Page 123 of Lethal Souls
“Need I remind you that there is a war happening in two days and you have yet to harness Yuri’s power?” Hassha takes a grand step back. “The distractions have come to an end. Everyone is practicing and preparing. There is a meadow not too far away, so let us go there. I will have you tapped in with Yuri and trained before Selah’s arrival.”
My eyes slide to Willow’s, and she hands me my shirt with a cheery smile. “Can I watch?” she asks, looking between us.
Hassha flashes a smile. “I insist.”
The sun is setting when we reach the meadow.
Trees with black tops surround us, and water trickles a short distance away. If I follow the sound of the water, it’ll take me to a bubbling creek.
I played there often as a child, balancing on wet stones and catching frogs while my mother washed clothes.
Hassha and I now stand in the middle of a meadow centered in the forest while her warriors stand under a shady tree a short distance away. Willow is with them, sitting on the grass with her legs crossed.
“Do you remember what I told you about your powers when we went to Vanora?” Hassha asks, circling me as she speaks. I don’t like the way she does it, walking around me like I’m prey. It doesn’t help that her eyes are burning bright blue and her hands are wrapped in flames.
“You told me a lot of things,” I mutter, watching her through the corner of my eye.
“Stop blocking Yuri and welcome him in.” Her voice is louder. “That fear you have of losing yourself in the process is useless and changes nothing about our fates.”
“Right. Look, Hassha, the way I see it?—”
Blue light hurtles my way, and I duck just before it can hit me. It slams into a tree and sends it up in flames.
“What the fuck?” I turn my attention to Hassha again, but she’s no longer standing on the ground. She’s levitating.
“Do you think Selah will give you the chance to explain the way you see things?” She sends another fireball my way.
I hardly miss it as I leap to the left. The flames consume the grass while I hop to my feet. “This is madness.”
“You’re right. Selah is madness.” This time, the fireball she shoots transforms to a dagger and grazes the upper arm of my shirt. I hiss, peering down at the blood accumulating on my arm.
“Now you’re just pissing me off,” I grumble.
“Good.” Hassha’s eyes flash with amusement. Then she glowers, landing on the ground and summoning a sword. “Now fight.”
She charges forward, swinging her blade at me when she’s near. On instinct, I dodge the first swing, but she catches me by the shoulder when she whirls around. I can’t fight the yell that escapes me.
“How is this fair?” I shout. “You have a fucking sword!”
“You can have one too.” She thrusts her sword forward, but I grip it. The blade slices through my palm and across my fingers. She jerks away, making the cut deeper.
“You’re trying to kill me,” I breathe.
“Not at all, Seed of Yuri.”
When she ducks and swings a leg, it connects with my ankles. I lose my footing and land on the ground with a thud.
“Fuck,” I groan, coughing as I stare up at the sky.
She stands above me with a deep frown. “Why are you not fighting back?”
“You aren’t giving me the chance to,” I grumble, attempting to sit up.
Her foot presses to my chest, forcing me back to the ground, and her eyes turn to ice as she glares at me. Then she picks up her head and looks across the meadow.
I follow her line of sight to where Willow and the warriors are.
No. She wouldn’t.