- Author's note-
Hey guys! Just wanted to point out that the picture above ^^ is one of the concept arts I made before writing this book. It's a drawing of Lyanna inspired by both Wonder Woman and Thor (which you can notice because of the armour). Hope you like it! :) ~
"Where exactly are you leading us?!" Anakin yelled over the noise of the palace falling apart. The bomb hadn't gone off yet, but the battle was taking its toll on the castle. Above us the troopers and some of my people were still trying their hardest to defeat Derik's men.
"Anakin, stop whining, she knows what's she's doing." Obi-Wan scolded him as he ran after me along with some of their troopers. The further we went into the passage, the darker and the mustier it got. The air was thick and moisty and the wall was covered with algae.
I heard Obi-Wan running nearer until he was right next to me. "Where are you leading us?" He whispered so that Anakin wouldn't hear, glancing back at his former Padawan to make sure he didn't.
"You're such a child." I chuckled, the action feeling awkward in this situation. I mean, the hurt of my uncle's betrayal was still echoing through my head. I couldn't get the picture of him trying to kill me off my mind.
Some part of me had always known that he was different than the rest of us. He'd always been a kind of a loner, refusing to get close to anyone or talk about his feelings. No, he had himself closed off from anyone around him like he'd build a wall around himself.
I had always hoped that he was still the uncle who my brother believed him to be but his actions always proved otherwise. Maybe after all he still blamed my father for their father's death.
"Hey, Stefan?" I turned my commlink on. "Are you still in the palace?"
"Of course, your highness." He sounded exhausted and almost irritated, most likely because he had to fight with his former enemy without any explanation.
"How's it going over there?"
"Let's just say we're outnumbered. We can't work with these so-called troopers, my men won't even try to cooperate with them. To be honest, I don't blame then." Stefan stated. "Your uncle has left with the prison though. There was nothing we could do."
"Goddammit." I cursed under my breath as I felt Obi-Wan's curious gaze on me. "That's not your fault Stefan. Just... Try to save as many people as you can. And don't harm the troopers."
"I will, but that's not the reason you called, is it?" He questioned. "I assume there's something you need?"
"Actually, there is." I heard him sigh after hearing my answer. "I need gryphons near the marketplace, can you bring them?"
"How many?" Stefan asked.
"Enough to carry all the surviving troopers out of here." I said.
"Seriously?!" Stefan exclaimed. "It's one thing to stop killing them, and now you want to take them with you?! That's a whole other level!"
"Stefan, I'm serious about this."
"Yes, well, I am to-"
"Just listen!" I interrupted him before he could protest. "We've all been tricked by my uncle and we need all the help we can get. You get them safe transport and take them to Eagle's Fall. I'll explain everything later."
"I hope you're right about this." He grumbled and then shut off his commlink.
"That was... Difficult to manage." Obi-Wan glanced at my frustrated expression. "Are you sure that your men are fully behind you?"
"You doubt their loyalty?" I frowned and looked at him. "What would you do if you suddenly had to work with the people who had previously invaded your planet without any reason known to you?"
Obi-Wan cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away. "Fair point." He whispered.
"Let's just hope the palace is going to hold it together, we still need to run for-" a shock went through the whole castle like an earthquake, the walls groaning and moaning under the pressure. Cracks formed in the stone foundation like a crack in ice, growing larger and larger with each vibration.
"We need to hurry!" Anakin yelled and started running faster, his legs carrying him further like never before.
"Watch out!" Just in time I saw the ceiling above us crack and some stones tumbling down, leaving me able to dodge the falling debris. A scream from behind me told me that someone else had failed to do the same.
I stopped dead in my tracks, turning around to see who was hit. Just like many times before my instinct took over. It was a daily routine, printed inside my head. It was almost just as normal to me as making breakfast or putting on clothes. I knelt before his body, lifting his helmet off and checking for his heartbeat.
"lyanna?!" Obi-Wan realised that I had stopped running as debris continued to rain down on us. Nevertheless, he ran towards my side, kneeling on the other side of the trooper's body and helping me lift off the chuck of stone from his body.
"6 fractured ribs, broken collarbone, mild concussion and possibly a perforated liver." I whispered under my breath while taking out the morphine from my bag.
"We don't have time for this, princess." Obi-Wan looked at me with concern.
"Don't you dare compel me to leave him behind." I glared at him while injecting some morphine into the soldier's body. "You may be new here and not entirely welcome, but you do deserve medical help. I'm not leaving anyone behind: that also includes your bloody madmen."
Obi-Wan's eyes widened, looking at me as if I had just confessed my love for him. He then smiled in wonder and nodded with gratitude.
"Now help me get him outside." I grumbled and lifted the trooper's arm around my shoulder as Obi-wan did the same.
"So, this is what you meant with valkyrie?" Obi-Wan yelled over the noise of the palace falling apart.
"More or less." I answered, glad to see the light coming from the end of the tunnel. We were getting close but the building was collapsing faster than we walked. "Usually there's more blood involved and less running."
Obi-Wan chuckled lightly as he fastened his pace. Our breaths became faster than ever, our chests clutching as our lungs begged for air. We couldn't stop running, we knew that. Chucks of stone were already falling right behind us.
"Just a little further!" I yelled but right at the moments that we needed to take just one more step, the passage collapsed right onto us.
Our bodies were thrown to the ground with a force that knocked the air out of our lungs. Before I knew it, everything was black.
"Lyanna?" Obi-Wan's muffled voice woke me up together with a loud ringing in my ear. I groaned loudly, trying to move my arms so I could pull myself up. As I shifted the dirt fell from my head, leaving me looking like a ghost covered in white dust.
"Lyanna, are you all right?!" Obi-Wan urged on.
"My head hurts." I mumbled as I pressed my palm against the back of my head. I sat up in the dirt, looking around myself. Only then did I notice that Obi-Wan was holding onto my waist to stabilize me as his eyes tried to examine mine.
"You were out for a bit." His eyebrows scrunched together in concern.
"I'm fine." I stood up just in time to see the injured trooper taken on a gryphon. When I looked around I saw the chaos that had fallen onto the palace. There was still a lot of fighting and shooting going on everywhere with people running through the streets. Shouts of anger and pain echoed against the tall buildings. Most of all I saw the wings of my enemies, my uncle's men, attacking us from above.
"We need to get out of here." I said breathlessly as I tried to hold in my tears, thinking about how many lives were lost due to my blindness.
"We will when you manage to walk straight again." Obi-Wan softly held my cheek, forcing me to look him in the eye.
"Lyanna, we've got a problem." Steven's voice came through the commlink, making me brush off Obi-Wan's hand.
"You mean besides the other hundred thousand we already have?" I exclaimed. "What is it now?" I groaned in frustration.
"They've got deathshot."
"You've got to be kidding me." Kicking against a piece of debris I yelled in anger and frustration. "Just get everyone out of here!" I told Stefan. "If this is how he wants to play it, he can dam well be sure I will too."
"What's deathshot?" Obi-Wan frowned after he had managed to get some of his men a gryphon.
"It's a poison." I said a little too harshly. After seeing his offended expression, I softened my voice, knowing it wasn't his fault. "When it enters our bloodstream it disables our capability of using the seidr. Which means that we can't use our wings."
I sighed and looked up at the sky where my men were fighting my uncle's. Every so often I saw one falling with their wings swaying nimbly at their sides. "Now imagine getting hit with an arrow while being 50 yards above ground."
"Maybe you should get yourself a gryphon." Obi-Wan suggested as Anakin handed him one while driving his own.
I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him as I spread my wings widely. "That's like telling a fish to get a breathing suit." I looked at him before flapping my wings. "It will never happen."
Within seconds I was racing through the air, feeling the cold air gliding against my skin. I was faster than most Valerians, leaving me able to kill one or two using my sword.
When Obi-Wan and Anakin had finally caught up with me I had broken through the defence line of my uncle's men, opening a path through which to escape.
"You're going to get yourself killed!" Obi-Wan protested as he flew right next to me on his golden gryphon. I got distracted by his hair that was being blown back by the wind.
"Are you developing feelings for me, Jedi?" I mocked as I smiled.
"No, I just don't want to get the only Valerian that hasn't tried to kill us killed!" Obi-Wan answered.
"I'm fine." I flew faster, leaving him behind as I charged at another enemy. As I neared he raised his bow and shot an arrow coated with deathshot.
"Look out!" Obi-Wan yelled, raising his hand from the reigns and slowing the arrow down using the force. I was able to catch the arrow in mid-flight and as I came close enough to the man I plunged it into his neck.
"A Taste of your own medicine, you traitor." I growled as he widened his eyes before falling down while hopelessly trying to move his wings. I then turned towards Obi-Wan while hanging still in the air. "See? I've got this completely under control."
Obi-Wan scoffed and then laughed at me, his eyes filling with adoration. Then suddenly they filled with horror and widened. "Lyanna!"
I turned around quickly but was too late. I could feel the arrow piercing my shoulder, sending a wave of pain through my whole body. I screamed out in agony, desperately trying to keep control over my wings.
But I lost. I couldn't even feel the muscles, couldn't even move a feather. Within seconds I felt the air rushing through my hair as I fell to the ground.
I clawed and thrashed, fighting against the poison that was running through my veins. My mind was telling me that I was lost but my body couldn't stop fighting against the upcoming end.
When stone buildings entered my sight, I stopped all movements. I closed my eyes and slowed my breath as a tear escaped my eye. Somehow, I had accepted my fate.
But life wasn't done with me yet. I felt a warm hand grasp mine, holding it firmly and then pulling me on something soft. Before I knew it, I was on the back of a gryphon with my arms wrapped tightly around his waist and my head hidden in the crook of his neck.
"Hold on!!" Obi-Wan yelled and pulled the gryphon up just in time before we could crash right onto the floor. He yelled as buildings shot by us, trying desperately to not hit them.
When we were finally above all the buildings Obi-Wan sighed in relief, his shoulders relaxing and slumping down. "Now what was that you said about having everything under control?"
"Oh shut up, you stupid Jedi."