Page 153 of Balance

He’d asked me to trust him, and I did. And now I was dying because of it.

What the heck kind of luck was this?

Miles was going to be crushed when he figured out what happened.

What would it be like? Would he eventually come back to himself and see my dead body lying here? Or would he stay this way until the others eventually found us?With Kathleen’s barrier gone, it was only a matter of time.

They might actually kill him.

The wind whistled. At first, echoing faintly in my ears, but the sound grew louder with every passing second. A breeze moved across my face, washing away the shadow as, with slow, shaky inhales, the world moved into focus once more.

Miles was still on top of me, unmoved. Still in the same position, holding me trapped under him. But as the spots faded, a calm sense of clarity returned.

He was distant, unreachable, even as a line of tears stained his cheeks. The tendrils of my nervous panic retreated—even withalmost killing me, Miles remained lost.

If I didn’t stop this, he might actually stay this way forever. The others weren’t even here yet, but if I died, I doubted they’d welcome him back with open arms.

I couldn’t give up; I had to win—if only so Miles didn’t die later.

However, Mu was wrong. I couldn’t beat him.

“Not if you play fair. You’re at a disadvantage,” the small voice whispered in my ear. “But nobody said life was fair.”

No, life wasn’t fair; and sometimes it was the underhanded methods that brought the best results. It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it.

I moved before I could second-guess myself, bringing my knee up as hard as possible. It caught Miles in the groin. Magicallyinducedthrall or not, a hit to the balls still affected a man in the same way. Miles rolled from me, falling to the ground in a ball.

“W-what’s wrong with you?” I didn’t feel guilty at all, at least not now. Not even his pained posture could stir my pity. I turned to my side, throat raw and chest heaving as the suffocating ice lifted breath by breath.

It took a long second for me to fully catch my breath—too long; especially during a moment when a head start, or gaining any kind of advantage, would have been helpful. Either Miles’s current situation left him less vulnerable, or maybe it was possible I had been more affected by my near-death experience than I thought. By the time I finally moved to my feet, Miles was already regaining his.

His eyes were still distant, hair wild, and skin streaked with dirt—when Miles fully stood, cracking his neck as he turned to face me, my heart began to race in fear once more.

Possibly my one chance had gone, and now he was feral. I might not get another chance.

What was he even planning to do?

He threw his arm up, fingers grasping at the air, and the ground quaked at my feet.

“Move.”

I was behind him, and, a second later, clinging to his back. He turned, pinpointing my location with every movement, but was still too slow, and not nimble enough to reach me. That was to be expected; Tu was a terrifying combatant, but he lacked speed and agility.

Besides, it was too easy to diffuse any craft thrown in my direction. He never stood a chance.

But what was wrong with him? Where was Miles, exactly, and why was he trying to fight me?

“He’s losing against himself.” Mu’s explanation rang through my thoughts. “Tu is testing him, and he’s failing. If you can’t pull him out of it, he won’t be able to control his powers properly. He just needs a little help.”

Great.

Miles fell to his knees, fingers clawing at my thigh as he muttered indistinguishably under his breath. I didn’t know why he hadn’t rolled onto his back—I would have been crushed—but at least there were small mercies.

Clearly, he wasn’t a tactical fighter.

“You need to get his attention.” At this point, I was no longer alarmed at the voice in my head. That was probably something that would disturb me greatly later.

Get his attention. Right. That was easy.