Chapter 171- One Flame, One Shadow
Lexy
I was exhausting myself, but I couldn’t stop now. Everyone was counting on me to finish Adrian and Kael once and for all.
CJ was right. We had trained to become one during battle, and I had neglected all of it. My stubbornness, my refusal to lean fully on him, had made me fight in fragments instead of in unity. That could not continue. It was time to put everything we had learned—every movement, every strike, every rhythm—into play.
The battlefield roared with chaos. Shadows churned like storms in Adrian’s wake, coiling through the trees and sinking their claws into our warriors’ defenses. Kael moved beside him, his blade gleaming with the unholy light of stolen power, cutting through the lines as if flesh and steel were the same.
“Lexy!” CJ’s voice carried over the din, commanding, grounding.
I turned, and in his eyes, I saw what I needed most: not fear, not hesitation—faith. He believed in me, in us, even when I doubted. He extended his hand without a word. I took it.
The moment our palms pressed together, heat and shadow collided. My phoenix fire burst outward, wrapping around CJ’s aura of night and steel. Together, our powers braided into a force unlike anything we had touched separately. His strength cooled my burning rage, guiding it, shaping it. My flame gave his shadows life and ferocity. One breath, one strike, one heartbeat—we moved as one.
Adrian’s eyes narrowed, sensing the shift. “Finally,” he snarled, lips curling into something half-smirk, half-snarl. “You learn to dance together.”
Kael laughed sharply, spinning his blade and calling his men to him. “Then let’s see if unity can save you.”
They surged toward us.
CJ pulled me into motion, his blade sweeping in a low arc that caught Kael’s strike. I followed without thought, flames lashing from my palms to force Adrian back a step. Our movements were no longer separate decisions—they were instinct. Where he blocked, I struck. Where I burned, he shadowed, forming gaps, redirections, and traps.
The ground trembled beneath us. The battle lines tightened, warriors crying out as both sides collided in vicious waves. But even in that storm, CJ and I became an anchor. A living force.
Kael came at us with unnatural speed, his blade cleaving downward. I ducked beneath the strike, my wings flaring with fire as I kicked off the ground, spinning. CJ caught me midair by the wrist and twisted, slinging me upward into a blazing arc of flame. My fire cascaded like a whip, snapping toward Kael’s chest. He barely blocked, shadows screeching against the heat.
Adrian lunged to counter, his hand dripping with void-born magic. But CJ was already there, his sword intercepting the strike. “Not today,” CJ growled, flames pouring from him to snare Adrian’s arm.
We had drilled for this exact rhythm countless times, and now it was no longer practice—it was war. I landed in a crouch beside CJ, flame crawling over my skin, and together we unleashed. A double strike, my fire and his flames weaving together in a devastating wave. The impact threw Kael and Adrian back, forcing them to skid across the dirt.
But they didn’t fall.
Kael’s grin widened, feral and hungry. “This is what I wanted,” he hissed. “A real fight.”
Adrian’s eyes glowed with malice. “Let’s break their unity.”
They attacked harder. Faster. Relentless.
The battle became a blur. I felt CJ’s heartbeat pounding against mine even when we weren’t touching, guiding me. He shifted left, I answered right. He lifted his blade high, I dropped low, fire spreading across the ground to force Kael back. Adrian’s fury clashed with mine, but CJ bent them, turned them inward, snapping them back into their master like chains turned against their wielder.
Still, exhaustion gnawed at me. My body screamed with every surge of fire. But CJ steadied me. Each time I faltered, he was there—not shielding me, not carrying me, but reminding me I wasn’t alone. His voice cut through the haze.
“Breathe, Lexy.”
“Strike with me.”
“Now!”
Every command matched the rhythm of our training. Every move was part of the bond we had forged.
Around us, our warriors fought desperately to hold the line. Screams, clashing steel, the scent of blood and smoke filled the air. Yet a strange calm pulsed in me. For the first time in this endless war, I didn’t feel alone on the battlefield.
Adrian, however, was adapting. His movements grew sharper, his fury less reckless. He was learning our rhythm.
I realized it at the same moment CJ did. If Adrian found the gaps in our unity, he could break it apart.
“Push harder,” CJ muttered, sweat streaking down his face. “Before he adjusts fully.”
I nodded. My wings ignited in full flame, scorching the ground beneath me. Together we advanced, pressing both Kael and Adrian with strike after strike. The air became a furnace, shadows and fire exploding in every direction. The heat was unbearable, even for me, but I refused to stop.
Kael’s blade screamed against CJ’s sword as sparks burst between them. Adrian lunged at me with a blast of void, but I spun aside, unleashing a spiral of flame that detonated against his chest. He staggered, only for Kael to leap in and pull him back.
For a heartbeat, we stood opposite each other, four forces locked in deadly stalemate. My chest heaved. My flame guttered, desperate for air. CJ’s flames rippled with strain.
Adrian smiled coldly. “You’ve grown stronger together. But even unity has its limits.”
He raised his hand, and the ground split beneath us, shadows erupting in jagged spikes. Our warriors screamed as the terrain itself turned hostile.
CJ grabbed my hand. “Lexy—now!”
We leapt together, wings of fire and wings of shadow unfurling in unison. For the first time, CJ’s aura manifested as a full shape—a vast silhouette of night behind him, wrapping my flames in protective embrace. My phoenix rose higher, burning brighter. Together, we dove, unleashing everything.
The battlefield shook with the explosion. Firestorm and shadow-waves tore through the enemy ranks, scattering them. Kael barely managed to shield himself, snarling. Adrian staggered but did not fall.
And then—clarion horns split the air.
The sound froze the battle for a heartbeat. Deep, resonant, unmistakable.
From the horizon, golden light poured across the trees. Ranks of armored warriors advanced with disciplined steps, their presence radiating heat and authority. The Great Phoenix royal guards—our last, most unyielding defense—had come.
Their banners blazed with fire sigils; their swords gleamed like molten gold. They surged onto the field with devastating precision, cutting into Adrian’s and Kael’s forces with unstoppable might.
Relief swept over me, fierce and overwhelming. My knees trembled, but CJ steadied me once more.
“We’re not alone anymore,” he murmured.
“No,” I agreed, my fire flaring anew as the royal guards closed in. “Now we end this.”
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