🏆 THE AMBY AWARDS 2023 TOP PICK - DIVERSE LIT 🏆
It's Rin and Hye-jin against the world. Or so it should have been.
Nagara Rin and Joon Hye-jin, college sweethearts and passionate gamers, have lived a fairytale marriage. Not even a decade after did...
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I perched on top of a branch, keeping my hands against the trunk's rough bark. Despite the gnawing pit in my stomach, I forced myself to hold my gaze straight and unwavering. Don't look down. Don't look down. God, how did Ahrian manage even though she's bird-like in every manner except having wings?
"Eyes on the battle, kid," Ahrian chided, pointing a human-like finger towards the line of canopies two prinks beyond. "Blink and you'll miss something."
I mean, what was I supposed to be watching except trees groaning and toppling down like they're being felled from the ground?
This morning, before we headed out, Cavya ran us through the plan. "We wouldn't be able to win against the danburki with just force alone," he had said, his tone reflecting the grim atmosphere everyone had woken up to in the camp. "We need to finish them in one blow, and for that I need Kora and Ahrian."
That's how we ended up away from all the action, away from an actual display of what the Dragnasand Knights were capable of. I glanced at Ahrian who had her head turned to one side, watching the commotion up front. "What spell did you use against that beast yesterday?" I asked.
Ahrian didn't budge from her stance, but her beak clicked as she answered. "It's called Bird Shot," she said. "It lets you concentrate all your magical and physical attributes into one, strong blast. You are also able to direct the trajectory and where it's going to fall. If you have my most basic skills, you can even aim properly."
I brought my hands to my face. Once upon a time, I was the rookie in this team, and now any chances of success we have in completing this mission rested solely on me. If it's not pressure, I don't know what was.
A huge explosion followed by a plume of smoke burst in the distance. Then, a streak of white light punched through the canopies and the carpet of snow-white clouds, creating a noticeable hole into both layers. The signal.
Ahrian and I exchanged looks. She extended an arm and I closed my fingers around it. "Borrow!" I chanted. A surge of warmth flooded my veins as my skill took effect and Ahrian's attributes began flowing into me. As if on cue, a faint target scope flitted in my vision, too erratic to even follow with my own eyes.
We've got no time for that either. One hand went to my elbow, supporting the weight as I extended that arm. Ahrian's voice played from front to back in my head. Take a deep breath. Focus on your target and the scope will follow. Fire.
I exhaled through my mouth, flaying my fingers to the sky as if I was grasping for the sun. I dug my willpower into the spot where the white streak of light came from. The scope whizzed past the target several times before slowing down to fix onto the spot I told it to.
"Here goes nothing," I muttered. "Bird Shot."
All of my strength left my body, bleeding from my veins and congealing into a magical mass of energy growing in my palm. Then, without warning, it launched itself forward, whistling like a firework about to go off. I was about to cheer when my muscles seized up. My feet slipped from the branch and I toppled backwards.
