I held my sword firmly, feeling the sweat on my palms and the blood on my blade. It had already been 10 minutes since the fight started and only Remy was no longer in fighting condition. He was lying on the ground, unconscious and bleeding from a deep wound on his chest.
Lila was much more powerful than I thought she would be. She was not only a skilled swordswoman, but also a master of magic. But now it was much harder because she could stand up to us when there were two of us against her.
I turned to Lydia, who looked exhausted by the fight and her clothes were torn and stained with dirt and blood. She had a few cuts and bruises on her face and arms, but nothing serious. And then on the other side, Lila didn't even look tired. She was smiling wickedly, her eyes shining with malice and madness.
"What do we do, Aaliyah? Even with two of us, we can't touch her," asked Lydia, her voice trembling with fear and frustration. But I clearly had no plan, I couldn't think, Lila was just too strong. She had blocked, dodged, or parried every move we had made, and countered with her own vicious strikes. She had toyed with us, taunting and mocking us, as if we were nothing but insects to her.
"We'll keep attacking and then we'll see where it takes us," I said, trying to sound confident and hopeful. For the moment, we'd better watch her moves and postures, which can tell us a lot about her. Maybe we could find a weakness, a gap, a mistake, anything that could give us an advantage.
From what I'd been able to see so far, she had more of a violent style and her strikes were powerful and effective. A single one of her blows could fracture something, or worse. She preferred to use her sword.
I glanced at Lydia to indicate my intention to confront Lila and Lydia nodded her agreement.
I approached Lila very quickly, hoping to catch her off guard. I swung my sword horizontally, aiming for her neck. But she ducked under it and kicked me in the stomach, sending me flying back.
I rolled on the ground and got up, ignoring the pain. I saw Lydia charging at Lila from behind, trying to stab her in the back. But Lila sensed her and spun around, blocking her sword with her own. She then grabbed Lydia's wrist and twisted it, making her drop her sword. She then elbowed her in the face, knocking her down.
I ran towards them, hoping to help Lydia. But Lila was faster. She kicked Lydia in the ribs, making her groan in agony. She then raised her sword, ready to finish her off. I screamed and lunged at her, hoping to stop her.
But Lila disappeared from my field of vision. "But where is she?" I had the temp to say before being struck in the leg by a sword. I felt a sharp pain and a warm liquid running down my leg. I looked down and saw blood. Lila had got behind me and stabbed me in the calf.
"Interesting attack, but next time try to be quicker, at least, now you won't be able to protect Lydia," said Lila, her voice dripping with sarcasm and cruelty. Then I looked at her. And I saw something that made my blood run cold. Inside her eye was a magic circle, glowing with a sinister light. Someone was controlling Lila. Someone was using her as a puppet, a weapon, a tool.
I tried to get up, but fell straight back down. The pain in my leg was almost unbearable. I couldn't move, I couldn't fight, I couldn't do anything. I felt helpless, hopeless, useless. I watched as Lila slowly approached Lydia, who was still lying on the ground, gasping for air. Lydia tried to defend herself, but Lila disarmed her in a matter of seconds. She kicked her sword away and grabbed her by the hair, lifting her head up. She then placed her sword under her chin, pressing it against her throat.
"It's time for you to die, Princess Lydia," said Lila with a smirk. She looked at me, as if to mock me, to taunt me, to show me how powerless I was. I looked at the teacher and the students, who were watching the fight from a safe distance. No one seemed to notice what was happening. No one seemed to care. No one seemed to help maybe there was an illusion magic. They all thought it was a training exercise, a friendly sparring match, a harmless game.
Lydia's face was terrified. She looked at me, her eyes pleading for help. She looked at Lila, her eyes begging for forgiveness, for understanding, for compassion.
I could stay where I was and watch Lila kill Lydia. It might help me in my mission and allow Zara to become queen.
I don't know why my body moved on its own. I don't know why I ignored the pain, the fear, the logic. I don't know why I acted on instinct. I don't know why I did what I did. But I did it.
In the space of a second, I found myself in front of Lila and I had taken the blow instead of Lydia. Her sword had gone through my stomach and at the same time I had done the same with Lila, who collapsed to the ground. I felt a surge of pain, followed by a wave of numbness. I felt blood pouring out of my wound, soaking my clothes and the ground.
"It looks like we've won, Lydia," I said with a smile, before fainting.