Carissa positioned herself, so her body protected Elon's. Judging from how he stiffened, he didn't approve. No doubt he'd rather it be the other way around.

Zorelle set the blade of one Scythe on the ground and propped her arm against the top of its handle. "You think you're quite clever, don't you?"

Carissa glanced back the way Zorelle had come from—the dungeons. "You were following us?" And Elon hadn't told her?

Zorelle flashed her a smile. "I just wanted to see what you'd do if I let you run loose. But now that we've had our fun, it's time for each of you to return to your respective cages." Zorelle cleared her throat. "Dirth, Itam, come down and join us, won't you?"

Footsteps echoed—coming from up the stairs—and two Reapers stood on the other end of the landing. With the Reaper warriors on her left and Zorelle on her right, they blocked any possible escape.

Carissa fisted the keys in her palm, so each key poked out between her fingers like claws. She was tired of being a prisoner, and unless Elon said otherwise, she was going to fight them with everything she had.

Zorelle snorted. "You're going to fight me with that?"

Carissa slid her foot back into a fighting stance. "I'll do what I must."

Zorelle picked up her Scythes and twirled them, flinging droplets of blood. "You might want to rethink this, Carissa. Your strong, dashing husband is crumpled on the floor, and you're armed with a ring of keys. You can't win this."

Could she win this? Carissa glanced back at Elon, raised her eyebrows.

He nodded, though his mouth was pressed into a grim line. His eyes darted behind her, widening slightly.

Carissa turned just in time to dodge one of the Reaper's Scythes, nearly stumbling into Elon. Zorelle and the second Reaper approached, closing in on her.

She'd been able to kill one Reaper, but could she kill three?

Carissa surged forward, relying on the element of surprise to give her the advantage. Zorelle hesitated only for a moment before swinging her Scythe towards Carissa. Silver flashed in front of Carissa's eyes, and a stinging pain tore across her chest. It chilled her skin, burning like fire and ice.

But Carissa didn't stop until she'd collided with Zorelle, hitting her in the jaw with her fistful of keys. They both toppled to the ground. Zorelle's head thumped against the stone, and she didn't move.

Metal whistled through the air. Carissa picked up one of Zorelle's Scythes just as one of the Reapers swung at her. She block with the shaft of the Scythe, but the force jolted her arms, making her shoulders ache.

The other Reaper approached Elon, and her heart tripped over itself. She rose and began to approach them, but the second Reaper swung at her again. She barely dodged, air whipping past her face. How was she to defend both Elon and herself?

The Reaper attacked her again, and she held up her Scythe, holding it with both hands horizontally to block his strike. The curved edge of his Scythe caught on the handle of hers. Before he could draw it back, she lifted her foot and kicked at the side of his leg, next to his knee. His leg buckled, and he fell in front of her, landing on his hands and knees.

She lifted her Scythe to deliver the final blow, but the Reaper suddenly lashed out with his weapon. She jumped—too late. The blade slashed across her ankle. As she landed, pain clamped onto her leg. It felt like icy claws were burrowing their way into her skin as blood soaked her slipper.

The Reaper began to rise, but she lifted her Scythe and slashed the back of his head, partially severing his neck. The Reaper collapsed back to the ground.

She turned towards Elon, only to find that the second Reaper was dead, lying in a pool of his own black blood. Elon was in the exact same position as she'd left him, sitting against the wall. Had Elon somehow managed to kill him, as weakened as he was? Carissa brushed the question aside. Right now, she had to finish Zorelle.

Someone grabbed her from behind, arms encircling her shoulders and a blade encircling her neck.

That hadn't taken long.

Zorelle bent next to Carissa's ear, whispering, "Surrender or I kill both of you."

Carissa tucked her chin to protect her neck, as Elon had taught her, and fell limp. Zorelle staggered under her weight, and Carissa slipped out of her hold before whipping around to face her, holding her Scythe with white knuckles.

Zorelle laughed, swaying slightly. It seemed that her head had taken some damage when she'd fallen. "Foolish human. You think you can beat—"

Without warning, Zorelle stopped talking and attacked Carissa in a frenzy, her Scythe swiping back and forth. Carissa barely had time to block before retreating. Zorelle's strength didn't wane—in fact, each hit seemed to be more firm than the last.

Carissa's whole body began to tremble as the surge of adrenaline was reduced to a trickle. She gritted her teeth as she put pressure on her ankle, causing the gash to throb with pain. Every cut she'd received stung—especially those on her upper arm and ankle—and her Scythe grew heavier with each passing second.

And then Zorelle knocked Carissa's weapon out of her hands, leaving empty air in its place. Her fingers ached from gripping her weapon so tightly.

Carissa glanced up as Zorelle raised her weapon once more—likely for the last time.

Before Zorelle could bring it down, a dagger flashed through the air, its flight ending in a dull thud. Zorelle glanced down at the blade's handle, implanted in her chest, stumbled once, and joined the other Reapers on the ground.

Elon rose from his position on the wall and slid the dagger from Zorelle's chest. He nodded towards Carissa. "We should go."

Carissa glanced back at the first Reaper she'd killed, before she'd rescued Elon. "You took the dagger from him."

Elon nodded and extended his hand to her, which she took after changing her weapon to her left hand. She tried to thread their fingers together, only to feel a gap. Sometimes she forgot Elon was missing that finger.

He pulled her up the stairs, his steps firm. Moments ago, he could barely walk.

"So your weakness was an act?"

He grimaced. "Partially... I knew Zorelle was following us and that the only way to defeat her was to exaggerate my weakness, then surprise her."

They reached the top of the stairs.

Elon's eyes scanned the darkened stone hallways before he took a right.

Every so often, Elon paused or increased their pace, likely using his Foresight to prevent them from being caught. As they wove through the hallways, she only caught glimpses of other beings: whispers from around the corner, echoing shouts, the clash of weapons, drying blood.

A scream made the hair on Carissa's arms prickle. It was the soft, high cry of a child. "Are we really going to leave them, Elon?"

"Of course not. We're here for the people of Esmeray, Carissa, and we need to take this stronghold in order to push the border back... but at the moment, I don't think either of us are in a position to do that." He tugged her down a stairwell.

As they descended, darkness cloaked her vision. But Elon never faltered. Their steps began to echo, and Carissa guessed they were in some sort of tunnel. After a moment, they stopped and, with her help, Elon rolled away a stone blocking the exit

The sky was dark gray, dimly lighting the area around them. Bare ground, twisted black trees. It seemed the same of all that she'd previously seen of Esmeray.

A sharp intake of breath drew her gaze to Elon. "Are you alright?"

He swayed slightly before steadying himself against a tree. "I'm not certain if I'm alright... but I'll make it." His smile was a shadow of what it usually was. He finally straightened and began walking. "This way."

They walked through the forest for a few minutes, Elon stumbling several times and the pain in her ankle growing fiercer, gnawing at the edges of the parted flesh. The forest cleared for a moment, revealing a little cabin next to a lake. Elon headed towards the lake and stopped at its edge.

He fumbled with his tattered shirt for a moment before pulling it off. He was thinner and paler than when she'd last seen him. Muscle still corded his arms and thickened his chest, but less so than before.

Elon began trying to remove his pants, but he was trembling so badly he lost his balance. Carissa placed his hand on her shoulder to steady him, and he managed to slip his pants and undergarment off. His entire body was streaked in grime.

Carissa walked him to the lake, until the cold water lapped at their ankles. He released her and sank into the water, merely breathing. Then he scooted farther into the lake, until it reached his waist, then his chest. He ducked beneath the water. When he resurfaced, he was significantly cleaner, his skin shining in the gray light.

He grinned at her. "Your turn."

Heat kindled in her chest, and Carissa glanced away from him to study the surrounding forest. "What if someone—"

"No one will come."

Carissa nodded slowly. "Alright." She untied the laces at her back. Her dress pooled around her ankles. Her chemise and undergarments soon joined.

As she waded deeper into the water, its chill temperature sapping away her warmth, she glanced up at Elon. He watched her in open admiration as she approached—his eyes sweeping her from head to toe.

His unabashed gaze did strange things to her; heat burst in her chest before settling low in her stomach. Her very lungs burned, as if she were breathing fire. By the time she'd reached him, she'd nearly forgotten the water was cold.

He slid his hands up her sides, reacquainting himself with her curves, and touched his forehead to hers. "I've missed you."

His words wrapped around her chest and squeezed. She pressed her lips to his and murmured against them, "I've missed you too."

Elon brushed his hand across her chest, and her skin seamed itself together. Then he touched her side before clasping her bruised wrist. The pain flowed out of her like water. He caressed her upper arm, his fingers running over the edges of her gash, his touch miraculously painless.

The muscle in his jaw hardened, and he gripped her more tightly as he began to tremble.

Perhaps it was a bad idea to allow him to heal her now, given how weak he already was.

He removed his hand from her upper arm, revealing flawless skin. "Now for your ankle."

But her ankle had been cut with a Scythe. The last time he'd healed a wound from Esmerian steel, it was only a cut on her cheek, yet it'd sapped his strength even then. "Elon..."

"I know, I know. Healing cuts from Esmerian steel is difficult, even when I'm well." He smiled. "But it'll be okay. After this, I'll just need time to rest—and some tender care from my lovely wife." He pecked her cheek.

Before she could protest again, his foot brushed her ankle. Warmth tickled her skin, and Elon tightened his grip on her again as renewed shaking wracked his frame. A grunt escaped his lips, even though he pressed then together so tightly they were white.

And then his grip loosened, his eyelids fluttering as he sank into the black water's embrace.

***

Author's Note: No sneak peek today :P I have some tutoring and school to do, but I'll try to do one on Friday again, so you have something for the weekend ;)