SAGE (under edit)

Chapter Forty Six - Together

Another bolt of lightning lit the sky, and Bryce's looming figure was silhouetted by the pale blue-white light. His gaze flicked over her head, to the depths of the ocean below the hole in the footbridge and he said, 'Well, shall I let you drown or kill you first?'

Sage's throat was on fire, and already she was beginning to grow dizzy from not breathing, her vision turning dark at the edges. She thought of using the last of her Kyra to ignite a Kyra-blade, but she knew it would send her into complete Kyra exhaustion.

'Or,' Bryce continued, and as soon as Sage felt his grip loosen she drew in a desperate, gulping breath despite the pain it caused her bruised and swollen throat. 'Or I should watch you suffer before I end your life.'

Sage didn't even attempt to suppress her scream as Bryce inflicted his Kyra-induced torture through his hands that still touched her neck, but even her scream was coarse as it scratched through her injured throat.

And then Bryce tightened his grip again, and any sound she made was cut short. He stopped the torment though, his smirk widening his scarred lips, and Sage forced the blackness away from the edges of her vision. She didn't let her eyes leave Bryce's; didn't let him have the satisfaction of her pain.

But from the corner of her eye she saw a handgun beneath his soaking jacket, hidden in its holster under his arm. The moment where Bryce had given her a handgun to shoot Leon flashed in front of her eyes, and she realised the handgun he still held was the other's twin.

So Sage released one hand from Bryce's wrist and reached under his jacket, keeping hold of his gaze that was clouded by sheer malice. She pulled the gun from its holster – and then one of Bryce's hands suddenly snapped away from her throat and caught her wrist, pinning it to the ground so the handgun dropped just out of her reach.

Bryce's smirk widened as he said, 'Almost.'

And it was that arrogance that banished Sage's fear of exhausting her Kyra, and had her releasing her last Kyra -blade in a sudden surge of violet fire that she slashed toward Bryce. She saw the surprise flash across his face and he let go of her throat, reeling back just in time to avoid his own throat being sliced open by her Blade, but not quickly enough to avoid the heat of her Kyra that scorched his chest.

Bryce stumbled off Sage, freeing her chest so she could sit up but as she did so the world seemed to spin around her from a sudden spell of dizziness. She could hardly swallow or breathe around her swollen, tender throat but she pressed her hands to the stone beneath her and willed the world to steady.

Bryce let out a frustrated sound and lunged toward her again, but Sage threw herself to the side before he could pin her a second time and she snatched Bryce's gun up off the ground. She felt him reach for her from behind but Sage spun around – and fired.

Bryce froze, the animosity slipping from his expression as realisation came to him. His eyes dropped to his chest where a dark patch of blood began to blossom beneath his sodden white shirt, and Sage's arms shook with the effort to keep the handgun raised.

'A bullet,' said Bryce, almost in disbelief.

And then Sage lowered her handgun, stepped forward, and slammed her foot into Bryce's chest. He reached out instinctively to try and grab her as he fell back, but he grasped only air before his feet scraped the edge of the broken bridge, and he dropped into the water below.

Sage collapsed to her knees, both with relief and exhaustion. Her entire body began to shake in response to the lack of Kyra she had in her body and the chill from the rain, the wind, and the pain from her injuries crashed over her all at the same time.