Hestia's Wish [2019 ONC Longlist]

14 | Enough

This chapter is dedicated to ImperialARG, another judge that gave me some meaningful feedback that I tried to apply to this story. Thanks so much for your help and your time in the contest! 

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The bulky man leaned back and let out a big, hearty laugh. "Hah! She got you good, Ri!"

Ri wiped the blood away with the back of her hand, showing no sign of discomfort over her broken nose. Her anger masked her feelings of pain, so much so that she didn't wince when she attempted to reset her nose. The sickening crunch sent an uncomfortable shiver down the back of Alastair's neck. She turned around and threw a murderous glare at her comrade. "Shut the fuck up, Callen."

He quickly stifled himself, but not before letting out a couple more snickers.

She turned back to Hestia and threatened, "You shouldn't have done that. I had planned on killing your boyfriend over there and letting you die quickly to Callen but now I'd much rather watch you suffer." She stood up, paying no heed to the blood that dripped down her clothes. She looked like a monstrous carnivore, willing to gorge itself on anything it could find.

Hestia stared her down with an equally threatening stare. She had heard every word that was uttered since she had regained consciousness after her ankle was healed. She quickly unsheathed her katana and her hand immediately tightened on the hilt of her sword. Her body was shaking and her blood was boiling, this was the person that brought so much pain to someone she cared so much about.

Alastair's nightmares, his cheerful façade, his hidden tears, all of the memories came flooding at once, adding fuel to the already raging fire. She took a step forward with the sole intent to kill. The intensity of her feelings plucked the intangible strings of fear that bound her soul and body, weakening their constraints.

"Tia..." Alastair whispered as he desperately gripped her hand to hold her back. "The other Aithneans have fled, it's only a matter of time before the Concordians claim the Isles. We can't beat them all."

"And you would rather give up?" She snapped at him. When she noticed his startled reaction, she took a deep breath and continued, "Your parents' murderers are standing before us and you want us to die here? Where's the person that wanted to protect our home? Where's the man that said he would do anything to protect me because of love? I sure as hell don't see him."

He flinched at her harsh words, but knew she was right. He had been so terrified of facing the demons that had haunted him since childhood. He didn't expect to face them today of all days. He had to be strong for her. He stood up and walked until he was standing directly in front of her with his back facing her. "You're right. You're always there to pull me back up when I fall. When this is over, there will be no more reasons to dodge my question."

She stared up at him speechlessly, her cheeks reddening slightly at his sudden show of confidence. Her heart beat fluttered at his words when she realized that she never acknowledged his confession. It was always 'I can't' or 'I'm sorry'. But now was a bad time to think about their relationship, they were about to fight for their lives and judging by his stance, he intended to fight Ri which left Callen to her.

Ri clenched her teeth in irritation and said, "Get out of the way, boy."

"Over my dead body," he declared, his voice unwavering. He unsheathed his longsword and held it up defensively.

"So be it." She charged at him with a rondel dagger gripped in her hand.

He met her halfway, resulting in a resounding clang from the clash of their swords. He grit his teeth, surprised by the amount of strength she was putting out. She raised her free hand and delivered a swift punch to his stomach, knocking the air from him. She wasted no time and thrusted the dagger in his direction, aiming for his jugular.

He quickly recovered and moved to the side, grabbing her hand. He attempted to force the dagger out of her hand by applying pressure to her wrist, but she was unrelenting. He was taken aback by the bright smile that lingered on her face throughout their joust. She was enjoying it.

She lifted her leg and side-kicked him with her foot, forcing him to release his grasp on her. Their blades met several more times before she decided to retrieve another dagger from her waist with every intention to catch him off guard. He shoved forward, pushing her back and just narrowly escaping the tip of her blade. It was going to be a difficult fight, her style was similar to Hestia's as it was dependent on those with smaller frames and high speed.

They continued this back and forth death match while Callen made his way to Hestia. He removed the steel mace that was resting on his back and waved it around in the air frivolously. "It doesn't seem fair to let them have all the fun. What do you say we have a go?"

"You've got a point. How would you like to die today? Skewered, sliced, or diced?"

He let out a boisterous laugh and wiped the tears from his eyes. "You're so much different from your people, it's such a relief! I thought it was going to be too easy to wipe out these lands. I have to say though, it was enjoyable to kill the ones that tried to run away. I'd say I did you a favor!"

Hestia couldn't take it anymore and charged at him with her katana angled for better maneuvering. She swiped her blade upwards, hoping to finish him off immediately just to get him to shut up. To her astonishment, he grabbed the blade with his bare hand. It was deeply embedded in the palm of his hand, blood streamed down his hand and splattered down on her. He towered over her menacingly with the same disturbingly gleeful smile on his face.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she attempted to remove the sword from his grasp. He took advantage of her lack of mobility before raising his mace high in the air with every intention of bludgeoning her to death.

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