This has taken way too long to write and I know it's not that long, but I couldn't seem to find the words to get it down until today...I hope there are still people out there interested in Ilea's story, I promise that the end of this book is after this chapter...

Vote, Comment, enjoyy!!

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It was still dark when I awoke and slipped out from between Beau’s arms. Sitting cross-legged next to him, I unsheathed my sword and placed it across my lap. Staring at it intently, I watched the reflective metal for some insight as to what was going to happen in the battle, some idea as to whether I would see Beau again once I had left his side… Nothing happened. 

I silently slid my sword back into the protective leather sheath and changed into the clothing that I still had from Senkrad. Although nothing compared to the re-enforced metal my opponents would be wearing, my training armour was better than the light cotton of my travelling clothes. I tied my sword to my belt along with my gloves and wrapped a leather thong around my hair to keep it out of my way.

I bent down, kissing Beau awake. He roused slowly and smiled when he saw my face, like always, but it soon turned into a frown when he saw my attire. We both stood. He kissed me, but I only allowed it to be brief.

“I wanted to let you know that I am leaving.”

“When will you be back?”

“I do not know. I do not know if I will be coming back.”

 Hot tears stung my eyes I but refused to let them fall. Blinking, I turned around and started to walk away.

Beau came after me, closing the space I had managed to cover in five long strides. I turned quickly, surprised by him following me. He took advantage, putting his hands on my face, pulling it towards his and kissing me with such passion it was almost violent. I could not do this, not now.

His mouth left mine and he kissed my neck, pressing his lips to my skin, trying to force some sort of reaction out of me from my usual weakness, but I stood firm, resolute against him. “Don’t you care about me?”

I wrapped my hand in his hair and pulled sharply, clawing his back with my fingers as the anger rippled through me, how could he even say that.

He did not seem to respond to the fact that I tried to pull him away and drew his mouth back to mine. The anger had unbalanced me, but the way his lips gently and persuasively kissed mine after the sudden outburst broke me completely. I could not ignore it anymore, I could not act as if I did not want him to kiss me when his mouth was so convincing around mine. The hand on his back pulled him close and the fingers in his hair drew his mouth closer to mine.

The part of my brain that spoke sense screamed questions at me that my body tried to stifle. Did I want him to try and follow me into battle? Did I want it to hurt more if I got captured and was torn away from him? What would I do after this if he died? How would I cope? Why didn’t it matter that I did not care? What did it mean that I wanted to be able to stay with him and hide in his arms forever?

I could only come to one conclusion; this was reality, it was not a dream and I did feel the same way, I did love him. I loved him more than I loved life. My lips were moving softly as I saw the an image of him standing in the clearing in my mind and a single tear rolled down my face as I realised that it might never see that again.

But I still clung to the kiss, tasting the last bit of happiness I would know.

Beau felt me start to slow down but hung on desperately, forcefully. I felt myself being pulled onto my toes as he hung onto me, trying to force more enthusiasm. I was trapped between two options; end it now and try to walk away with what I had already given to him or just throw myself into the kiss without knowing how big a part of me I would leave with him because of it.

I pulled my other arm around his neck and arched my back, feeling his arms hold me there and not wanting them to ever let me go. There was never any choice to make, I was already wholly his. He put me back on the ground and kissed my neck again; sending real shivers down my spine like it always had and making me want him more. I pulled his mouth back to mine and kissed him frantically, losing all thoughts of being careful.

I wanted to stay locked in that moment forever, but like a river bursting through a dam, time caught up with us and I knew I had to go. I undid my mother’s silver chain from round my neck and fastened it round his, looking closely into his eyes.

“I love you.” I quietly said to him, kissed him on the forehead and then supported his body as my elemental eyes put him into a hypnotic slumber. I rested him carefully onto the ground and, as I moulded the air into a shield around him, softly kissed his lips. I turned away from his sleeping body – to face a battle I knew I had next to no chance of surviving.

 ***

Even with all the mental preparation I had done for the battle, nothing could have made the sight of Aberfon any less dreadful. My mouth opened in shock as I approached the city; it was burning. The whole city was still ablaze with dancing flames and sparks furling against midnight smoke.

            Hoping it would not become any worse my insides recoiled further as a fiery figure vaulted over one of the low walls. The figure’s screams were long and shrill, driving into my mind like a needle of ice. I could not tear my eyes away from the helpless person as they fell to the ground, crawling as the flames engulfed them. The body twitched and writhed long after the screams had died out, until finally it lay still and simply burned. The smoke that blew towards me from the corpse smelt so similar to singed meat that it took all of my willpower not to retch.

            Refocusing myself, I turned my attentions towards the fiery mouth that displayed the only break in the city walls. I could feel the pounding vibrations of the soldiers’ feet through my own soles before I saw them march through the flames. They were a synchronised monster, stepping in unison, coming towards me unsuspectingly through the gates of Hell. The column was only ten soldiers wide, but I did not know how many more were hidden within the city, or where Orion was situated within their midst.

I watched the monster march towards me, smirks settling on the leading soldiers’ faces. To them I was a simple girl in awe of the well-oiled death they brought. I slowly drew my sword and let it hang relaxed in my hand, pointing towards the ground as a look of confusion swept over their faces. I could hear them talking to each other with my heightened senses.

“It couldn’t be her, could it?”

Sprinting towards them at a violent trajectory, I did not give his neighbour time to answer. Shouting broke loose and spread, like wildfire, back through the gates as I dispatched of the first row of men in less than a minute; I was taking no prisoners. Ignoring the fact that they were just men, I thought of what they represented, for whom they were fighting and, most importantly, what they were trying to steal away from me.

Killing the first cohort of soldiers was easy. They were unprepared and panicked; many did not even have their weapons out. However, as extra soldiers charged through the gates it became more interesting - for me. Men tried to fight back, their swords drawn and prepared in the first stance of the Tingure. They were still no match for me and died almost instantly, but it was nice to feel as though I were finally part of a fight and not simply participating in the slaughter they had started.

I found my mind wandering out of my body; it jumped from the minds of the men I had just killed to my next target. I read their plan of attack and then withdrew before I could feel any of the pain that I was inflicting. I felt myself falling into a pattern; read, withdraw, kill. I repeated this pattern over and over again, taking seconds to kill a soldier.

As my mind and body fell into a rhythm, I barely felt the crunch of bone beneath my sword, did not notice their blood splash onto my face, scarcely heard their cries cut short as I extinguished their lives. It was simple, like a dream, a hideous dream that I had to surge through to get to the end. Only then could I wake up.

I killed hundreds of men in minutes thanks to my elfin speed and agility, with many more falling beneath my blade before I started to feel any strain. The worst part was the need to catch my breath, at one point I leapt backwards and held my hand out in front of me, letting a spiral of fire blaze towards the column about to attack me. I had intended to drown them in the same heat that had scorched the lungs of their victims, but I could not ignore their screams, echoing up into the sky. Their flesh sizzled. I smelt the acrid scent of scorched hair and saw the crimson blisters grow and pop, bloody on their pale skin before it all turned to black. Tears of sorrow and mixed emotions clouded my vision, until I noticed how the flames towering over the city behind their corpses still jeered at me.

My teeth ground together as I forced myself back into the pattern of death I had adopted; read, withdraw, kill. Bodies piled around me as I surged through the army of men, pushing each one back until they had nowhere to go, and then ending their life. A few ran away, but I shot pebbles through their temples; they were murderous cowards who were not worth the swing of my blade.

My sword grew a life of its own, twisting in and out of armour, slicing through flesh and bone, causing rivers of blood to surge from lifeless carcasses and stain the mud below. I felt my loathing for Orion surge and writhe beneath my skin, causing my flesh to feel on fire and my eyes to burn beneath my lashes.

I paused, for a millisecond, and when I looked up the man in front of me cowered away in fear. My face, reflected though his eyes, was like a blood-stained beast; alien features twisted up into a snarl of violence, hooded with crimson, flaming eyes. My sword plunged through his heart and the image vanished as I turned to attack my next target.

There was a break in the soldiers as Orion stepped between them and held an outstretched hand in front of him. An explosive ball of fire shot towards me but I dipped to the floor so it flew harmlessly over my head. Smirking, I felt the electricity course through my blood. Finally, my target was here…