Fate Dark Side of Betrayer

 "Fall down! "Just as a blade cut through the air above my head, Caius yelled and she pushed me to the ground.

 The sound of steel on steel boomed across the area as Caius attacked the closest assailant; his motions were swift and exact despite the weight of the treachery hanging between us. As I staggered to my feet and reached for my blade, my heart hammered. The shadows were alive around us, individuals sprinting in and out of the night with masks hiding their features.

 "You brought this on us," I said to Caius as I parried a blow, the weight of my wrath driving every stroke. Your falsehoods. your secrets.

 "Not the time, Arden," he said, slicing across the defences of an assailant. Unless you would want to hammer this out while we are dead.

 It was difficult to think among the anarchy, the collision of weapons and yells of our attackers merging into a cacophony. With every second, the symbol on my wrist burned hotter, its light throbbing in sync with my accelerating heart. Though I could feel something raw and wild inside me, I didn't have time to concentrate on it—not with death squarely upon us from all directions.

 Elara battled beside me, her lethal and erratic motions sending one opponent after another down. She yelled, "We're outnumbered," her voice stiff and forced. We must retreat!""

 "where? "I responded with a yell. We are encircled! „

 Then build a way! She snapped, slicing across still another assailant.

 The intolerable heat from the sigil travelled up my arm and into my chest. Clutching at it, I tripped as a pulse of adrenaline shot through me left me gasping and shaking.

 "Ar Den! "Caius's voice sliced through the fog, keen with concern. "What is occurring? «

 My words stuck in my mouth as another rush of energy surged through me, stronger this time. The world blurring, the noises of the conflict receding into the background as the symbol burned more brilliantly than ever.

 Then everything blew apart.

 The light shot from me in a blinding wave, pushing everyone—friend as well as opponent—backward. Its force pushed me to my knees; the ground under me shook and burned. The clearing was eerily calm when the light went out; the attackers lay unconscious or worse on the ground.

 My chest heaving, I dropped my hands down. They shone weakly, the same light that had flowed from the symbol now coursed through my blood vessels. Power erupted within me, wild and untamed, and its intensity made me both thrilled and afraid.

 "What... was that? My voice shook as I murmured.

 Pulling himself to his feet and limping toward me, Caius recovered first. "Arden, are you okay? His voice tinged with worry as he asked.

 I stared at my shining hands and said, "I'm not sure." "I intended not to—"

 "You didn't just mean to," Elara said, her voice stern as she walked forward. "You awoke."

 awakened what? I insisted, my frustration and anxiety pouring over. "What else is happening to me?""

 She replied, staring at the sigil, "the mark." "It serves more than only a guide." One finds power in this source. You just unlocked it as well.

 Her words weight dropped over me, and I shook my head attempting to make sense of it. My voice shaking, I added, "I didn't ask for this." "I was not interested in any of this."

 "No one ever does," Elara remarked with a lower voice now. But Arden, you own this power. And failing to learn to control it will ruin you.

 Her comments struck me like a blow, but before I could reply, one of the attackers groaned and broke the stillness. On them, Caius was swift, his dagger pressing to their throat.

 "Who dispatched you? His voice frigid and menacing, he demanded.

 As the assailant battled to talk, they coughed and blood stained their lips. They rasped, "The Circle." They are aware of... concerning her strength.

 I felt a cold, then looked at Caius. "They understood this would happen," I remarked softly. They had been waiting for it.

 "That means they'll come for you again," he warned with a grim look. And the next time they won't send scouts.

 Already gathering her belongings, Elara remarked, "We need to move." "Right now."

 The trip away from the area was uncomfortable; the weight of the attack and my newly acquired power felt like a physical force down on us. Caius lingered near; his presence infuriated as well as reassured. The remembrance of the power I had released kept me back even though I wanted to scream at him, demand answers about the secrets he was still holding.

 He murmured softly as we strolled, "You cannot run from this." "Not anymore."

 "I'm not running," I said quickly. "I am surviving." One differs.

 Does there exist? With a harsh tone, he questioned. "Based on where I stand, you seem to be doing everything you could to escape confronting the truth."

 By evening fall, we arrived at the brink of the forest and set up camp behind the cover of a rocky outcrop. As we sat around the fire, the strain between us simmered, silent but weighty.

 "What happens right now? "At last, shattering the stillness, I inquired.

 Elara looked at me, her face inscrutable. "You learn now to regulate your power. Because if you ignore it, the next time it takes us all could die.

 Her comments made me shiver; I looked down at my hands and could still see a faint glow under my skin. The idea of losing control and of hurting the people close to me was almost intolerable.

 Caous moved next to me, his eyes softening. "You are not alone in this," he murmured softly. We'll sort things out. In concert.

Though the weight of his secrets still hung between us and seemed in surmount, I wanted to believe him. "I hope you're right," I murmured quietly. Right now, I feel as though I'm barely hanging on.

 The insignia on my wrist blazed once again before he could react, sending a wave of agony through me double-over. Their words far away as the world exploded around me, Elara and Caius hurried to my side.

 A voice chilly and familiar rang in my head through the blur. "Arden, the power is merely starting point. Still to come comes the true test.

The agony stopped, and as the vision darkened I gasped for air. Elara's gloomy face matched her tightening hold on my arm. "They're coming," she said. They won't stop until they have you as well.