Chapter 170- The Weight of Flame
Lexy
The Phoenix’s cry still echoed through the battlefield, a sound so raw it seemed to tear the morning sky in two. Fire bled from me, wild and endless, licking the edges of reality itself. The men before me fell back, their shields sagging, their eyes wide with terror.
And yet, deep in my bones, I felt the truth: this power was not infinite. It consumed me as surely as it consumed everything else.
“Keep pushing!” I shouted, forcing strength into my voice even as my knees trembled beneath me. The flames roared higher in response, swallowing the ground in front of us, scattering Adrian’s men like leaves in a storm.
My warriors surged behind me, emboldened. Their cries rose with mine, steel flashing in the dawn light. For a moment, hope surged as bright as the fire itself.
Then Kael charged again.
The brute waded through the flames, cloak and hair scorched; skin blackened with burns he refused to acknowledge. He roared, a sound more beast than man, and swung his blade with enough force to shatter stone.
I met him. Fire crashed against steel, the impact rattling my arms to the bone. My wings of flame flared wide, holding him at bay, but each clash with him drained me further. He was a wall of muscle and will, relentless, unyielding.
Behind him, Adrian’s voice cut sharp through the din. “Don’t fear her! She burns herself as much as you!”
And damn him, he was right.
Every second I held the Phoenix, I felt myself unraveling, threads of flesh and soul straining under its weight. My breath came ragged, my vision wavering at the edges. The flames wanted more — always more.
CJ appeared at my side, blade cutting down an enemy who had slipped past. He looked at me once, quick and fierce, sweaty and blood streaking his face. “You’re burning too hot,” he growled.
“I can hold,” I snapped, though my voice was already frayed.
His jaw tightened. He didn’t argue — not here, not now — but I felt his worry press against me as surely as Kael’s blade.
Kael struck again, and again, each blow heavier than the last. He fought like a man possessed, feeding on the chaos, delighting in the challenge I presented. And still Adrian wove through the battle, sharp and cunning, pulling his men like threads into a pattern I could barely follow.
“Cut her from her warriors!” Adrian barked, and his men obeyed, pressing hard into our flanks.
My warriors staggered under the sudden push. The line bent, dangerously close to breaking.
“Rally!” I roared, flaring the Phoenix’s wings to blast the enemy back. The heat rolled across the field, scorching the ground, forcing Adrian’s men to stumble. My own warriors pressed close to me, drawing courage from the fire, but I could see the toll it took on them too — sweat streaming, lungs heaving in the oppressive heat.
I was endangering them as much as I was saving them.
Kael’s laugh cut through my thoughts, brutal and mocking. “You think this fire makes you untouchable?” His blade slammed into mine; the impact throwing sparks and flame skyward. “You’ll burn out — and when you do, we’ll grind your ashes into the dirt.”
I bared my teeth, fury answering his words. “Better ashes than chains.”
And I struck.
The Phoenix screamed with me, my blade erupting in a torrent of flame that forced Kael back a full step. His grin faltered, his stance wavering. For the first time, I saw uncertainty flicker in his eyes.
But then Adrian moved.
He darted from the side, quick as a serpent, his blade gleaming. I barely had time to turn before steel kissed my arm, cutting through flesh. Pain flared, sharp and hot, breaking my concentration for a heartbeat.
The flames stuttered.
The Phoenix screeched inside me, furious at the break, demanding I give it more, demanding I surrender fully. The heat surged, wild and uncontrolled, fire spilling too close to my own warriors. They fell back, coughing, shielding their faces from the inferno.
Panic clawed at me. If I lost control now, I would burn them all.
“Lexy!” CJ’s voice was raw, desperate. He caught my arm, steadying me, anchoring me. His eyes locked on mine, fierce and unyielding. “Focus. Breathe. You are the fire — it’s not the fire that’s you. Use me like we trained before”
The words cut through the chaos, grounding me. I dragged in a ragged breath, forcing the Phoenix’s scream into a roar I could direct, forcing the flames back into shape.
Control. Not surrender.
The wings steadied. The heat narrowed, pushing forward instead of exploding outward. My warriors found room to breathe again.
Adrian cursed under his breath, retreating a step to reassess. Kael snarled, his teeth bared in frustration.
I straightened, the cut on my arm dripping blood, but my stance unbroken. “You will not break me,” I told them, voice carrying across the field, layered with the Phoenix’s fury.
The fire around me surged higher, defiant.
Adrian’s eyes narrowed, his calm mask slipping just enough for me to see the crack beneath. “Then we’ll just have to kill you outright.”
He signaled sharply, and his men shifted. Fresh reserves, hidden until now, poured from the trees, their numbers swelling the line. Kael lifted his blade, rallying them with a roar.
The field tipped again, the advantage slipping like sand through my fingers. My warriors fought valiantly, but I could see the exhaustion in their faces, the strain in every movement.
CJ’s voice was low, meant only for me. “We can’t hold them like this, not forever.”
He was right. Even with the Phoenix, even with all my fury, we were at the brink. And if I pushed too far… the fire would consume me, and my people along with me.
I clenched my blade, forcing myself to see the truth through the haze of flame. The Phoenix was not endless. I could not end this battle with fire alone.
But maybe — just maybe — I could buy us enough time.
I lifted my blade again, fire curling along its length, and shouted to my warriors: “Hold fast! Reinforcements are with us! We stand together!”
They answered with a roar of their own, planting their feet, meeting Adrian’s charge head-on.
And I stepped forward, Phoenix wings blazing, to meet Kael once more.
This war was not finished. Not yet.
But so long as I still burned, neither Adrian nor Kael would claim victory.
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