Seret drove his knees into the broken paving and forced five uneven Shards to hold their places above his shoulders.
"Bastion of the Imperial Vanguard!"
Light ripped ten paces across the road around him while he braced the trapped hilt against his own chest.
The descending pressure caught against the ground beneath them instead of crashing straight down through the captain's bent, trembling arms. The same force ran through those arms into his chest, and blood burst from both nostrils as the foot stopped.
'Holy shit, he made the whole road carry it and turned himself into its weakest joint.'
Vella's warning slammed through the bond while both her hands stayed pressed against Helen's body behind the shields.
'Five seconds, Master, his heart cannot hold that strain a single breath longer.'
The chain beneath the sole snapped around Seret's right ankle beside the crossguard folding inward toward his ribs.
