his weight.

She would have invited him into bed with her, but she was asleep before she could even part her lips.

***

Carissa fidgeted, and the horse gave an unappreciative snort beneath her.

"Nervous?"

His lips grazed her ears, and her breath stuttered. "A little." She was so consumed by thoughts of seeing Viltus again that she was unable to discern whether her reaction to Elon was one of excitement or fear. They'd stopped by the embassy, and Elon had informed the guards the lockdown had ceased, so they could inform the rest of the city.

Then they'd trotted towards Viltus' home. She wanted this meeting with Viltus to already be a memory; he hadn't been very congenial to her last time, and she didn't expect him to behave any differently this time.

She peered over her shoulder at Elon. Did he know who Viltus was? Likely not, or else he'd forbid her from seeing him. Would he see from her or Viltus' reaction that they'd previously met? Perhaps this had been a bad idea.

Elon slowed in front of a house. Viltus' house.

Tremors wracked her bones, and she knew she wouldn't be able to dismount without assistance. When she'd last been here, he'd tossed her out of his house and ground her heart into the dirt. Perhaps she should have chosen another for the task she'd had in mind.

Elon slid off the horse before setting her on the ground. The sunlight streaming through the clouds brightened his eyes to copper. His hands were loose enough around her waist that she could have escaped his hold easily. But she remained.

"Elon?"

"Yes?"

"Y–You should know Viltus and I, well, we... have a past."

"He was your lover?" Elon's expression revealed nothing.

Heat roiled beneath her skin. "Well, I never exactly gave myself to him, not in the sense I gave myself to the men at Iver."

Elon nodded slowly. "But you were emotionally intimate."

She glanced at the tips of their shoes. "Yes. And I've," she twisted fistfuls of her skirt, "kissed him."

"Hmmm."

Though she still stared at the ground, Elon's scrutiny felt like a physical weight. She glanced up.

"It sounds as though you have much to settle."

"You aren't displeased?"

He bent closer, so his forehead nudged hers. "No, not unless you forget you're mine." He released her to offer his arm. "Shall we greet him then?"

"Together?"

"Yes. I wouldn't want him to behave untowardly towards you, thinking you're still a maiden."

She stifled a laugh. "I assure you, there's no danger of that. He quite literally tossed me into the street." Why did saying that still hurt?

Elon clasped her hand and squeezed. "I would accompany you nonetheless."

She nodded. No matter how upsetting the coming moments would be, she was thankful for Elon's warm presence at her side. They stopped in front of the wooden door. When she'd last seen Viltus, he'd stood in this doorway, staring down at her with hurt and disgust.

She lifted her hand and knocked.

***

Author's Note: I'm seriously crunched for time today, so now sneak peeks :P

Edit: You know I'm legitimately crunched for time when I start making stupid typos 😂