Silence followed.
The men who hadn't been hit took quick steps back, silent and weary. A few stared at the bodies on the ground, horrified. They still held up their daggers, but now there was a look of uncertainty etched on their faces.
The leader staggered for a moment. His hand moved to the side of his head to hold the stump where his ear had been. Blood slid between them, warm and steady, dripping down the side of his neck.
Pain showed plainly on his face, which was accompanied by anger and caution.
Liona hadn't moved.
She stood where she'd been struck, pressing a hand to her injury, her eyes fixed on the bodies scattered across the clearing. Her mouth parted slightly, but nothing came out. She was just as shocked and confused as I was.
I stared down at my arm.
The spikes were already collapsing, breaking apart and dissolving into steam lifted from my arm in thin trails. It felt... unreal.
I... did that?
The men were still watching me, keeping their distance, their eyes fixed on my hands. They weren't moving forward.
I realized they were hesitant. That hesitation gave me an idea—I could push my advantage now, while they weren't ready.
I straightened, ignoring the tremor in my arms. "Leave," I said, waving them off with my hand.
No one moved.
"I said leave," I continued, lifting my fist slightly. Faint steam still curled off my knuckles. "Or you'll all die here."
I tipped my head toward the bodies on the ground.
"You've seen what I'm capable of."
For a few seconds, the silence continued. No one moved an inch. Then the leader finally spoke.
"Easy now," he said.
His voice was rough and tinged with pain. He shifted his grip on the bleeding stump of his ear, pressing harder.
"Don't make a move you'll regret."
Then slowly, he took a step toward me.
Then another.
My heartbeat quickened.
A jolt of alarm shot through me and I slid back half a step before I could stop myself.
Liona saw it.
"Stop," she said, panic breaking through as she reached out. Her bloodied hand caught his coat, her fingers curling weakly into the fabric. "Please. You can take everything. Just—just stop."
He shook her hand off without even looking at her.
I snapped my arm up again. "Stay back," I said. "Or I—"
"You'll what?" he cut in, slowing his pace to a halt. His eyes went to my raised fist for a moment. Then they flicked to my face before dropping back to my hand again.
"The spikes," he said."You're going to do that again?"
I didn't answer.
A second of silence passed between us. Then another.
He drew a slow breath through his nose.
"You came out of the carriage earlier," he said. "Plenty of men around you then."
He took a small step to the side, forcing me to turn with him.
"You didn't use it."
My fist clenched.
"And even now," he continued, eyes never leaving my hands, "you haven't used it again."
He tilted his head slightly, watching for any twitch, any sign.
"You only struck when you were about to be killed," he said. "And then there's the fact that you seemed shocked to see the spikes on your arm."
He stopped moving, his eyes now fixed on my face.
"That thing you did," he said, voice lower now. "You have no handle on it."
My foot slid back an inch.
He caught it immediately.
His gaze sharpened, filled with certainty.
"There it is," he murmured.
I swallowed. "Get back."
He didn't. Instead, he nodded once, to himself.
"So that's how it is," he said. "You don't know when it'll come. Or if it will."
The pain in his face twisted, but it didn't slow him down. His grip on his dagger tightened as he stepped forward again—faster this time.
"Then I won't give you the chance," he said. "I'll finish this before you figure it out."
He lunged to attack almost immediately, but before he could reach me, something tore through the air.
A massive blade shot past me and slammed into the tree between us, burying itself deep into the trunk. The leader skidded to a halt, stumbling back a step as the sword shuddered where it stood.
Then a shadow dropped from above.
A cloaked figure landed lightly atop the sword's hilt, crouched low and balanced with unnatural ease. Their face was hidden, but as they settled, something slipped free behind them—
A long, red tail.