The king's hands crackled with black flame as he lunged, his entire form blurred with speed and fury. He struck the earth beside Liam, and the floor shattered in a pulse of molten stone, sending Liam stumbling to the side, shielding his eyes from the searing light and heat.
Anna steadied him. Inside him.
"Focus," she said.
But it was getting harder.
The king was unchained now.
Liam barely raised his sword in time to block the next strike. Steel met with bone-wrapped shadow, the king's monstrous arm driving down like a hammer. Liam gritted his teeth as he sank to one knee under the force, the weight of the blow jolting through every tendon in his arm. His bones felt close to snapping. His muscles screamed. The blade hummed in his grip like it, too, was breaking.
"Get up," Anna whispered urgently.
