Page 70 of The First Spark (Dynasty of Fire #1)

Advancing. Advancing. Stumbling back, panting, Zane glanced over his shoulder. He was only a few steps from the unguarded ledge.

Slashing. Hewlett’s sword swung towards his chest.

Zane dove out of the way. Not fast enough. The blade sliced through his shirt and deep into his stomach.

Groaning, Zane landed in a heap on the cold stone. The impact pulsed through his burning wounds, and as he rolled to his feet, every fiber of his body burned.

The blow came from above. He brought up his sword to parry, but Hewlett’s blade swept towards his knees. A feint. Shit .

He didn’t block in time. The gash cut to the bone, and Zane collapsed. Tears burned his eyes.

As a kick sent his sword flying, Hewlett’s blade crashed down.

Move. Twisting out of the way, he hooked his leg around the back of Hewlett’s knees and tugged. Hewlett fell; they struggled. Zane pinned his arm down, knocking the sword out of his hand.

Pain. A fist collided with his punctured abdomen. His muscles spasmed, and black spots erupted in his vision. He gasped. A second punch struck his face, knocking his head back. Something snapped with a sickening crunch, and blood dripped into his eyes.

Shoving him aside, Hewlett lunged for his sword.

Zane dove for his.

He blocked the blade, but the force of the blow hurled him into the ground. Hewlett stomped on his sword hand. As bones cracked, Zane screamed. A heavy boot stomped on his broken ribs, and blinding, white-hot agony ripped through him.

He was pinned.

Hewlett thrust his sword down.

Zane threw all his weight forward, catching the blade on his swollen hand. The thrust tore through his palm, and he roared.

Hewlett yanked his blade free.

Zane slammed his knee into the back of Hewlett’s.

Hewlett’s legs buckled, and as his boot thrashed towards the ground for footing, he toppled.

Zane rolled into a crouch. Hewlett’s hip hit the platform, and Zane lunged, landing on top of him.

Driving his elbow into Hewlett’s neck, he pinned his sword arm down and wrenched the hilt from his grip.

His head pounded. As he grasped Hewlett’s sword, blood pulsed from his burning wounds and soaked his shirt.

Holding Hewlett’s sword over his throat, Zane coughed, “Yield.”

A glob of blood burst from his mouth and landed on Hewlett’s chin. Hewlett thrashed under him, trying to free himself. Zane’s eyelids drooped. He dug the blade deeper, and scarlet beads spurted from Hewlett’s neck.

“Yield!”

The world was slipping into a void of darkness. His empty lungs burned. He tried to breathe, but a band of agony tightened around his ribs. A warm, metallic tang filled his mouth. His eyelids drooped. If he could just let them close… and why couldn’t he? Someone, something… something important…

Panicked blue eyes and golden hair. A woman leaning over a balcony. The image rippled, zooming in and out, distorted by warping arcs of color. But he saw her face. Her fear. Her trust.

The man under him was shouting something.

Darkness swam around him.

For Kalie, he drove the blade through Hewlett’s throat.

Something cold dribbled down his chin. Scarlet droplets pelted the stone beneath him.

His arms gave out, and he collapsed. The sword clattered out of his hand .

He was laying in a puddle of something sticky and wet. His hands were covered in it. Blood. Blood bubbled out of his gut. His body was numb and cold. Cold, everything was cold. Chills crept across his skin, and he trembled violently.

Someone was cheering. Screaming. A series of tinny shrieks ripped through the air. Something was happening, but that was another world entirely. That world was gone.

His eyelids crashed down. He didn’t fight them.

A bright, blurred world swam around him. He was standing, and the buzzing shapes solidified into a bombed-out compound. Crumbling walls jutted through the rubble of what had been a courtyard. A breeze whistled past, scattering dirt and dust over rusted beams half-submerged in sand.

In the center of it all stood a woman with sleek black hair.

Lysa.

Her bloody uniform was gone, replaced by a faded varsity jacket and sweats. Smears of mud coated her skin, and gleaming medals dangled around her neck. She looked like she’d won another holoball tournament.

Zane braced himself for the familiar pangs of guilt, but none came. A strange sense of serenity washed over him.

“I think I understand now.”

Lysa smiled.

Her black hair morphed long and blonde, her figure shifted into a pale, slender woman, and her eyes shone the brightest shade of blue.

The ruins vanished. Grass rippled through the valley, and flowers bloomed, leaving them standing in a shining meadow.

A glowing white light pulsed on the other side of the field.

Holding out a hand, Kalie motioned for him to follow her. He did.

“No!” Kalie howled, lunging into the elegant railing. Her chest pulsed at the impact, but it was nothing compared to the gut-wrenching agony as Zane’s hand fell limply to his side. Blood pooled around his broken body, so hopelessly far below her.

Bracing her shaking hands on the gold balustrade, she heaved herself up and tried to swing over the railing. She would jump, if that was what it took to get to him.

“The goddess Azura has spoken! Zander Wells, champion of Princessa Kalista Hannover, has triumphed!”

A pulser blast wailed through the air. Someone shrieked.

Kalie whipped around, eyes wide and heart pounding, as the Speaker crumpled before Calla’s ancient throne.

Choking on a cry, Kalie staggered away from the railing.

Scarlet blood spread across the Speaker’s beige robes and oozed across the marble tiles.

Her head lolled to the side. Sparks of purple light shot from her body, whistling towards Kalie, and the pulsing violet glow of her gemstone necklace winked out.

Kalie screamed.

The platform erupted into chaos. Iliana ran, with Selene hot on her heels. A hand closed around her arm. Kalie thrashed forward, breaking free of the legionnaire’s grip.

Pulsers fired. She hit the ground as red blasts soared above her.

A pulser landed a few feet away. Lunging for it, Kalie wrapped her hands around the grip and squeezed the trigger. A legionnaire collapsed. She fired again. The red blast tore through his gut, and blood splattered across the tiles.

Lasers screamed overhead. As legionnaires crumpled, a body landed on her legs.

Kicking it aside, Kalie crawled towards the throne and sank behind the cover of the high-backed chair. She couldn’t breathe. Why couldn’t she breathe?

A sharp crack rang out as a red blast ripped through the royal seat. The ornate wooden carvings on the back splintered, raining down on her. Kalie threw her arms up to shield her head.

Mira emerged from the chaos. Rage warped her face and blasts shot from the barrel of her pulser. Time slowed as she raised a gray sphere to her lips, yanked a pin out, and lobbed it over the throne.

She slid into a crouch beside Kalie. A thunderous cloud of fire and smoke erupted in the midst of the legionnaires.

Screams rang out; Mira popped up, and her pulser rained lasers down on the flaming tangle of bodies.

Acrid fumes and the stench of burning flesh slammed into Kalie. She gagged and swallowed convulsively.

“Go!” Mira roared. “I’ll get to Zane!”

At the sound of his name, Kalie’s chest caved in.

She could see it—his pale, lifeless body in a pool of blood.

Pulsers wailed around her and shrieks pierced the night sky.

Her muscles tensed, and her mind screamed to run, but she couldn’t move.

Zane was gone . How was she supposed to do this without him?

Mira shook her. “Dammit, go !”

Veins strained against Mira’s flushed skin. Rage burned in her eyes, and her lips were pulled back, showing teeth. Blood spatter caked her leather jacket, and Kalie clung to the sight of the legionnaires’ blood, blood Mira had shed in revenge.

She couldn’t help Zane, but she could avenge him.

Kalie bolted to her feet and ran for the door, ducking blasts as they soared overhead. She burst inside and sprinted through the grand chamber. Selene was gone. Iliana neared the end of the long marble hallway, glanced over her shoulder, and hobbled around a corner.

Lasers sprayed towards Kalie, and she lunged behind a cabinet. Legionnaires loomed at the end of the corridor. Volleys of red bolts soared towards her.

Ducking behind the cabinet, she gasped for air. Blasts screamed overhead, ripping scorched holes in the walls and ceiling. A chandelier swayed, clinking like a windchime. She held her breath and willed it to steady.

It plummeted to the floor and struck with a deafening crash.

Glass shards blasted outward; Kalie cried out as a fragment ripped open her cheek. She pressed her hand to her stinging skin, and her fingers came away covered in blood.

Gods, what was she doing? She wasn’t a soldier.

But she had to end this. She couldn’t let Iliana escape.

Jumping up from behind the cabinet, Kalie fired. Her hands shook, and the shots missed their mark. She crouched behind cover, clenching her teeth .

She was going to kill them. All of them. For Zane.

She popped up and squeezed the trigger. A blast grazed a legionnaire as he took cover. The other two hid behind a toppled bookcase, and as red lasers shrieked towards her, she dropped behind the cabinet.

“Down!”

Kalie ducked as something soared overhead. A shrill explosion thundered down the hallway. Low ringing filled her ears, punctuated by shrill screams. A cloud of smoke and dust blew outward as Aquisians and rebels stormed into the corridor, firing into the carnage where the legionnaires had been.

“More coming! We’ll hold ’em! Run!”

Lurching to her feet, Kalie charged through the smoke. The legionnaires’ mangled bodies laid on the broken tiles, half-submerged by fallen chunks of the ceiling. She leapt over the carnage and rounded the corner.