Page 55

Gaurbod feints low, then slashes high. Pain flares in my side as the spear grazes my armor, opening a thin line of blood. I grunt, staggering a half-step. He presses the advantage, driving me back until I stand near Lirienne. My breath rasps; the wound stings.

“She dies now,” Gaurbod declares, leveling the spear at Lirienne. “Then I finish you off, cousin.”

My pulse thunders. No. If he strikes again, I might not be able to block it. Lirienne cowers behind me, her dagger useless against the force of a trained warrior. I can’t let her die.

Desperation surges. I fling my ax aside, the clang echoing in the stunned hush. My hands rise, palms outward, facing Gaurbod’s lethal spear point. My voice thunders across the dais.

“Wait!”

He pauses, eyes narrowing. Shock ripples through the onlookers. Lirienne gasps behind me, confusion blazing in her gaze. But a sudden stillness falls in the temple. Even the ongoing skirmishes seem to pause as orcs turn to see what I’m doing.

“Gaurbod,” I say, forcing every ounce of authority into my tone. “If blood is what the War God truly demands, I offer mine. Spare her.”

A collective gasp sounds. Some orcs exchange incredulous looks. Lirienne lets out a strangled cry of protest, tugging at my arm. “Ghorzag, no!”

But I ignore the sting of her nails digging into my wrist. My eyes lock on Gaurbod’s, daring him to face me, to reveal his so-called devotion to the War God. “Take my life. End your vendetta. Let the War God see who truly stands for the clan’s future.”

Gaurbod’s sneer flickers with surprise, then he laughs, cold and triumphant. “You’d die for a human? Then you’re even more a fool than I thought.”

I stand firm, heart hammering. If it saves Lirienne, I’ll pay whatever price. I brace, half-expecting him to impale me that instant. Tension crackles in the air. The temple’s runes on the dais glow faintly, as if responding to the high stakes of this confrontation.

“Stop this madness,” Lirienne pleads, voice cracking with tears. She tries to push forward, but I step between her and Gaurbod, arms spread wide.

“No,” I say softly, locking eyes with her.Better me than you.She shakes her head vehemently, tears streaming, but her trembling lips find no further words.

For a heartbeat, time hovers on the brink. Gaurbod’s spear hovers inches from my chest. Then, with a sneer, he rams it forward. I close my eyes, every muscle tensing for the bite of steel.

But a thunderous rumble rips through the temple, drowning out all sound. The floor shudders violently beneath our feet, sending orcs stumbling. Gaurbod’s spear thrust wavers, the tipclanging harmlessly against my chest plate rather than piercing flesh. Sparks fly, but I remain unhurt.

“What—?” Gaurbod gasps, fighting to keep his balance.

Across the dais, priests cry out, some toppling to their knees. A swirling wind whips through the chamber, snuffing torches and sending sparks dancing in the gloom. The runic carvings along the walls glow bright, pulsing with uncanny light.

A wave of heat envelops us as braziers near the temple’s edges roar to life. Flames leap skyward, painting the entire chamber in flickering red and gold. It feels like the War God’s presence descends in a raw surge of elemental fury.

“The War God…” I breathe, heart pounding. He’s answering us.

Gaurbod staggers, face contorted in shock. The spear clatters from his grip, dislodged by the violent quake. Around us, orcs freeze in awe and fear, eyes fixed on the swirling flames that rise from unseen crevices in the temple floor.

“Look!” one priest shouts, pointing to the dais. The obsidian runes glow white-hot, lines of light radiating from where I stand, creeping outward in intricate patterns. I feel a surge of energy crackling beneath me, as if the War God has chosen this exact spot to deliver a verdict.

Lirienne gasps, tears on her cheeks illuminated by the blaze. She gazes at the blazing runes, then at me, eyes wide with wonder.The War God… is he truly intervening?

In the flickering firelight, the entire temple trembles. Chunks of stone rain from above, though no large slabs fall to crush us. The roar of flames escalates until I can hardly hear my own ragged breathing. All around, orcs drop to their knees—some in reverence, others in terror. Even Gaurbod stares open-mouthed, backing away as though scalded.

“The War God sees,” Drahn the priest exclaims, voice quivering with awe. “He weighs our hearts!”

A rumble rolls through the chamber like distant thunder, reverberating in my bones. I stand, unarmed, arms at my sides, uncertain if this divine force will smite me or spare me. My gaze flicks to Lirienne, who clings to my arm, her trembling shifting into something like hope.

Suddenly, a pillar of flame erupts from the dais’s center, a slender spire that reaches high into the temple’s vaulted ceiling, swirling with unnatural brilliance. My gut clenches.Is this the War God’s fury or his blessing?

A radiant warmth floods me, not painful but overwhelming, as the War God’s power brushes my very soul. I hear Lirienne exhale in a half-choked sob, pressing closer. All around, orcs shield their eyes from the blaze.

Then, as quickly as it came, the pillar of flame recedes, leaving behind a swirl of embers that drift in the air. The runes on the dais simmer down to a soft glow. A hush claims the temple, the crackling of residual flames echoing in corners.

I release a shuddering breath. My limbs shake from the raw energy that just coursed through the floor.The War God… did he judge us?

Priests scramble, dropping their staffs in stunned reverence. One elder priest stares at me and Lirienne, eyes filled with tears. “The War God… acknowledges your union. He did not strike her dead. He saved you both from the spear.”