Page 166 of Balance

“Remember, it’s just a spell,” Miles whisper-hissed the answer to my unspoken question, pulling my attention from the display. “We’ll need to break it, just like with the barrier.”

“Why?” I asked, glancing in time to witness the Snallygaster moving aside, exposing Julian and Damen—apparently in a heated discussion and paying no attention to Titus’s battle—on the far side of the field.

The Snallygaster roared—if you could call the high-pitched, horror-filled screech a roar. As Miles and I both covered our ears in reflex, the creature thrashed its tail toward the still-arguing necromancer and onmyoji.

I held my breath as the two narrowly missed being thrown into a tree—only pulling out of their discussion at the last second. Julian’s features had twisted in concentration, and he, almost-effortlessly, jumped over the spiked tail. The necromancer’s elegant landing was perfect, and he crouched into a defensive stance. On the other hand, Damen wasn’t quite as graceful.

The onmyoji had also jumped, but his katana went flying as the Snallygaster’s tail just clipped the bottom of Damen’s foot. So, unlike Julian, Damen stumbled to his knees, cursing as his attention followed after his fallen weapon.

“Clumsy,” Julian was saying, flicking his sword, causing the green slime that coated it to fall to the ground at his feet. “You’re losing your touch. Where’s your focus?”

Mean— It wasn’t like Damen was soliciting this sort of criticism. By the narrowed glare he shot at the dark-skinned man, it wasn’t welcome feedback either.

But then again, Julian wasn’twrong. I’d seen Damen fight before, and he was far better than this; that was even adding in the fact we’d been slammed into a wall during our confrontation with the hyenas.

So why did he seem slower now?

“Bianca.” Miles’s voice was echoing through my head. His hand was pulling at my arm, but I couldn’t focus. All I could see was Damen: scruffy, weaponless, and something feral about the heated look he’d shot at the dragon-monster. It set off alarms in my head, and I couldn’t imagine why.

“Bianca—” Miles nudged my chin toward his and his brown eyes focused on mine. “Damen is fine. Don’t—”

For a second, he’d almost succeeded in distracting me. But even with his earnest plea, I couldn’t ignore instinct.

My vision was tunneling, and a line of sweat ran down my back even as Miles tried to hold my focus.

What was wrong with me?

Then the thing moved around, successfully breaking the spell Miles had cast over me, as it snapped its pointed beak in Damen’s direction.

Damen had no way of protecting himself without his weapon, and the dragon-creature seemed determined to chase him despite Titus’s renewed attack from the back. Meanwhile, the onmyoji had his back to a tree, steadily making his way toward his katana. Julian was no longer laughing but unsheathed his weapon once more.

Still, it was obvious to see no one would make it before Damen was eaten.

Time suspended as my blood ran cold and a numbness settled over me. A sense of urgency choked my thoughts and words.

He’d protected me once—more than once—but it wouldn’t happen again.

“Don—” Miles began, but the rest of his statement was lost. Wind washed over me and colors swirled as the scene shifted.

I’dblinkedbefore, but never had it felt like this. My skin felt tight—stretched and thin—and my body too small. As the world settled around me, my right forearm tingled with a long-lost familiarity that made me happy somehow.

But I wasn’t sure why.

“What the hell?” Huo’s stunned tone sputtered off to my left, but I’d barely glanced in his direction. The fool had lost his weapon again—why wasn’t he using the sageo? We’d gone over this a million times: it didn’t matter how excellent a swordsman he was, there was no point if he couldn’t keep his focus on battle.

That’s why it always fell to me to protect him.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Bianca

Deliverance

“Stay back.” My voice was wrong, lacking in both volume and strength. Yet there was no time to ponder on it—stranger things had happened. There were only two things important right now: the smooth, soft-wood hilt humming under my palm, and making sure that Huo was safe.

The green monster screamed once more, and I turned on my heel, slamming the flat of my blade across its jaw as I pushed the threat away. The pressure causedSoulto rebound in my hands, but only slightly. There was no chance it’d break; it would take more than a mythical beast to shatterSoulbringer. Tu and Jin had constructed the weapon for me—welded from blood, fire, stone, and magic. It was stronger than any iron and could cut through bone and spirit with ease.

“Mu?” Huo’s hesitant voice broke through my concentration—notable only because it lacked his normal arrogant drawl—and I quickly glanced at him.