The Way We Fall

Chapter 193 (Tigris)

TW: Bl00d, coarse language

The sword didn't hurt as much as Tigris thought it would. In fact, she barely noticed that she'd been stabbed until her body jolted backwards and Orpheus shot her a bloodied grin. It was a strange sight on his young face.

Tigris glanced down, feeling detached from her body as she stared at the thin slip of metal jabbed through her side. Blood leaked out the sides of the wound, staining her pale undershirt. All Tigris could do was shakily lift her gaze back to the empty faced adolescent before her. Time slowed, and all Tigris could hear was the sound of her own breathing as she stared at her killer.

Something flickered in Orpheus' eyes, and a hint of emotion flashed across his face before being smothered by blankness once more. His lips curved with two words before he was pulled under Finn's enchantment again.

Forgive me.

Tigris' blood roared in her ears as his hollow smile returned and he yanked the blade back out. She felt the skin of her chest give, felt a fresh gush of blood burble out of the wound. Orpheus swung his blade again as she staggered back, barely managing to deflect a blow to her neck. Her instincts, ingrained from experience as a warrior, screamed at her to kill him, to stab him before he managed to get another blow in.

But Orpheus was not a warrior.

He was a child.

Tigris couldn't kill him.

Across the battlefield, a howl echoed, tearing through the air. The sound instantly made the hairs on the back of Tigris' neck rise. The roar ripped through reality more viscerally than Finn's portal had, a soul deep cry that rattled through the bones of every knight on the field. Tigris' gaze swung up to the dilapidated tower, her breath rushing out of her. Roche was on her knees on the edge of the balcony, her face twisted with a gutted emotion. Her doe-like eyes, usually innocent and sweet, burned with scalding fury and anguish. Her gleaming eyes met Tigris' face.

The Ala sucked in a breath.

And screamed.

The air was sucked out of the world. The sky turned as dark as ink, painting the field in shadows. The knights shouted in alarm as their vision went dark, brought back in moments by a nebula of light that whirled around Roche like a tornado. The Ala was furious, her scream still echoing across the bloodied field. The ground trembled under the force of her cry.

And began to burn.

There were so many screams that Tigris could barely focus amongst the noise. She sank to her feet as Roche rained hellfire down on the field, replacing the grass with tongues of flame. Tigris did nothing, not even when the flames rolled beneath her feet. The flames were harmless against her skin, but the uska and spirits writhed and shrieked, disintegrating in moments. A few tried to take to the skies to flee.

The clouds parted, and lightning blasted from the sky. The bolts struck the earth with deafening explosions, cracking the scorched earth and sending dust flying through the air. The lightning didn't just hit the uska. Seconds after Tigris had been stabbed, Roche's hands flicked out in two separate directions with a snarl so animallistic that it sounded like it had been made by an uskoi.

One bolt of lightning struck inches away from her body, striking the enchanted boy before her. Orpheus screamed, his eyes clearing as his body jerked and twitched under the rush of electricity. As the young boy met his end, Tigris could have sworn that his eyes cleared of enchantment.

And it wasn't because of Roche.

Tigris swept her gaze across the field, her heart stuttering in her chest as she glimpsed her brother gazing up at Roche. His jaw had dropped, and potent terror gleamed bright in his eyes like he was seeing the maid clearly for the first time. As lightning streaked towards him unmercifully, Tigris realised three things.