“No,” Caelan growled. “I’m not killing Lu, and I’m not letting anyone else hurt them.”
“Lu,” the High Luminance softly repeated as if testing it out. “I like it. Lu.”
Caelan’s heart ached at their words. How long had they waited for something as simple as a nickname? Too long and this was a bad time to enjoy it. He needed to keep his attention on Kamal. The man couldn’t be trusted. If Caelan didn’t murder Lu, it was the perfect opportunity for Kamal to strike. The act could be covered up in the chaos of the attack.
“Did you help Safa and the New Rosanthe army get into Mrtyu? A way of covering all your bases in case I didn’t come through for you?”
“Not the New Rosanthe army. That was just convenient timing. Only Safa was supposed to come through. I was hedging my bets in case you failed me.” Kamal brought out the hand he’d been keeping behind his back, revealing a long, serrated blade.
Something about the ease he seemed to have with the knife left Caelan confident that Kamal actually knew how to handle it. “Move to the corner of the room, Lu.” He was going to need some space.
“I have nothing against the kingdom of Erya. I don’t wish you dead, but if you don’t move aside, you will turn into just another unfortunate death blamed on New Rosanthe.” Kamal took a step into the room, moving toward the left. Caelan pivoted on his heel, making sure that he remained facing the man but not allowing Kamal to come between himself and Lu.
“You will not harm the High Luminance,” Caelan repeated.
Getting drawn into a political turf war that had absolutely nothing to do with him while a different country tried to destroy them all was ridiculous. They should be working together to stop New Rosanthe and Safa, but the violent slash of Kamal’s blade through the air as he aimed for Caelan’s neck said he didn’t give a damn about New Rosanthe.
Caelan barely got his sword up in time to block Kamal’s. He slid a step, his heel catching on one of the cushions that littered the floor. Sweat trickled down his neck and he grunted as he attacked Kamal, forcing the man to retreat. He needed just a few more feet.
The metal clashed together again and again, the grating sound filling his ears while his heart raced. More than once his blade was caught in the deep teeth of the sword, locking them together for a critical second before they could pull free.
On the next one, Caelan stepped into Kamal and slammed his fist into the man’s jaw, rocking him a few steps.
“Run, Lu! Get out of here! Find guards!” Caelan shouted. He’d moved Kamal far enough around the room to leave a clear path for the High Luminance to make their escape. There had to be guards somewhere in the residence that could get them to safety.
“But the godstone—”
“Just go!” he bellowed. The godstone and Nyx would have to wait.
From the corner of his eye, Caelan caught a glimpse of Lu’s tiny figure stumbling and half crawling through the pillows and cushions they’d moved in the fight. Kamal broke free as Lu neared the door, but Caelan fought on, keeping the bastard trapped in the room with him.
Swearing, Caelan wracked his brain for a way to end this fight. There was no point in trying to summon up the God of Storms’ powers. The windowless room offered no access to angry skies. Part of him shied away from tapping into the powers of the Goddess of Life. The memory of Ram’s empty brain and slowly dying body left him chilled to the bone. He lost control when it came to Tula.
A pained cry tore Caelan from his desperate search for a way to end the fight. Lu! Something had happened to Lu.
Caelan shoved Kamal and lunged toward the door when Safa stepped into the opening. Her hand was wrapped around Lu’s throat, black nails dug into their flesh deep enough to send streaks of blood down Lu’s white skin.
“I think you lost something,” Safa drawled with a smug smile.
“Kill it,” Kamal snapped. “I’ll take care of this one.” His blade swung, but Caelan easily blocked it and delivered a hard kick to the side of Kamal’s knee, sending him to the white marble floor with a cry of pain.
“Don’t! Lu is the only one who knows how to reach the godstone!” Caelan shouted. He took a step back, trying to keep both Safa and Kamal in his line of sight.
Safa frowned, staring at Lu as they stood silently in Safa’s grip. Blood dripped along their flesh, soaking into the collar of their white robes, but there was an expression of peace and resoluteness on their face that was too old for their young years.