Chapter 73 - I choose you.

Chapter 73 - I choose you.
Alina's heart races as she watches the two of them... the man that she once loved, and the man she has fallen for so hard and so quickly, who is proud to claim her as his mate... 

Their swords are drawn as they circle each other, and it's as if the world itself has stepped back to watch what is about to happen, leaving too much space between breaths and too much silence beneath the sky. She remains standing several paces away, her body still weakened by the traces of silver poisoning, leaving her weakened and unable to move as freely as she'd like to. She watches in stillness as the two men who have shaped the course of her life lock gazes on each other,

Both swords gleaming until the sharp orange afternoon light, both swords made of silver, both imbued with Rezionite...

Viktor isn't a Lycan, though he bears a Lycan sword; he might stand a chance against Magnus. All he needs is a good strike...

Magnus grins as he continues to circle Viktor, his boots grinding against dirt and stone, and his posture way too relaxed given the circumstances. But that's how it's always been. It's like a game to him, a sport for his amusement... but for Viktor, this is about protecting the woman he loves, and finally putting Magnus in his place.

Magnus' eyes never leave Viktor’s face as if he is searching for doubt there and hoping to find it.

“You love her,” Magnus says, finally speaking out with a smile resting on his face. “Isn’t that so sweet. A Lady of nobility and a simple commoner.” He scoffs, and Alina, who is still attentive to the situation, feels a sharp pang in her chest. She and Viktor are indeed of different backgrounds, in fact, if her father were still alive, she knows he would've never approved of Viktor... but she doesn't care about any of that... Viktor chose her, and she chose him... and that's all that matters.

Viktor's jaw tightens at the mention of Alina, feeling his anger boil over as Magnus attempts to bait him into a reaction, into getting distracted. But it never works. Viktor does not look at her. His attention remains fixed on Magnus, sword angled loosely at his side, shoulders squared, stance balanced without strain.

“Let’s see if you are as good as the stories say...” Viktor replies, his tone like fire, just as he swings his sword in his hand a few times, making it ring out in the air.

Magnus smiles at that, slow and pleased, just as he holds out his sword in front of him. “I’m going to enjoy myself, very, very much...” He says, then shifts his gaze towards Alina.

“Pay careful attention, Alina,” Magnus continues, tilting his head slightly. “I’m making a delicious habit of vanquishing those that you love.”

Alina growls quietly, not having felt her strength return to her as she tries to drag herself across the dirt towards him, but instead she feels like her entire body is paralysed, so all she can really do is watch...

Then, in a matter of seconds, the fight commences. 

One second, they are still, and the next, they collide with a force that cracks through the entire forest as silver meets silver in a burst of sound that echoes through the trees, their movements too fast for the human eye yet clear to her, each strike and parry unfolding in a blur of silver arcs and shifting ground.

They move at supernatural speed, boots barely touching the earth before they pivot and strike again, blades clashing in rapid succession, sparks scattering as Rezionite edges scrape against each other, and Alina follows every movement, her heart racing in her chest in anticipation.

Magnus fights with confidence that borders on arrogance, pressing forward and testing Viktor’s defences with quick changes in angle and rhythmm forcing him back step by step, and she sees it even before she admits it to herself that Viktor is reacting more than attacking, that he is studying rather than overwhelming, that he is waiting for something she does not understand.

She wants to call out to him, to warn him, to do anything other than stand there bound and useless, but the poison keeps her limbs from answering her will, keeps her trapped inside her own body while the ground trembles beneath their blows.

Their swords ring again and again, the sound constant now, the air filling with the smell of metal and churned soil, and for a moment she almost believes Viktor will turn the tide when he twists beneath Magnus’s guard and drives him back several paces, forcing him to reset his stance.

Magnus laughs under his breath, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand as if the taste amuses him.

“You’re much, much stronger than I expected...” he says, almost approving.

Viktor does not respond, only advances, blade flashing toward Magnus’s shoulder, then his thigh, then his throat in quick succession, forcing him to defend rather than speak.

But the shift comes suddenly and without warning, Magnus dropping lower than before, sweeping Viktor’s leg just enough to disrupt his footing before driving his sword forward with brutal precision, the Rezionite blade sliding into Viktor’s side, the blade coming out out of his back just as he raws out in pain, staring back at Magnus with shock, the sword squleching through his face just as Viktor begins to cough up blood..

“Viktor!!!” Alina then screeches, tears suddenly filling her eyes as she stares in shock and disbelief.

Time slows in a way that feels cruel, and Viktor’s body jerks as the blade sinks deep, hold onto Magnus just as he feels himself let go of his sword, letting it drop to the ground. Magnus the grins, stepping closer to ensure it lands true, and then pulling it free with a motion that leaves blood staining silver.

Viktor stumbles back, one hand pressing to his side, knees dipping as if the ground has shifted beneath him, and Alina fights against her restraints with everything she has, even though she knows it will not work, the poison biting deeper as she strains.

"No... no..." She calls out, continuing to try to pull herself forward as she watches Viktor bleed out.

Magnus does not look at her at first. He watches Viktor instead, watches the way he sways, the way blood darkens his clothing, and there is satisfaction in his posture that makes her stomach twist.

Viktor then drops to one knee, and her heart pounds so hard she thinks it might bruise her ribs from the inside, her gaze landing on her own sword that is only a few feet away from her, yet she can't reach it. Magnus steps forward and shoves Viktor onto his back with his boot, placing the tip of his blade just beneath his chin as if considering where best to end it. Alina forces her hand to move, forces her fingers to close around her sword, dragging it free even though her arms feel distant and slow, and she raises it as far as she can, though she knows she cannot reach them in time.

"Viktor..." she breathes, the name breaking apart on her tongue as tears fall from her eyes completely, blurring her vision as she continues to drag herself forward.

Magnus glances toward her then, and whatever he sees in her face seems to please him because his mouth curves again. He swings his sword in one swift motion, wiping the blood clean off his sword as he begins to make his way over to Alina, leaving Viktor bleeding on the ground behind him.

“I will be ending this, once and for all,” Magnus says, his gaze fixed on hers as he closes the distance between them.

She finally is able to bring herself to her knees, and trying to bring herself to stand, but her body refuses to cooperate and she collaspes again, Rezionite holding her in place as effectively as chains, and she realises that this may be the last thing she sees, Magnus advancing with his sword ready for another strike and intent written plainly across his features.

Behind him, Viktor, bleeding out, joking out as he tries to stand on his feet, the blood continues to leak out of his wound.

Magnus finally reaches Alina and lifts his sword, preparing to strike her as he stares down at her triumphantly.

"It was quite fun while it lasted... Any last words?" Magnus then asks, being seconds away from striking Alina.

Alina follows his gaze, preparing to say her final words to him. With tears streaming down her face, she turns to Viktor and watches as he, too, meets her gaze.

"Viktor..." She calls out softly. "I choose you..." She then lets out, and that's when Viktor feels tears burn in his eyes, igniting a fury he hadn't felt in so long.

Viktor, while still lying on his back, reaches for the necklace around his throat and sucks in a deep breath, his fingers tightening around it as if it has become unbearable to wear.

Then, Viktor rips the necklace free...

The chain snaps and falls away, the small orange pendant striking the ground beside him, and the sound that follows him is unlike any of them has ever heard before...

It tears from his throat in a roar that shakes the air itself, deep and resonant and filled with something ancient that makes every hair on Alina's arms rise despite the poison in her veins. Magnus snaps his head back in confusion before he realises what is happening, forcing him to take a few steps back as he watches what happens to Viktor...

A red and orange aura begins to form around him, faint at first and then brighter, heat rolling outward in waves that push against the cool air of the forest.

Alina stares, unable to look away, confusion colliding with awe as Viktor pushes himself to his feet, the wound in his side suddenly closing before her eyes as if it never existed, blood drying and disappearing as skin knits itself whole. 

His eyes are closed the entire time... but by the time he opens them...

They are glowing bright orange...