Page 128 of Third Offense

I had trained him.

I’d trained all of these Nora, and while that gave me an edge, that also made this whole fucking situation impossible.

This is wrong,I lamented as I forced my instinct to override my emotions.

Ripping through my own men made me feel like the traitor that Olaf had accused me of being.

He came at me again, and I twisted out of the way. The elixir I’d taken just yesterday allowed me to suppress my wings, something that gave Olaf and the other Nora temporary pause when they disappeared.

Then Olaf roared, “Traitor!” Probably because he assumed the magic at my back was how I was hiding my black wings.

Which wasn’t the case at all.

But there wasn’t time to explain.

He came at me with renewed fury.

However, suppressing my feathers had allowed me to move faster and enabled me to twist in ways that Olaf hadn’t practiced or prepared for.

A Nora screeched as the laser sliced across his shoulder, and I took advantage of Olaf’s surprise.

I half-expected my wings to turn black as I drew my sword across his throat, forcing myself to watch the light die from his eyes as death closed in all around me.

With Olaf down, I heaved for breath, and immediately search for Layla. She was growling at some Nora, holding her own, while Novak protected her from nearby.

He quickly spun and sliced through the Nora she’d been holding back with that invisible shield of magic.

Then she quickly erected another to offset a second group.

That Novak almost immediately destroyed.

Working together, I realized.What a fucking beautiful sight.

Useful, too,I thought, appraising this new ability of hers. We would need to train with it more later, but she already seemed to have it well in hand.

She used it to shove another group, this time harder and knocking them to the ground beneath the immense force.

Stunning,I thought, impressed.

Then used my sword to take down another Nora Warrior, this one nameless and not one I knew.

The battle continued on, grueling and bloody. Novak roared like a beast, slicing through shields and bodies alike, but even he couldn’t keep up with the sheer numbers and ferocity of the relentless legion that pressed down on us.

The Noir hadn’t put up nearly as much of a fight. They weren’t trained like the Nora who had been groomed under my care.

I’d trained them all to survive.

I wasn’t shocked by their might; I knew these men.

It had been my entire life’s purpose to ensure they survived any fight they came across—and now that was biting me in the ass.

Fighting my way to Layla, I helped her take down another one of Olaf’s squadron.

It took me a moment to remember his name.

Perseus.

A good Nora, one with a sense of humor.