Their journey continued in silence as the horse galloped. Jaden held onto the horse's reins, trying not to jostle the injury where Ranulf was hugging him tightly from behind. Jaden's backside felt numb, and this was the first coherent thought he had since they were attacked.
"You good?" Ranulf's voice vibrated through his body, probably after feeling Jaden shift for the umpteenth time. "You know you're being weird, right?"
Jaden adjusted his grip and straightened his back, trying not to think about it even while his mind raced. "I'm fine."
The alpha smelled like a campfire in the forest; perhaps that was the perfect description. But it was distracting, even though Jaden knew that Ranulf released the scent because he was in distress.
"Sure you are," Ranulf teased. "Still mad I asked you to ride with me? Thank goodness I didn't let you. Who knew what would have happened?"
Jaden choked because three hours ago there were three assassins when the sun had been at its peak and the road was empty. The attack came as expected, just as before. Ranulf's body had went stiff, and his hands went to his sword.
A glint of metal flashed through from between the trees, cutting through. Ranulf shoved Jaden from the saddle, letting him hit the ground while he attacked these strangers.
Jaden did not even feel the pain but watched Ranulf take on the three figures; he was merely an audience member to this tragedy, just like before.
The three landed with a silence that defied physics and charged with weightless grace, their feet barely seemed to touch the damp soil, dragging the air.
And Jaden recognized it now. They were tier 2 air wielders. They used currents to cushion their falls, silence their steps, and grant them terrifying, ghostly speed. They were having fun toying with a tier 1 Ranulf, a fire wielder who could only light up his sword but depended on the sword instead.
Jaden's heart went cold because he had seen this dance. The assassins fanned out, their movement fluid and coordinated. Ranulf was all brute power, but they were vipers striking from unexpected angles, dancing in and out of his reach.
Jaden's mind was filled with the memories of the aftermath, Ranulf killed, and Jaden arrested for colluding with an alleged Lorynth spy, Ranulf. The memories were so vivid that it felt realer than the scene before him.
Suddenly, a targeted gust threw Ranulf off balance, forcing him to stumble. A horrible shout escaped Ranulf's mouth, drawing Jaden back to the scene. The assassins were pressing their advantage, and the weak but talented Ranulf couldn't hold them a bit longer. He met Jaden's eyes with a pale, sweat-streaked face. And then, "Run, Jaden, run!"
Jaden was tired, he really was, not his body, just his spirit. What was the point of running? To arrive at Marcus's feet again? To be thrown in prison again? No, he wasn't going to run.
He would watch the memory to its conclusion, and then, finally, it would be over. If he had his water power, this would have been easy for him.
Just the thought of his powers, tears slid down his face, remembering how he was powerless in the burning prison. He couldn't save his friends who came to save him, even though he was a water wielder. If his mate bond with Marcus was still intact, then he would have had his powers.
The weight of being useless crushed his chest.
He didn't think when he saw the assassins moving in for the final strike to Ranulf's head. He moved from pure muscle memory, his shell of detachment broken as the dam of tears burst forth. He shot his hand, and almost immediately, the mud erupted with a sound of tearing, and three vicious spikes of dark water shot upward from the soil. It was not an elegant construct, it was jagged and brutal, impaling all three assassins and silencing their shocked cry with horrific precision.
The silence was deafening as everyone else left was shocked. Ranulf was quick to recover and ran over to Jaden, ignoring his own wound.
"Jaden, are you okay?" He hugged Jaden. "It's alright, we are almost there. We would get treated there."
Hearing the thought of continuing their journey snapped Jaden out of his daze.
"No," Jaden's voice was sharp and panicked.
Ranulf paused, his hand outstretched. "Jaden, we'll be safe there." But he only got a frantic reply from Jaden.
"Alright, we'll go back to the inn," Ranulf quickly dropped the argument and said with a soothing tone. The fight seemed to have drained Ranulf's energy, and he was injured on the back; it was minor, according to Ranulf, but it was bleeding. Jaden had insisted he took the reins himself, letting Ranulf rest.