Leaves flew everywhere as Zenith burst out of the trees and landed in front of Theo. Sam shrieked a warning, but the tracking arrow had already come racing after Zenith.
As Zenith ran, Theo cast the speed spell. Relief burst through him when the knight surged forward, putting greater distance between him and the arrow.
Ryan didn't look perturbed. "Run all you like. It's gonna hit him eventually."
Theo clenched his teeth, fighting back the mental image of the arrow spearing a helplessly thrashing Zenith, just like in the last battle. 'No. I trust Zenith. I trust him.'
Zenith leaped into the sky, aiming at Avia. As he raised his sword, Theo cast the blade-strengthening spell. He swiped out in a wide arc –
Avia swooped gracefully to the side. Theo's heart jolted when Zenith came plunging back down, the arrow fast closing in on him.
The momentum of the swing forced Zenith to slash through the nearest tree. He twisted mid-air, cape swirling, before pushing off against the falling tree with his heel to change his course. The tree crashed at an angle behind Ryan, raising a spray of soil and a tide of cursing from the wizard.
Theo wasn't focused on him but on Zenith, who had already landed. But he stumbled, unbalanced, and that gave the tracking arrow enough time to hit.
"Zenith!" Theo screamed.
The impact swept Zenith off his feet, punting him into the air like a rag doll. All of Theo's instincts shrieked at him to run for Zenith, but – but – Zenith's voice was rising in his head, a memory as clear as his resolve. 'Trust me to fight for you.'
So Theo dug his heels in the ground even as Zenith came tumbling back down. But he noticed that even while falling, the knight was still swinging his sword.
Catching on in an instant, Theo cast the sharpening spell again. Zenith couldn't correct his momentum in time to strike Avia; his sword instead slashed through another tree, sending it careening towards him.
Theo yelled Zenith's name again, but the knight had already swung his shield in front. Metal clanged against wood with an impact that shook Theo's bones, knocking the falling tree off course and giving Zenith time to escape.
He crashed to the ground with a clatter of armor. Trembling all over, gasping for breath, he hauled himself to his feet. Again Theo shoved down the urge to run to his side. Yes, he felt Zenith's pain and exhaustion through the contract, but it wasn't half as powerful as his resolve. It gleamed like diamond; Ryan and Avia hadn't put a single scratch in it.
A green glow to the left – Ryan was casting another spell. The tree had fallen at an angle in front of him, so Theo couldn't get a good look at the diagram. But his suspicions were confirmed when a new arrow appeared in Avia's bow.
"Stop her!" Theo yelled. Zenith's Levia sparked – his way of saying 'by your will' without words – before leaping up toward Avia, his sword aglow with a new sharpening spell.
Avia zipped out of the way. With a thunderous burst of Levia, she unleashed the arrow.
Zenith twisted around midair and whipped his shield in front of him. Theo's heart jumped into his throat when the arrow tore straight through the shield, scattering shards of crystal everywhere, and hit Zenith in the chest.
The knight bellowed, raw and incoherent. Theo couldn't help it; he lurched forward.
'Trust me to fight for you.' Zenith's voice whispered again, a stern admonition this time.
The sharpening spell still blazed around his sword. He slashed out but missed Avia by a wide margin, instead cutting down another tree. This time, it was the massive dead oak left exposed by the trees he had already felled.
With a tremendous groan, the tree tumbled toward Ryan. Ryan yelped and took off running, but couldn't get far before he bumped into the fallen tree in front of him. The dead oak crashed perpendicularly atop it, showering wood chips everywhere. Theo raised his arms to block his face, but they pelted him anyway.
"What the fuck! Your aim is shit!" Ryan's muffled voice howled beneath the dead oak.
Zenith had landed somewhere into the woods behind Ryan. Theo couldn't see any sign of him. His heart hammered against his ribcage, but he wrestled down his rising panic. 'Trust him. Trust him.'
"Is this – all you've got – " Ryan shouted between gasps and pants; he must be shoving against the dead oak. "Pretty – fucking – pathetic, man! Can't even – hit Avia – once, huh? All you've done – is – cut down – your own cover!"
Above him, Avia bent her head as if trying to catch a glimpse of him. Then a spell glowed around her and a new arrow slid into her bow, but this one was smaller, its glow dimmer.
Theo breathed out. So it seemed Ryan was starting to tire.
Meanwhile, he and Zenith had just gotten started.
"Get him!" Ryan roared, along with a mighty shove at the oak that sent more wood scraps raining down. Avia soared across the woods.
Zenith's Levia flashed inside Theo like a lightning strike. He was back on his feet. Back up and ready to keep fighting.
Relieved, Theo breathed out. The last of his panic dissolved.
He glanced back at Sam, who nodded. Then he stepped forward, closing the distance between him and Ryan.
Not that he could see Ryan; only the prison of trees containing him. Ryan was still shoving at the dead oak, huffing and puffing and cursing.
Just as Theo laid his hand on the rough bark, green light flashed. Avia had fired her arrow. It took all of his self-control to not to scan the sky for signs of Avia or Zenith. 'I trust Zenith. I trust him.'
"Fuck!" Ryan suddenly stopped his shoving and the green glow of his Levia spilled out through the cracks beneath the fallen trees. The hairs stood up on the back of Theo's neck. "We'll see about – hey, wait, what? What...."
The light sputtered, then died. Ryan started shoving with renewed desperation. "Yo, what the fuck! I can't get out!"
"You finally caught on," Theo said loudly.
"What?" Ryan yelled, panicked for the first time since Theo had met him. Which, Theo wouldn't lie, made some smug part of him very pleased indeed.
"Avia is beyond your spellcasting range," he said. "And you can't reach her."
"Wait. Wait one fucking moment." A thud, as if Ryan had struck the log in front of him. "He wasn't missing, was he? You were never aiming at Avia in the first damn place."