He darted out of the way of each successive ball, flitting through the air and then laughing as he bathed Killian in a sudden cascade of fire.
Glancing down at his hands, Killian saw that only half of the runes on his skin still glowed brightly, the rest starting to dim. Drawing on the skills he’d learned fighting wraiths on the nightmare world of Shar, he clapped his hands together and sent a wave of concussive air toward Sentar, tossing his opponent back through the air. Sentar righted himself, and Killian saw Sentar’s runes had also dimmed, but Killian had made fewer strikes.
The difference in their skill was apparent. Sentar was the more experienced fighter.
Sentar shouted a sequence and opened his palms. A vertical sheet of black energy filled the air, and with a pushing motion, Sentar sent the sheet forward. Killian warded it with his palms in the way Evrin had shown him, scattering the sizzling black energy around him.
Killian decided to gain height and spread out his arms, shooting into the sky. But Sentar was there to meet him, and this time both men held one palm to create a defensive shield and pointed their other hand to launch twisting spirals of fire. Killian’s red fire splashed against Sentar’s shield while the Lord of the Night’s blue fire cascaded against Killian’s own barrier.
Both men chanted, and Killian’s brow furrowed with concentration, matching Sentar’s own expression of intense absorption.
Killian’s shield started to thin as it pushed back closer to his body. He felt heat begin to reach through to his skin, at first with a sensation of discomfort and then shifting to burning pain. Killian’s shirt began to smoke. Sentar’s face grew triumphant.
The battle was similar to a sword fight, the spirals of fire like piercing blades. Remembering Miro’s training back in the Azure Plains, Killian moved his arms and turned side on, feeling immediate relief as his body presented a smaller target.
But the relief was momentary, and Killian knew he had to do better or he would die.
Recalling his own training as an acrobat, Killian dropped his attack, and even as Sentar brought his other hand forward to launch a second blast of blue fire, Killian shot up again into the air. He poured all of his power into speed, performing a complete loop in the sky to come up behind his opponent and crash into Sentar’s back.
The breath shot out of Sentar’s chest as Killian wrapped his arms around Sentar from behind and began to squeeze. Robbed of his ability to chant, Sentar grunted, and Killian sent a wave of lightning across his body. He saw the runes on the back of Sentar’s neck dim and then one symbol after another fade altogether.
Killian squeezed with every ounce of his lore-enhanced strength. But rather than having Sentar by the neck, he only had him around the chest, and the strength it required for him to hold on was taking its toll on Killian’s own runes.
He saw several symbols on his arms fade.
Sentar took a deep, gasping breath and spat out a series of activations. Sentar’s body lit up like a flame, and Killian screamed as his arms burned. Killian could no longer hold on, and Sentar kicked out, sending him tumbling through the sky.
Killian’s training once more saved him as he corrected his wild spin, and both palms came up to ward off the next assault. As lines of energy shot from Sentar’s hands, Killian chanted to keep the defensive field up, but once more felt it pushed back as still more runes faded, and now barely a third of the symbols on Killian’s body still glowed.
Sentar met Killian’s level as he kept up the relentless attack, streams of blue fire pouring from his palms. Killian saw his enemy’s dead eyes regard him with disdain, and he knew he was finished.
Killian felt a sudden lurch as the power to stay in the sky left him.
The drop took them both by surprise. Killian rolled and twisted as he plummeted down to meet the city below, his arms and legs scrabbling at the air.
Looking down, he saw he was somewhere between the city and the harbor. In the space of a heartbeat, the wooden docks came up to meet him with incredible speed.
At the last instant Killian gasped a series of activations and instead of crashing through the docks, he smashed hard into the wood, bouncing and rolling along the surface as agonizing pain filled his senses. Rising to his hands and knees, Killian shook his head and took in the scene.
Fire raged on a nearby shipyard, threatening to take hold of the city if it caught onto the next building. A Tingaran soldier directed a chain of people with buckets to fight the blaze, but his astonished eyes were now on Killian.
The soldier ran toward his emperor.
“No,” Killian choked. “Go. Run.”