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Kazimierz moved, runes lighting up along his sleeves. With a twist of his wrist, a glittering wand appeared in his hand and he diverted the flame to streak ineffectually into the air.
"Master Mage." Nikolai whispered in horror, his voice drowned out by a cry of thunder as Chen slammed into the ground before the throne, his lance pulsing with the brilliance of arcane lightning. Only Kazimierz seemed to have heard, the slight tilt to his lips and deep eyes acknowledging his ascension.
Nikolai hadn't feared Kazimierz till this moment, confident that his expertise would provide a means of resistance or escape. The gap between a Mage and a Master wasn't insurmountable, but a Master Mage was a law unto themselves, able to wreak unparalleled Magical havoc and destruction.
Now Kazimierz had crossed the threshold and Nikolai was weak.
Including his formidable abilities as an Anima, there was no telling what Kazimierz was capable of now.
Chen's arrival acted like a signal, the Anima's summoning weapons as Knights poured over the walls in a flash of steel and Aura. The hall exploded with violence, streams of blood and smoke erupting as a torrent of power swept through the air. A Draconic roar reverberated throughout the hall and Nikolai smiled as a lithe armoured figure ripped through the sky to stand before him.
Wisps of silver hair peeked out from under her helmet, glistening in the hazy sunlight.
A tattered golden cape hung from her shoulders, flickering under the ripples from her Aura.
Razor's Edge drew deadly arcs in the air, cutting through blasts of energy.
The spell on Nikolai's finger vanished.
Relief flooded him now that Elya stood before him.
He was safe.
Trembling, he reached out to grab her arm, but she streaked away without a glance, blade tearing towards Kazimierz. The newly minted Master Mage raised his wand and sent a hundred streams of fire at Elya, forcing her to dodge into a glittering mist Zebreski had conjured, vanis.h.i.+ng from sight. Nikolai struggled to rise out of the throne when Elya disappeared, recognising the illusory spell but he was pushed down firmly by Chen.
"She'll be fine. Unless you can work your Magic, just stay put." Chen rasped. The ma.s.sive Thunder Lancer was a fortress, bearing the brunt of any attack aimed at the throne, barely moving under even the heaviest of strikes. A mace wielding Anima Nikolai recognised as one of Lucas' supporters, broke from the melee to dash towards him only to be met with a swift thrust from Chen's lance which sent the Anima flying.
"What on Earth are these things?" Chen remarked when the Anima smashed against a wall and burst into a cloud of smoke. He flicked his wrist to catch an errant bolt of Magic and sent a burst of lightning into the slowly reforming Anima in the distance. "Even that didn't put it down."
Nikolai grunted in acknowledgement, but his eyes were drawn to the flashes of light coming from the mist where Zebreski and Kazimierz had teamed up to rain spells down upon Elya in an effort to keep her contained. Nikolai caught flashes of his fiancee weaving through the a.s.sault as the illusion struggled to maintain coherence under the impact of Magic and Aura. b.e.s.t.i.a.l roars thundered from the mist as Elya launched blades of Aura that cut through the illusion, slowly pus.h.i.+ng back both her a.s.sailants. How she was able to determine their location was unfathomable but somehow Elya would respond to every attack with pinpoint accuracy.
Kazimierz grimaced as his companions fell one after the other, their newfound powers unable to withstand the experienced ferocity of the Knights. Seven was a ghost, vanis.h.i.+ng from sight only to appear in a flurry of dagger strikes that always resulted in the end of an Anima. Nikolai even glimpsed the formidable Yesaul of the Inichi tribe, a man who'd been his greatest roadblock in the unification of the Dragon Lords. Seeing the burly figure waving his battle axe in wild arcs, Nikolai was glad to be on the same side for once. Under the pressure of so many losses, even if they were temporary, Kazimierz fell back. His wand blazed with power and a powerful spell chant gushed from his lips, summoning fiery clouds to spin at his feet, but his retreat was a mistake.
"Caught you!" Elya's voice echoed from within the illusion, shaking the entire battlefield with her rage. The momentary respite from Kazimierz' attacks was all she needed and a barrage of Aura tore through the mist, wiping out whatever spell Kazmierz was casting before blasting him into smoke, his barriers incapable of withstanding her power.
Dragonslayers were terrifying opponents.
"Warned you." Nikolai muttered under his breath, the trembling of his hand coming under control now that Kazimierz' threat was reduced.
The first defeat was the most important.
Elya shot through the fissure she'd created, Razor's Edge spinning with inhuman speed as she hurled Aura into the mist and Zebreski reeled as her spell was broken, toppling to the floor at the backlash. A burst of lightning caught her in the side unawares and she puffed into a swirl of smoke that shot into the sky. Almost as if on cue the other Anima's fell into confusion once Kazimierz lost, being defeated in quick succession until only a stream of multicoloured smoke hung in the air.
"I think we should call it a day. These bodies aren't ready just yet." Kazimierz' hissing voice slid into Nikolai's ears and he felt the urge to scratch them to get rid of the unpleasant sound. "Till we meet again Master Morales." Before anyone could move, a half-human, half-smoke Kazimierz shot into the distance with the hazy forms of his companions trailing in his wake.
Nikolai's gaze was fixed on the Anima's shrinking forms, body slumping into the seat once they were barely visible.
"Well that was odd. They probably need to eat more. Fates, I could see through those humans!" Chen broke the silence which had descended, settling his lance against the throne. The Knights collapsed in exhaustion, heavy breathing filling the hall. Strangely the sound reminded Nikolai of the hissing when the Anima's formed earlier.
"Spare me." Nikolai murmured half heartedly, his eyes on his fiancée. She swiped her blade with a tattered strip of cloth she'd pulled from her belt, pausing once she saw how clean it was. The Anima's didn't bleed after all. With a sigh she sheathed Razor's Edge and pulled her helmet off, silver hair cascading across her shoulders. She moved towards Nikolai with hurried steps, gloves stripped away in a rush so that she could place her hand on his cheek.
The touch of her fingers pulled at something deep within Nikolai and his nose became sour, tears coming to his eyes.
"Thank you." He whispered, looking into her deep blue eyes, frustrated that there were no words to tell her how truly grateful he was that she'd come for him.
"Did they hurt you?" He had no idea why it felt like he was hearing her voice after years, It couldn't have been more than a few days.
"No…" Nikolai cleared his throat, trying to regain control of his voice. "No. I'm fine."
She eyed him uncertainly, clearly not believing a word he said.
Her eyes shone with pain at the sight of him.
He broke at the compa.s.sion radiating from her.
Nikolai shook, tears streaming down his cheeks uncontrollably. Elya hesitated for a moment, her face twitching at his loss of composure, but she leaned down to hug him, enveloping him in a steel embrace.
She carried the aroma of war and flowers.
Blood, sweat and roses.
This tenderness wasn't the way he'd wanted it, but maybe it was the way it was meant to be.
"I didn't think I'd see you again." Nikolai muttered quietly once his crying subsided. "Sorry." Wiping the remnant tears from his face, Nikolai sniffed and took a deep breath. His hands still trembled slightly, whether from Stardust or relief at seeing her again, he wasn't sure but he leaned into her armoured shoulder, grimacing at the cold steel digging into his forehead.
"I wasn't sure either." Like velvet her voice caressed him. "But there was no way I would let you get away this easily. There's a wedding I need you for."
Nikolai looked up, the retort for her comment dying on his lips.
Elya's stare bound him.
He saw stars in her eyes.
Bright flashes of light reflecting from deep within, filled with anger, fear and love.
At least he hoped it was love.
"I waited." The words slipped from his lips unbidden. "I knew you'd come." Actually he hadn't, but the moment carried him away.
She drew a sharp breath, her gaze wavering and a soft blush rising on her fair skin. Nikolai swallowed, spellbound by her appearance. Even though she was cloaked in scarred steel, all he could see was someone irreplaceable. He felt the urge to tell her but before he could say anything she'd gripped his s.h.i.+rt tightly. His body shuddered at the intensity in her eyes, a b.e.s.t.i.a.l ferocity he'd only seen when she fought. Stunned, he absent-mindedly reached up to brush an errant strand of hair that fell across her eyes. Instead he froze when she pressed her lips against his.
The faint taste of iron flooded his mouth. She'd obviously hurt herself during the fight.
His lips were cracked. Hers weren't. Somehow the slight rasp as their lips crossed set his heart racing.
Her silver hair fell across his face. It smelled of ash and roses.
There were a hundred things wrong with the moment, from the stunned onlookers to the broken flagstones or the iron collar binding his neck. Yet somehow it was perfect and Nikolai lost himself in her arms, a part of him wondering how his first kiss with Elya occurred here.
In this hall.
In this city.
He had no idea how long the kiss lasted. It felt both like an eternity and an infinitesimal moment, but a dry cough snapped them apart. Nikolai cast a dark glare at Chen's innocent look.
"So how was it?" The Thunder Lancer grinned and Nikolai had the urge to hurl fire at his annoying friend.
"That is none of your business Captain." Elya cleared her throat and averted her eyes.
Still a little dazed Nikolai ran his tongue across the inside of his mouth, mind swirling with thoughts of his fiancée's tender lips and he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"We should really do something about that missing tooth."
The fist descended inhumanly fast and this time, Nikolai had no idea where the stars came from.
