A tree hurtled toward Leo, the first pillar, churning through the air with terrible force. He didn't flinch. He steadied his breath as he instinctively braced for impact.
Everyone knew what would happen if a tree like that hit a person. Flesh would tear. Bones would shatter. A regular person would be left as nothing more than a smear on the ground.
But.
Crack!
The moment the tree touched Leo's skin, it splintered into a thousand pieces. Wood shattered outward in brittle, jagged fragments, flying harmlessly around him like it had hit solid steel.
He looked at his body as his head shook fractionally.
Then he saw them.
More.
A whole barrage of trees hurtled toward him, uprooted trunks spinning through the air like giant clubs. The air shuddered with their approach, each one a massive wall of wood and bark.
And then, for an instant, uncertainty dawned.
This might actually...
No.
The memory of his battle with the Orc Lord passed through his mind. That fight had been something. That was a fight against a real monster, against something that merited fear.
And now he was standing here, worried about a couple of trees?
A disgrace.
Leo exhaled sharply.
And then.
He vanished.
The instant his breath left his lips, his form became like mist, disappearing from one spot and appearing in another. Well out of reach of the falling timber.
Now he stood at the very edge of the forest, where the ground remained untouched by Cris' destruction. At this distance, he could see Cris clearly. His stance rigid, breath ragged and uneven. Wild eyes glowing with anger and desperation.
Why?
Cris had always been distant. Hostile, even. But Leo never understood why. The two had hardly spoken at all. Sure, they had worked on the same farm, but every time Leo made an attempt at small talk, Cris either barked at him or flat-out ignored him.
Leo frowned. What had he done to warrant such loathing?
The thought was there, but only momentarily. He shook his head and disappeared once more.
Leo glided through the forest now with every step, the leaf-covered ground flowing beneath his feet. His form blurred, darting between trees, dodging branches without thinking.
He wasn't even running any longer. He was skipping through space.
The cold nibbled at his skin, sharp and not of the natural world. He had felt it before. Back there, in the crater, with her.
Kurea.
All his stats, why did he feel it? Why did the coldness cling to him?
The fleeting thought buzzed through his mind before he let it fade away, the weight of his goal pressing on him.
He emerged from the trees.
And in the distance.
Home.
Their farmhouse loomed small and quiet under the sky, the wooden walls familiar, a place of comfort. But at the speed he was moving now, it was just a thought away.
One step.
Then.
He was there.
On the stoop, in front of the door like he had been all along. The farm was his haven, far removed from the disorder he had fled.
For a split second, he allowed himself to breathe.
Then, without hesitation, Leo stepped inside.
Outside, though he couldn't see it, Amanda's sharp eyes caught the door's movement. She frowned.
Leo?
It was too fast. She hardly blinked, and it had shut.
Something in her gut twisted.
"I'll go check on Leo," she said to Markus, already moving away.
Markus, mid-conversation, hardly glanced up. "Yeah, sure. Tell him I said hi..."
He was about to continue speaking when a sudden light flared at the ground. A bright, ethereal light pooled around Amanda's feet, motes of shimmering energy swirling like fireflies.
Markus had hardly registered it before she said the word.
Recall.
In a flash, her body was gone, and only scattered golden light danced in her place.
After a long exhale, Markus scratched the back of his head and smiled slightly. And then, as if nothing had happened, he returned to work.
Inside the house, Leo had hardly a second to absorb the warmth of home when she appeared. A rush of golden motes. A gentle hum of magic.
And then.
Impact.
Amanda appeared right where Leo was standing. Their bodies collided.
Hard.
"Whoa!"
Leo's hand snaked out reflexively, catching her wrist as her balance wavered.
Amanda gasped in surprise as she stumbled.
Leo pulled.
A little too hard.
Before either of them could react, Amanda was suddenly pressed against him. Her work-worn glow met his bare, solid chest.
Her breath hitched.
His skin radiated warmth that seeped into hers. Her skin glowed faintly, still showing traces of the magic from her spell. Her heart was racing, fast, out of control.
Leo stiffened.
The room felt too quiet. A slow, creeping heat rose between them, different from magic, different from the air. Amanda's fingers spread across his chest and twitched slightly, her breath warm against his collarbone.
Leo's breathing turned ragged too.
A tense silence settled. Thick, heavy, charged.
Then.
Bang!
The door slammed open.
They jerked away from each other like criminals caught in the act.
There, panting at the door, stood Ranna.
"There you are!" Ranna puffed, her breath short from running.
"Damn, you move fast. I was searching the fields everywhere, but Markus..."
Her voice trailed off as she took in the scene before her. Amanda was flushed and breathless. Leo, bare-chested, with that same guilty look. Their posture still too close, too intimate.
Ranna smiled.
Smirking.
"Ohhh."
Leo groaned internally.
Amanda's face went bright red. "I-It's not...! I mean, I just...! He...!"
Leo, for his part, tried to talk over her. "She appeared out of nowhere! I didn't...! It's not...!"
They were both talking over each other, voices stumbling, words tangling, nothing making sense.
Ranna threw back her head and let out a laugh.
Hard.
"Oh, gods, you two are fucking priceless." She swiped at the corner of her eye, her expression still playful. "If I had a coin for every time I walked into this scene, I'd be richer than the damned merchants..."
She waved between them vaguely.
"...but we have a larger issue."
Amanda straightened, still trying to compose herself. "What's wrong?"
Ranna's laughter vanished in an instant. Her sharp blue eyes darkened.
"We've got a situation, and you're gonna want to hear this," she said, voice grave.
Leo and Amanda looked at each other.
"Someone has cleared the Orc Dominion."
Amanda took a step back.
The color drained from her face like someone had stolen her breath. She crossed her arms, holding one close to her body, trembling slightly.
Her eyes, usually sharp and full of confidence, locked onto Ranna's.
Ranna nodded.
When she did, Amanda moved.
She didn't speak. No hesitation. She spun on her heel and ran for the door, urgent, her boots barely touching the floor.
But just when she was about to go past Ranna, she stopped.
For a brief moment.
"Thank you."
It was a whisper. A breath of gratitude.
Then she was gone.
Her body moved faster than it should have, magic pulsing beneath her skin as she sprinted outside. The cold air bit at her but she didn't care.
Her heart hammered. The blood roared in her ears. Her mind raced.
Someone had cleared the Orc Dominion.
The trees blurred together as she ran toward the forest, panic clawing at her chest.
Because if that was true...
Then everything was about to change.
Everything.
Ranna watched Amanda disappear into the distance, her eyes unreadable. She let out a heavy sigh. Arms crossed, fingers clutching the fabric of her sleeves, she leaned against the doorframe.
Amanda had raced so fast she nearly fell forward.
Almost.
But that was Amanda. She never truly fell.