[Crimson Aegis removed from Iory.]

  The wyvern’s jaws smash into the shield, crushio the ground.

  The Aegis’s sce bursts into my mind at the same moment, briefly looking about in fusion. We’ve moved again! Where are—Oh! That’s a lot of teeth. Is it time for anht?

  “Endure!” I cry. Magic fshes over the surface of the shield as the spell activates.

  The reaper strikes again, its teeth skipping over the surface of the shield. This time, the blow isn’t nearly as strong, and as the creature draws back, perplexed by my sudden protective shell, I use the opportunity to scramble to my feet.

  “Repel!”

  The shield shimmers once more with magic as the spell takes hold. I think I’ve got about ten minutes for both of these spells; assuming I don’t use multiple Repels, or burn through all of it in a handful of seds with Devour. Ten minutes is a long time to be in a fight, so hopefully things will be over before then—and hopefully in a way that favors me.

  The wyvern’s head swings from side to side, and it begins to stalk around me as if to search for a better angle. I turn with it, keeping the shield between me and the beast.

  That spell you did when we first fought the murder cactus, I say to the Aegis. Blood Ward. you do that again?

  It do anything! It is the powerful Crimson Aegis.

  How enlightening. Echo, how does Blood Ward work? I ask, trying to remember the details. It didn’t use my mana, right?

  [Affirmative,] Echo says. [Rather than needing mana to activate, the ability requires the shield to have retly ed a volume of blood. The amount of blood is proportional to the strength and duration of the attack.]

  I grimace. I’d really love to not have to make any more donations to the Aegis on that front. Didn’t you drink blood from that Moonfall agent that we k… that we defeated?

  The Aegis firms this. But that was so long ago! It could use some of the blood it absorbed, but it prefers something more fresh.

  That was only two days ago, I say. And besides you’ve been in the Iory most of that time. Does that even t?

  The Aegis scoffs. A mighty shield deserves a respectable blood sacrifice.

  I blow out a breath. I don’t even know why I try.

  The wyvern snaps at me, and I duck away, keeping low behind the Aegis. It quickly pivots the other way, trying to e at me from behind, but the shield’s double visios me keep track of it, and I keep the Aegis carefully between us. The creature lets out a rumbling growl, then rears up on its hind legs. For a moment, it towers over me, its wings blotting out the stars. Then es down oh all its weight.

  Uh oh.

  The blow sends me to my khudding to the sand as it bashes into me. With its cwed wings still pressing on the front of my shield, it es its neck around the side.

  Double uh oh.

  “Devour!” The shield’s third spell activates much to the Aegis’s delight, and the Wyvern hisses, reeling back as the shield burns at its skin like acid. It didn’t have time to do much damage, I note, but at least it was enough to startle the beast and give me room to breathe. I g my mana.

  [Mana: 36/50]

  I’m doing okay so far. It should be enough to defeat this creature. Will it be enough mana for all the other wyverns, though?

  The animal snaps at me again, and I deflect the blow, its mouth sizzling against the Aegis’s still-active Devour. I tio retreat as it stalks after me, and soon I find myself among the rocks.

  How many blows has it nded? Is it enough for Repel to do anything? Maybe if I focused it, like I did with the seurder cactus. That’s got to be worth a shht?

  The wyvern keeps me on my toes by snapping at the air between us. I direct the Aegis to focus the Repel bst like it did before.

  What, already? The shield is a bit disappointed. It hasn’t been very long at all sihis fight started! When will it see a real challenge?

  “This is plenty challenging as it is,” I grumble. “And I don’t need you jinxing it, thank you very much.”

  I wait, taking careful aim as the Aegis follows my dires. It’s se. I feel it there in my mind, like a hand on my shoulder. And I feel it looking through me, just like how I look through it. It’s following my gaze. It sees where I want to fire.

  The Wyvern snaps toward me again, mouth wide, teeth gleaming in the moonlight.

  “Now!”

  The Repel bsts straight down its throat. The reaper doesn’t even vulse or scream. It just falls over, like the shock to its system was just too much. Dead in an instant.

  Victory! The shield’s mental celebration at the bloodshed fills me with disfort. But it seems oblivious to my mood: the Aegis could fight these things all day! No foe stand against it.

  Meanwhile, my stomach twists as I look down at the dead beast with a sting ret and remorse. Somehow, killing this animal feels worse than the cactus monster. I don’t want to be a killer. But rationally, I know it’s life or death, and I don’t have time to be having a moral crisis.

  I turn and race through the sandstones. Echo hasn’t mentioned my Role Requireme, so hopefully that means Quell ran somewhere safe.

  I break through two pilrs of stone and out into an opening where a battle is taking pce. There are four wyver, all engaged in bat with Darian awo soldiers, Ear and Xamireb. They’re clustered together in the middle while the wyverns circle and snap at them. They returacks with stabs and sshes of their own ons, though not many nd. My heart jumps when I catch sight of a dead star drake on the ground nearby, its blood spilled over the sand. At least Quell is nowhere in sight.

  Activating a new Repel, I try to sneak up on the reapers from behind. I’m able to get closer than I would have expected, but my attempt at subterfuge quickly ends when one of their shing tails flicks the wrong way and crashes into my shield. That gets its attention. The wyvern rounds oh a hiss.

  Instead of bag off, I race forward, ting on Devour to do some damage before this wyvern learns to be wary of the Aegis.

  The reaper snaps at me, its teeth skidding over the Aegis as I leverage the shield up over my head and duck beh its neck. I stab the shield upward, and though it’s ly desigo be used like a sword, the Devour spell on it mao do some damage anyway. Its neck sizzles, and the wyvern screams, its cry pierg the night and stabbing through my ears. It thrashes to get away from me, several blows striking iively against the shield—and then nds one very effective blow to my legs. I’m swept off my feet before I even know what’s hit me.

  I nd on my back, all the air punched out of my lungs. As my chest remembers how to gasp in a breath, I brace the shield above me, tug my head and legs beh it just in time for arike to nd.

  [Mainguished. Endure spell expired. Devour spell expired.]

  Oh, crap.

  The blow that nds rattles my teeth. At least Repel is an up-front cost, so I still have o attack left, if I time it properly. The shield smashes down on top of me as another hit nds, and my braced arms barely keep the Aegis from crashing into my face.

  Okay, think, think. I’ve got one good bst. I could kill another one of these guys the same way I did st one, but then I’ll be all out of attacks. Best bet is to get to Darian and the others and help be their literal shield as they do all the stabby stuff. That means I should go with a wide area-of-effect bst: shove all the wyverns away, then run to the soldiers troup.

  I take another couple of hits, waiting until my arms have about turo jelly, before deg I ’t take much more. I guess I’ll just have to hope the Repel is suffitly charged. I ready myself for the mad dash. Here we go.

  The spell bsts from the shield just as the wyvern is rearing back to leap on top of me. It blows that one sky-high, and it catches the others in their sides, sending them tumbling to the sand. I stagger to my feet and start to dash toward Darian and pany. They’re all staring at me in shock. Well most of them are. Darian is looking above me. She points, and starts to shout something. I look up.

  The wyvern I’d blown into the air has, apparently, decided to just fall right back down on top of me. Well, shit.

  I have enough time to swing the Aegis overhead before it crashes into me, and then I’m smashed into the ground like a pancake.

  [21 points of Bludgeoning damage sustained.]

  My bad chest are on fire. It feels like lightning is running through my right arm. I struggle to move, but I’m pressed ft, helpless, with an overwhelming pressure crushio the sand. It feels like my ribs are going to crack.

  The Aegis looks around with slight boredom. So, should it use that Blood Ward now?

  “Baaah?!” is about as close as I get to, “What?!” You’ve been able to do that the whole time? I thought you said you needed fresh blood.

  The Aegis prefers fresh blood. It deserves it! …But yes it does still have some stored from the fight with the soldiers.

  Oh my god. Remio rust anything this rusty lump of metal says ever again. Do it! I cry. Freaking do it!

  [Blood Ward activated.]

  The Aegis acts immediately. Thin wires of blood ssh out from the surface of the shield, cutting lines across the wyvern on top of us. The creature yelps in surprise, blood dripping from its wounds as it flutters back. The weight on top of me lifts, and I pull in a deep, painful breath.

  Yay, blood! The Aegis absorbs the st drops that had fallen onto it from the wyvern.

  Yeah, great, yay. I push myself upright, groaning as every bone in my body screams in protest. I don’t think my arm is broken, but it’s at least sprained. Now put that blood to some use. We’ve got four of these guys to worry about.

  Speaking of which, two of them are already ing at me. I pnt the shield between me and the ohen goward the sed. But Aegis is already keeping it at bay with whips of blood, the beast g out and hissing as ssh marks appear on its face. The first rams into my shield, and I go staggering to the side. Damn, I didn’t realize how much I’d been relying on Endure. Nothing I do about it now: I just o finish this fast.

  As the Aegis’s whips drive back the sed wyvern, I charge toward the first, leaning my shoulder into its attack. It backs up at my abrupt advance, fring its wings as I race toward it. When I don’t back down, it drops on top of me, trying to hook its wings around my shield like a f to pry open a turtle. I brace myself ahe shield back, but it keeps its cws hooked around the Aegis. It es its head over the top, mouth snapping open and down toward me.

  I flinch as its maw strikes my bad then tumbles away, the severed head rolling across the ground.

  The Aegis radiates pride. It’s much more effective in close bat. See what happens to anything that dares to get so close?!

  The blood sprays across both of us as the severed neck of the reaper fils once before crashing to the ground.

  The smell hits me, and I gasp in a breath. My mouth salivates. It’s intoxig. I’m overe with an intense pang of hunger. I instinctively lick my lips, and the wyvern’s blood zings ay taste buds like liquid lightning.

  [Status Effect: Bloodlust.]

  [Sanity Level: 96%]

  Wait, no. No, not now! There are people nearby.

  But the effect is electrifying my limbs anyway, and the Crimson Aegis rejoices in my mind. See? Now I uand its cravings. Blood is nothing to fear—it gives us power! Power we use to bee unstoppable.

  I shake my head. “No. I don’t want it.” My bones feel like they’re buzzing, my muscles teh pent up energy. The desire to move—to expend all this restless energy—to fight, and win, and drink more blood is nearly overwhelming me. My mind is fogging. It’s hard to think about anything else.

  [Sanity level: 93%]

  The Aegis whips its blood toward the wyvern, but the creature is too far away, and the shield’s blood is too thin to do any real damage. I try to take a steadying breath, but the fumes of the dead wyvern’s blood only make my head spin even more. Maybe I use this. Maybe it help me finish the fight.

  [Sanity Level: 87%]

  Even as I have the thought, my resistance crumbles, and I leap toward the wyvern. My jump is more powerful than it should be. The Aegis feels lighter. I’m filled with exhiration as strength floods through me.

  We e down on the wyvern’s wing, and it screams as bones break. It bites toward me, and I block with Aegis, and then the shield is biting back. Lines of blood stab into the wyvern, and it shudders as it tries to escape. But the Aegis is drawing blood bato it, making it stronger, and somehow through our bond, I feel strooo.

  [Sanity level: 83%]

  I sm the Crimson Aegis down onto its neck, and then it stops fighting. Two down, two to go. I brush my hand over its corpse and p up the blood that stains my fingers. I shiver as bliss radiates through me. I need more.

  The other two wyverns are still in bat with Darian and her soldiers, so we race toward them . And I really mean race. My feet fly over the sand. Everything feels easy. Trivial. Fun.

  I grab one of the wyvern’s tails, which squawks in surprise as I yank it back. It attempts to ssh at me with the one of its wings, but I catch that oh the shield, and then in the moment both tail and cw are severed as the Aegis swirls a razor of red around us. Blood spills over my hands, and I lick it away, filling my mind with ecstasy. It’s like the clearest, est water I’ve ever tasted, and I’m dying of thirst, desperate for more. As the creature screams and staggers, I catch sight of Darian’s soldiers staring at me in terror. Their faces are so absurd, it makes me ugh.

  [Sanity Level: 79%]

  The world starts to blur. I use the Aegis like a baseball bat when the wyvern strikes , the like a hammer to smash its head into the ground. I attack the other reaper , and it’s not long before that one’s down, too. Echo’s voice flickers through my mind, saying something about a level up, and warmth and rerength flood through me, erasing my injuries.

  I look for more eo fight. The Aegis urges me on. We need more of a challenge. We need more victories! My gaze nds on Darian. She doesn’t look afraid. Her eyes are narrowed, her sword raised. Now there’s someone who isn’t afraid of a fight. I take a step forward.

  “Wait!”

  My head snaps in the dire of the void I raise my shield, already halfway through swinging it at the figure rag for me before I realize who it is.

  [Role Requirement,] the voice bursts through my mind like a swarm of s. [The Knight must protect the Prince.] I wince from the mental sting, staying the shield before I strike Quell into the ground.

  [Sanity Level: 75%]

  “Wait,” Quell says again, fling far too te at my aborted attack. He raises a cautious hand to the shield aly pushes it away. “We’re do’s over. There’s nothio fight.”

  “Prince Quell, get away from them!” Ear shouts. “They’re dangerous.”

  “Not to me,” Quell assures them. “It’ll be okay. Right, Nye?”

  I struggle to force my way through the stati my head. I try t my thoughts into focus through the high. I ch my teeth and knuckle my forehead, as if I could push the sensation out.

  “It’s the Bloodlust,” I mao gasp out.

  “I know,” Quell says. “We help.” He hesitates, turning to Darian. “We help, right?”

  The Aegis revolts against this thought. No! Why stop now? We are amassing such strength! We don’t have to let this end. If we drink the blood of these beasts, then we grow even stronger, and take on even mightier foes!

  “I don’t want to take on mightier foes,” I growl. The energy is building in me again, desperate to be released. My skin tingles and I tense, readying to—to do what? I o fight something. I o get rid of this restless feeling.

  “I help,” Darian says, stalking over to me. “I teach you how to end a Bloodlust.”

  I sch my fingers into my palms, pointed nails stabbing into my skin as I resist the urge to reach out and grab her. I take in a shaky breath. I am in trol. I am in trol. I look up at the Captain. “How?”

  By that point, her gau-covered fist is only an inch from my temple. The punch smashes into my head as paihrough my skull, the world fshes white, and thehing fades to bck.