Highest rating: #19 in fantasy!
Edlyn has never fit in. With her unusual white hair and silver eyes, she sticks out from her village of brown. To make matters worse, unexplainable things tend to happen around her-things that she can't control. In a...
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- Alec -
"What?" the human girl gasps, stumbling away from Queen Lili Mai's warrior, Warren. Her hair and her dress ripple in the wind that the warrior's wings stir. I glance behind me at the crowd that has shifted away from the fight. I expect for them to be leaving the room or watching with disinterest, but to my surprise, most eyes reflect anger and distress over the Queen's order.
I look to Celeste and Syfi as encouraging cheers for the human ring throughout the crowd. They've moved away as well and are huddled against a wall with other women from the crowd, anguish apparent on their faces. None of them want this fate for the girl either, but it's forbidden to interfere with an execution ordered by the Queen, or you risk being executed as well. Even if the queen who orders it is mentally ill.
I decide that I'm far enough from the fight and don't follow them. Although, in reality, I know I could easily be sliced by a swinging sword on accident.
The girl dodges the first blow from Warren by leaping off the throne platform. She plunges several feet until she collides with the first root, bouncing off with a painful thud and tumbling the rest of the way down. For one heart-stopping second she seems to have been knocked unconscious from the fall, but she stands almost as soon as she reaches flat ground, just in time to dodge another swing from Warren.
I regain my composure quickly, wiping my face clear of emotion. I do my best to appear indifferent to the scene unfolding before me, but my heart clenches whenever the blade manages to come near the girl.
She doesn't utter another sound, even when Warren's blade narrowly misses her throat. She doesn't attempt to run into the crowd and escape, beg the queen for mercy, or even plead for help. She focuses everything on the man trying to kill her, dodging his attacks with surprising grace—although occasionally she will stumble.
The warrior and the human become locked in a deadly dance, perpetuated only by the warrior's honor code; he cannot use magic to slay someone who cannot defend themselves with magic. If he were allowed to use magic, the fight would be over in seconds and the girl would be dead. Unfortunately for the human, the code doesn't forbid striking down an unarmed man with a sword.
My eyes follow the girl's every move, silently ordering her what to do to avoid the oncoming attacks. Duck. Move left. Jump back. Move right and run forward.
She doesn't follow my orders exactly, but she comes close to it. When she darts forward to escape the blade, the swordsman predicts her move and swings the weapon backward. I suck in a breath as the blade cuts into the material of the dress covering her stomach. She cries out and clutches the wound with her hand, which is soon stained red with crimson blood.
