Kane gritted his teeth, stumbling, but deflecting nonetheless. With every step, he lost ground. He swung wildly, desperate, the dark energy sputtering in fits. Aylin moved, as elegant as ever, her body twisting mid-air, her heel slamming down. Kane jerked aside, barely avoiding the blow.
They moved like shadows in a storm, weaving between crates that shattered under the force of Kane’s attacks, splinters and shards exploding around them with each fiery strike. Flames flared, licking hungrily at the wooden floor, but with a flick of his wrist, Kane pulled the fire back, a master dancer controlling his own chaos, reining in the inferno before it could devour the whole warehouse.
I glanced over to the far side of the warehouse, where Frank lay quietly, just beyond the chaos. Fortunately, the fire hadn’t reached him—not that flames would take him out; Frank was resilient, stubbornly so. But even from here, he looked worse for wear, his form ragged and frayed around the edges.
Aylin darted to the side, but her foot caught on a splintered crate, and for an instant, she seemed pinned, her eyes flashing wide, helpless. Kane’s lips twisted into a grin, slick with triumph, as he bore down, his staff blazing in his hands like a spear of molten light. He lunged, savoring the sweet inevitability of the kill, already tasting victory, hearing the phantom applause pounding in his head.
In a flash, her expression shifted—the helplessness melting into something cold and sharp. She twisted, ducking beneath his strike with deadly precision. Kane’s staff hissed through empty air as her leg whipped around, a roundhouse kick connecting hard against his jaw. The force jolted him, his control wavering as the fire roared out in a wild arc.
Flames licked dangerously close to me, and I threw myself to the side, pain searing through my ribs as the fiery tendrils whipped past, scorching my already shredded shirt.
“Oh, come on, really?!” I shouted, struggling against the ropes that held me fast on the filthy floor. “Watch where you point that thing!”
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Kane’s eyes went wide—surprise splintered across his features, but Aylin was already on him. Her elbow crashed into his jaw, the impact snapping his head sideways. Before he could even think to recover, she twisted her hips, her leg hooking behind his, a swift kick sweeping his feet out from under him.
He hit the pavement with a thud that filled the room, a dull sound swallowed by the dark. Kane’s eyes fluttered, his dazed gaze struggling to focus. Aylin was relentless—already over him, her knee digging into his chest.
He grunted, lashing out with his staff. Aylin’s foot connected with his ribs, and he buckled—the last scrap of arrogance draining from his face as he hit the floor, his staff flying across the cold concrete, extinguishing with a sputter of dying embers.
“Can’t fight without your toys?” Aylin asked, her expression cold, her voice vibrating with something deeper, an undercurrent of emotion just barely restrained.
Her legs wrapped around his neck, preparing to twist, a lethal calmness in her eyes. Kane was a dead man on borrowed time—he knew it, she knew it. He flailed, struggling wildly to break free, but the crushing power of her legs squeezed the air from his lungs. Panic gave way to an eerie calm as the inevitability of death settled over him, a cold certainty wrapping around his mind like a final embrace. He cast me one last look, a silent farewell—like the final nod shared between old friends at the end of the road.
And then, her gaze flickered to me as well. I don’t know what she saw in my eyes, but whatever it was gave her pause. She took a deep breath, the cold fury in her eyes shifting, softening for just a heartbeat.
Instead of breaking his neck between her legs, she reached into the air. A glint of metal appeared between her fingers. Before Kane could react, she drove the pin into his side. His body seized, his eyes bulging as the poison flowed, the shock unmistakable. She released him from her grip and stood, dusting herself off.
“Night, night,” she breathed, her voice almost a whisper, the smirk on her lips cutting deeper than any blade.
“You…” Kane gasped, voice trembling with pain and disbelief. “You little…” The words dissolved, his body going slack, eyes rolling back as darkness claimed him. Kane went limp. I watched closely—he was still breathing, only unconscious.