Nighttime Encounters - Chapter 19
Before she knew it, Kaiden had leaped high, wielding the fiery sword and swinging it towards Trinity. His downward strike was powerful enough to engulf Trinity.
“Don’t you dare take your eyes off me,” he said.
Instinctively, Trinity tightened her grip on the chain of the necklace she held in her hand, pulling it taut and thrusting it towards the blade. The moment the sword touched the chain, Trinity tilted it diagonally, allowing the sword to slide through.
Sching—
The flame sword emitted a strong metallic friction as it slid along the chain, sparks flying as steel clashed against steel.
“Did I seem that easy?” he taunted.
She managed to dodge the first blow, but before Trinity had a chance to catch her breath, a second attack followed. She was too physically weak to withstand the forceful downward strike from above. She used the chain to block the sword, but struggled to endure the powerful impact and staggered backward.
All the while, Trinity twisted her body and instinctively kicked up a gust of wind. The swirling sand, carried by the fierce wind, grazed against Kaiden’s skin. Kaiden, driven by his downward momentum, showed no signs of halting even amidst the gust.
“Gotcha.” Kaiden grinned in triumph as he grabbed Trinity’s slender wrist.
It was an attack meant for this very moment. Kaiden surged forward—an assault aimed at capturing the moment she gathered her magic around her. Absorbing power, analyzing spells, gauging abilities, and seeking to unveil her identity—all within this attack.
Kaiden wore a triumphant smile, catching Trinity as she crashed to the ground. “That’s right, you should have kept your eyes on me.”
But the moment of victory was fleeting. Just as he was about to grab Trinity’s wrist and pull her to her feet, a hard jolt to the shin knocked Kaiden off balance.
“Ugh!”
The two tumbled to the ground in a wild tangle. The earth shook under the force of their collision. Fire and wind quickly dispersed, and a fiery white cloud of dust rose from the darkness, a lingering afterglow of magic.
An eerie silence fell, and as the dust thinned, the two entangled figures became faintly visible.
“Haah,” Kaiden let out a ragged breath.
He pushed himself halfway to his feet, his hands gripping the ground. Beneath him, Trinity was heaving and breathing hard. Hot and ragged breath escaped her slightly parted crimson lips. Their noses were close enough to touch that the breath she exhaled caught Kaiden’s inhale and seeped into his lungs.
His head felt dizzy, as if oxygen wasn’t properly reaching his brain. No recollection surfaced of how they attacked or defended themselves. Only instinct kept him alive, and he drew in a sharp breath.
“I’d say it’s audacious.” Kaiden looked down at Trinity trapped beneath his arms and gasped for breath.
Unlike the bold demeanor she had displayed in her counterattack, Trinity’s body was small and delicate enough to fit snugly in his embrace. The moment he met her dark eyes, wide with surprise, Kaiden tightened his arms involuntarily. Thick sinews bulged in his arms as he struggled to keep himself from collapsing onto her.
“I’d say it’s remarkable.”
His opposite hand, not touching the ground, cradled Trinity’s head. The palm held her soft hair, while the back of the hand was in contact with the harsh wintry chill of the ground.
Trinity shuddered as she squeezed his hand, the sensation unfamiliar but not unwelcome.
Kaiden’s hand trembled with hers.
“Perhaps, it might be both,” Kaiden admitted cleanly.
The audacity to counterattack without missing a beat while falling to the ground, coupled with the agility to handle others using their own magic—a testament to both her daring and remarkable adaptability. Trinity was bold and brilliant, enough to take the breath away from Kaiden, who had never faltered in the face of all manner of demons.
“But why?”
Acknowledging Trinity’s skill only intensified his curiosity.
“Why would someone this capable go around stealing?”
Her prowess was excessively remarkable for someone lurking in darkness. She was skilled enough to shine even in the light, so why hide in the shadows?
“And then why go around beating up street thugs like some kind of apostle of justice?”
It was a behavior that made no logical sense to Kaiden. The more he thought, the more bewildering it became.
Doubts about Trinity began to consume Kaiden.
“What’s your motive?”
Trinity’s eyes narrowed fiercely as Kaiden stammered out his questions. Sensing Trinity’s sudden change in demeanor, Kaiden felt a sense of alarm, but it was already too late.
If she had launched a magical attack, Kaiden would have swiftly absorbed and neutralized the magic. However, Trinity cleverly used the necklace chain to coil around Kaiden’s wrist. As she tugged on the chain, his arms buckled as he gripped the ground.
“Ugh.”
As Kaiden’s balance faltered and left an opening, Trinity swiftly took advantage of his and rolled her body skillfully to escape his grasp.
