“Bind and gag him,” Nimmat’s voice rang out behind her back. “Free her from the enchantment, Lissahi.”
A golden-haired woman in a dark uniform stood in front of Lannahi. “I’m a Peacekeeper,” she introduced herself in a gentle voice. “I know you can’t answer me, so I will remove the blockade from your mind without your permission. If you don’t like it, the Arbiter will receive your complaint.”
Lannahi realized that this was the Arbiters’ intervention, and her hope revived.
Lissahi regarded her intently and then said with a strong Charm in her voice, “All enchantments cast on you lose their power. You are free.”
When Lannahi wobbled, the woman grabbed her arm before she tumbled to the ground. “The sword,” Lannahi said frantically. “It’s enchanted to kill.”
The Peacekeeper frowned. “What sword?”
Nimmat swore. “At the entrance, Lissahi. Run!”
The golden-haired woman was apparently accustomed to operating under pressure because she turned and moved in the direction indicated by the Arbiter without any questions. Lannahi glanced over her shoulder. Nimmat and her guards stood over Nihhal, who lay on the ground bound, gagged, and unconscious. Behind them loomed the entrance of the Trail.
“Go to him,” the Arbiter said. “We will talk later.”
Lannahi swallowed. She didn’t feel the need to ask questions either. She ran.
Against the ubiquitous blackness of the floor, the blood staining Ashared’s white shirt stood out like a flower drifting on the surface of a dark lake whose size could be only guessed from the reflexes of light emitted by crystals. Lannahi didn’t like this association, just as she didn’t like the expression on the Peacekeeper’s pale face.
“The sword kept rotating,” she said softly when Lannahi looked at her pleadingly. “I enchanted his body to heal, but he lost a lot of blood…”
Lannahi sank to her knees, barely aware of the tears running down her cheeks and the blood soaking into her clothes.
Ashared’s eyes were closed, but when she took his hand into her own, his eyelids lifted. His gaze roamed over her face for a moment as if he couldn’t focus. When he recognized her, he smiled with visible effort. “Will you sing my song?”
“Ashared…”
“Please.”
Lannahi forced herself to wipe her tears and take a deep breath.
I have claws sharp as a sword
I hear a song of stones
I want to run
Earth is holding me
I fight and I’m free
Ashared squeezed her fingers and closed his eyes. She repeated the song two more times before her voice faltered.
“Ashared?” she rasped out when his hand become limp. She leaned over and touched his chest. Her tears fell onto his shirt, mingling with his blood. “Ashared, no. You have to live. You have to—”
He was warmth and light. He couldn’t leave her. She needed him like she needed air…
“Live,” she kept repeating.
Throughout the stands, a murmur arose before turning into frantic shouts.
The world shook.
Chapter 32
Due to the presence of the many landshapers, the earthquake, which could have created a crater the size of several hundred rainbows, was limited only to the immediate vicinity of Blacktower. Thanks to the intervention of enchanters who held the collapsing ceilings of the Black Arena with enchantments, all those present managed to evacuate. The Arena, which was the epicenter of the quake, was split in half by a large chasm and a nearby city was damaged, but due to reinforcements put into place decades ago, the damage was limited. There were many injuries but no fatalities.
