Final Strike

Darian's surprise jolted through Theo's chest like lightning. That was all the warning he got before orange light exploded in front of her.

"Darian!" he screamed, lunging forward. But his body wouldn't move fast enough.

And running to her wouldn't help. A shield spell! He raised his hand, trying to gather his Levia –

But the light from the arrow had already cleared. Through the contract, Theo didn't sense a hint of pain. Instead, Darian's astonishment thrummed like a held note.

Smoke drifted from the hole gaping in the floor before Darian. She had fallen on her rear and was staring at the hole with huge eyes.

A twitching hand shot out of the hole. It gripped the edge, and panting and gasping, Lyura hauled herself out.

All eyes in the coliseum turned toward the homunculus hovering in the air, bow still lifted.

In the silence, Ryan's whisper drifted across the coliseum. "Avia…."

A wave of dizzying relief rushed through Theo. So Ryan had done it after all. He'd reached Avia.

"What...what?" Oliver screamed, tugging at his hair. "How did – what – I didn't order you to – "

"Ha! Joke's on you!" Ryan shouted back. "She doesn't take your orders! Now Avia, let's kick his ass!"

Uh, wasn't he being a bit premature? He didn't even have his contract back yet.

Which Oliver demonstrated when he swiped out his arms and an orange spell circle appeared beneath Avia. Ryan lurched back, face paling.

But when the arrow slid into Avia's bow, she whirled around and aimed it at Oliver.

Screaming bloody murder, Oliver tumbled off his big fancy chair. He hit the floor with a thud, disappearing from view. The diagram beneath Avia fractured into sparks before the arrow vanished as well, followed shortly by the symbol on her forehead.

Breathing hard, Ryan stared at Avia. She lowered her head in a solemn nod.

When Oliver's head popped back over the box railing, his face was completely scarlet. "This – this is – whatever, I don't need you! Get her!"

Orange light flashed from his ring. Zenith lunged at Avia.

Ryan flung out his arm, casting a basic strengthening spell. As its glow wreathed Avia, she met Zenith's sword with her bow. The clash of metal echoed across the coliseum.

Oliver's contract with Avia might be gone, but Ryan didn't have time to redo his. Which meant Avia couldn't create arrows. Still, she seemed to be holding her own against Zenith for now, so Theo needed to focus on his mission.

Darian's resolve pulsed through him, almost driving him to his knees. He clenched his teeth, trying to dredge up his own power beneath her Levia.

It was almost time. With Zenith occupied and Lyura out of commission, Darian had a clear line toward Oliver. She charged across the floor so fast it seemed like she was flying.

"Protect me!" Oliver yelled.

Shit, he'd realized what Darian was doing. In a flash, Zenith broke away from Avia and dove in front of Darian.

She couldn't escape in time. Zenith swung his sword and Darian flung up her rapier to block. But the force of the impact knocked the rapier out of her hand, sending it spinning across the coliseum floor, and Darian fell and landed on her back with a thud that resounded through Theo's bones.

Zenith loomed above her, sword pointed straight at her chest. With his ferociously glowing eyes, he resembled a monster more than a knight.

"Zenith, no!" Theo choked out, even though he knew nothing he did or said could stop Zenith. But it couldn't just end like this.

A streak of red. Ryllis lunged at Zenith, tackling him in the chest. As he lurched, Lodo leaped in and latched onto his leg. Then Avia dove from behind, hooking her bow around his neck.

The remaining prisoners rushed in as well, all trying to hold Zenith down. Gasping, Darian climbed onto her hands and knees and crawled toward her rapier.

Not fast enough. Theo strained to gather his Levia, channeling it into a speed spell. Relief swept through him when the diagram glowed beneath Darian and she raced across the remaining distance.

But the relief quickly gave way to a vicious surge of nausea. 'Hold it together….' Even for just a minute longer.

Speed spells were some of the most basic out there, yet he felt like half the Levia had been wrenched from his veins. He probably only had enough for one more spell.

Better make it count. Taking a deep breath, Theo closed his eyes. Light flashed, coloring the world behind his shut lids bright red. He heard clanking armor, voices shouting.

But he screwed his eyes shut tighter. He had to trust that the others would keep Zenith distracted.

The spell. Draw every line and symbol. Make no mistakes. And infuse it with every last drop of his Levia, even if dragging it out from beneath Darian's power felt like dredging from the bottom of the sea.

Yet he couldn't lose track of Darian, either. Through the contract he felt each footstep slamming on the coliseum floor, bringing her closer to Oliver.

Her power deepened, and for a terrifying heartbeat Theo felt like he was plunging through the night sky again. He clenched his teeth so hard his entire jaw ached.

The diagram blazed in his mind, searingly bright. Then an answering heat erupted beneath his feet.

His eyes flew open. Through the storm of pink light raging around him, he made out Darian leaping into the air, aglow with the same power.

His Levia rushed through both the elemental spell and his contract with her like water from a broken dam. Soon it would drain him completely dry.

Lightning crackled around Darian's blade, almost drowning out the light from the spell. As she reached the height of her jump, she drew back her rapier.

Oliver cringed, his face a ghoulish mask beneath the lightning. His lips moved.

Metal clanged from behind Darian. Zenith? No time to check.

Now, he had to give everything to Darian. Put everything into this one strike.

Screaming, Oliver flung his hands before his face. The ring gleamed, a tiny but brilliant target.

Theo clenched his hands into fists, drawing out every last ounce of his Levia. He felt Darian doing the same. As their power rose to a crescendo, it engulfed his entire being. Once again he was flying, hurtling across a deep blue night shrouded in the rosy curtains of an aurora. A familiar ache throbbed in his shoulder muscles. He brought his wings down, shedding a rain of pale pink feathers.

The burst of speed propelled him forward, closer to the point of brilliant blue light in the center of the cosmos. A star that shone brighter than all the others. The place he was trying to reach.

He still couldn't grasp it with his hands, but he didn't need his body. Not when he had his and Darian's combined Levia.

A scream tore out of his throat, raw, wordless. Dimly, he sensed Darian screaming too. The cosmos dissolved into nothing and she reappeared in his vision right before her rapier struck the glowing gem on Oliver's ring.

As lightning raced down the blade, Oliver toppled over backwards. A violent crackle echoed throughout the coliseum. Then the gem sailed an arc through the air, no longer orange, but as blue and dazzling as the star in the cosmos.

Darian landed in a crouch. The instant her feet hit the stone floor, Theo's Levia gave a violent wrench. He fell to his knees, head spinning.

All at once, Darian's overwhelming Levia rushed away. All that remained was his own power, a few flickering scraps. It should have relieved him, but instead he felt hollow and drained.

Rapid footsteps somewhere in the near distance. Someone was running toward him, screaming his name. Sam?

Theo didn't have the energy to check. His eyes remained glued to the top box, where Darian had now stood up. She was panting so hard her entire body heaved, but she lifted her hand with unmistakable triumph. Light gleamed off the blue gem between her fingers.

She'd done it. No – they had done it.

"Theo!" Sam's shriek pierced his skull. The next he knew, she dropped to her knees in front of him and grabbed his shoulders. Her worried face filled his vision, brown eyes huge. "Oh my God, that was – are you okay?"

It seemed to take all of his effort to move his tongue. His voice came out thick, slurred. "I'm...I'm fine…."

"Give it back!" When Oliver screamed, alarm spiked in Theo's chest. He pushed past Sam, trying to get a view.

Just in time to see Darian jump down from the top box and land neatly on the coliseum floor. Shrieking incoherently, Oliver leaned over the edge of the box.

"Ha! Finders, keepers, losers, weepers!" Ryan declared, flipping Oliver double birds.

Theo didn't have much attention to spare on his antics, though. His gaze followed Darian as she crossed the coliseum, heading toward the squirming pile of people in the center. Avia, Lodo, and Ryllis, all on top of –

Panic wiped Theo's mind blank. His exhaustion forgotten, he pushed Sam's hands aside and jumped to his feet. Sam shouted at him, but he had already taken off.

His footsteps thudded against the stone floor, but not nearly as loud as his pounding heart. The others were getting up, backing away. Revealing an armored figure hunched on his hands and knees, hair falling in a tangled curtain before his face.

As Theo came closer, Zenith slowly lifted his head and shook it, once, twice. His hair shifted, revealing his eyes. Huge and haunted, trembling with horror – but as clear and blue as the sky.

Joy swelled inside Theo, crushing the breath from his lungs.

Through the blood rushing in his head, he heard Zenith's faint voice. "Theo. Please...forgive me."

"You idiot," Theo burst out. He dropped to his knees and flung his arms around Zenith's shoulders, burying his face in the knight's pauldron. The metal pressed against his skin, cold and hard, but he didn't care. Because this was Zenith. Really here. Really his again.

"You idiot," he repeated, choking on his tears. "There's nothing to forgive."

He felt Zenith stiffen, then breathe out, his chest relaxing. An armored hand rested on the small of his back, light and hesitant.

That was all he needed. Safe in Zenith's arms, he let his eyelids drift shut and sank into the comforting darkness.