CHAPTER NINE: BETWEEN FLAME AND THE BLADE
599 Words
Quiet Before the Storm
The moon hung low, a crimson shard in a bruised sky. Liora stood alone on one of the stone balconies overlooking the dueling grounds, her fingers curled around the carved railing. The wind teased her braid, and the distant murmurs of the palace felt like whispers from another life.
She didn't hear Kael approach, but she felt him.
“You should be sleeping,” he said softly.
“I can’t,” she replied, not turning. “Every time I close my eyes, I see the Gate.”
He leaned beside her, resting his hands on the cold stone. “It’s not your fault.”
“It is,” she whispered. “I wanted answers. I touched something I didn’t understand. And now… something's awake.”
Kael was silent for a long time, then finally said, “You weren’t alone. I was there too. And if you fall because of it, I fall with you.”
Liora’s throat tightened. She glanced at him then, eyes searching. “You don’t even know what I am.”
“I don’t care,” he said. “You’re you. That’s enough.”
For the first time in days, the burning inside her eased.
But the moment passed quickly—too quickly.
A bell rang three times in the distance.
Her duel was next.
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Trial of Thorns
The arena was lit by braziers and silver torches. Shadows danced across the stone as nobles and courtiers gathered in hushed excitement. The Regent sat high on the viewing balcony, draped in obsidian robes, his face unreadable.
Liora stepped into the ring.
Across from her, not one—but two opponents waited. Twins from House Serenth. Masters of mirrored magic and illusion.
“This wasn’t supposed to be a double match,” Kael muttered from the stands, brow furrowing.
Thalen frowned. “They changed the rules. She’s being tested.”
“No,” Riven said calmly. “She’s being hunted.”
Nyra was already gone from the stands, vanishing into the administrative tier, her robes a blur. She would find out who had approved the change.
The Duel Begins
The gong echoed. The twins moved as one, circles of glassy mist forming around their wrists. Illusions bloomed like roses—hundreds of Lioras, all blinking, burning, shifting.
Liora snarled. “You think tricks scare me?”
She flung fire from her palms, searing illusions apart—but for every one she struck down, another two bloomed. She moved like a dancer on fire, blades flashing, her movements wild and fluid. But slowly, her energy faltered.
The ground was shifting beneath her feet. A sigil burned where she stepped—the same rune from the Gate.
“Blood magic,” she gasped. “This whole arena’s been altered.”
From above, the Regent leaned forward, lips curled in satisfaction.
“Let’s see how far she bends before she breaks.”
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Reversal
Liora’s knees buckled. The twins raised their hands, preparing the final mirrored strike. The illusions closed in.
But then—
A second flame ignited from the edge of the ring. A flash of steel. Kael leapt into the arena, sword drawn, ignoring protocol and the roaring protests of the crowd.
“You’ll have to go through me first.”
Gasps echoed. Noble tongues hissed.
Disqualification.
Treason.
But the moment Kael’s blade clashed with the twins’, something in the blood wards snapped—and the arena itself groaned.
The stone cracked beneath their feet. A pulse rippled through the earth. The Gate was answering again.
Only this time, it wasn’t calling to Liora.
- Writer
