Alex's wish was granted since the assault on the palace began after the sun had fully warmed the ground. As the blazing sun rose high in the sky, Alex's heart beat with exhilaration as he watched the Anolis females launch their assault on the palace.

Since she and Rile had been deemed of no use by the revolutionaries, they were free to observe from behind the ranks of warriors as arrows flew over their heads and swords clanged against shields.

Anolis revolutionaries advanced with ladders to climb the walls and a battalion of the Kuni's soldiers marched out of the palace to meet them. The lack of catapults and siege towers surprised Alex. She chalked it up to the Anolis' weird sense of honor since they loved one-on-one combat.

Alex's eyes blazed with determination as she spoke. She held Rile's hand tight, the urgency of her plan palpable in the air. "Let's fly straight into the palace," she said, "Fire truck these Anolis females. We'll leave them behind."

But Rile shook his head no, tugging at her arm with his free hand "No, wait," he warned. "Let the front line penetrate the palace first. The revolutionaries inside will attack, creating chaos and drawing the Kuni's forces away from the palace gates. Then we can enter while they're busy, confront the Kuni, and free Gabe and Cale."

As the rebels charged forward, Alex soared into the sky with Rile at her side for aerial reconnaissance. Then they would dive down to fight at strategic locations. Despite the chaos and danger around them, Alex couldn't help but steal glances at Rile. He was breathtakingly handsome with angular features, muscular arms, and piercing eyes that seemed to glow. She forced herself to focus on the task at hand, but her mind kept drifting back to him.

The sword's arc kept them apart as they dealt with individual enemies when necessary, but they always had each other's backs. The sound of clashing metal echoed across the field, punctuated by screams and roars.

"Alex, duck!" A roundhouse swing from Rile's sword whipped over her head and she knew instinctively to duck.

Where had that Anolis warrior come from?

Alex cautiously stood back up, heart racing as she scanned her surroundings.

Rile scolded her. "Pay attention. Now up." Rile held out his hand and she took him aloft. "The revolutionaries have entered the palace. Let's go."

She flew him there, arrows from both armies bouncing off her slipstream.

Fire truck Anolis females, all of them.

Rile pointed to the courtyard below, where they could hear the hisses and roars of battling reptiles. "Land me there, but you stay airborne," he said, and Alex complied.

Her face a mask of determination, Alex drew her sword and dove straight at a line of palace guards. Alex's flying slice carved on their chests in an instant; her slipstream dulling the blade but imparting considerable force to its attack. Blood trailed in her wake as she continued her onslaught, leaving a macabre path.

Finally, Rile shouted for her to enter the palace building. She gracefully swooped down and grabbed his outstretched hand, effortlessly lifting him into the air.

"Let's fly to the royal harem," Rile said.

"Good thinking." Alex speed-burst and they were around the corner from the harem entrance.

They both peeked around to see the heavy, ornately carved door to the harem. It stood alone in a long hall that had been built without windows, and only two guards stood at the door.

"Only two guards, probably because the fighting is too heavy to spare more," Rile whispered. "You take one. I'll take the other. Attack together."

"How about a speed-burst attack? I'm not in the mood to play fair," Alex said.

"This is war, Alex, not some contest. Speed-burst it is."

Alex held out her left hand so Rile shifted his sword to his left hand to hold her hand.

"I'm trusting your slipstream to add force to my attack," Rile said. "I gotta practice left-handed from now on."

They shot forward in her slipstream and hit the Anolis females like an oncoming train. Their green bodies flew through the air and crashed against the far wall while Alex braked her slipstream to stop at the end of the hall.

"That's how it's done by a mammal," Alex said. "A really angry one."

Rile switched his sword to his right hand. "By two angry Guardians. Take their swords please, Alex. The palace harem might need them."

Alex did so and walked back to the harem entrance. She called out, "It's me, Alex," while cautiously opening the heavy door. She didn't want to be brained by a scared male. Her heart leapt in her chest when she heard the scratch of claws against stone and saw a line of glinting black eyes watching her.

"Alex." Kress came up. "We've been evacuating by the back route as quickly as we dared."

Rile looked over his head into the chamber. "Any trouble at the exit? There could be an ambush."

"Not that I know of, but it is slow as the tunnel is very narrow. We think that the palace guards are too busy fighting the revolutionaries to care about the tunnel," Kress answered.

"Here." Rile handed him the swords of the two guards. "Can you bar the door? Don't open to anyone but me, my brothers, or Alex."

"Don't worry, we won't. Your brothers are in the Kuni's private harem. The entrance is behind her throne. I don't know if the Kuni loses, if she'll bring them with her or execute them," Kress said.

Rile braced for the speed-burst as Alex grabbed his hand. The throne room was a tornado of fighting bodies and spinning blades.

"No Kuni," Rile said. "But there's the door to the private harem."

"I'm smashing through it," Alex said. "You coming or you fighting?"

"I'm with you."

"Speed-burst it is," Alex said and she flew straight at the door.

The door splintered into a thousand pieces under the strength and speed of Alex's slipstream. She skidded to a stop just in time for him and Rile to bring their swords up, but saw only the backs of Anolis warriors as they scrambled out of a side door. Without a second thought, Alex started to run after them.

"Alex! Don't! My brothers come first!" Rile yelled, his voice echoing off the stone walls.

Gabe and Cale were kneeling on the cold stone floor, their necks encased in a heavy metal choke collar that was connected to manacles around their wrists. Both wrists were chained together behind their backs and then to the manacles on their ankles. With any struggling would come the risk of choking themselves with the collar. Rile towered over Gabe, who averted his gaze and exposed his neck.

"Rile! What are you doing?" Alex grabbed his arm. "Don't kill him!"

Rile's eyes bugged out, and he stared at her. "You think I'd kill Gabe?"

"Uhm." Alex dropped her hand. "What are you doing, then? Those are metal restraints. We'll dull our blades and it won't work."

"These are Guardian swords," Rile said with patience. "They'll cut through metal easily. Watch." In one swift motion, he swept the sword downwards and the metal collar dropped to the ground, cut cleanly in half. He winked at Alex.

"Show-off," Gabe said. "Just cut the rest of these chains."

Rile bowed theatrically. "You're welcome, Perfect Eldest Brother. Alex, you do the honors on my not-so-grateful brother's chains. I'll cut Cale free."

"Uhm, I don't have your strength." Alex backed away. "Or your skill. I'd probably chop off his hand."

"Rile, cut these chains now," Gabe ordered.

"Say please." Rile flashed a mischievous smirk.

Gabe hiss-growled deep in his chest.

"Please, can we focus?" Cale pleaded from the other corner and Alex rushed to him. He smiled up at her. "Try sawing my chains with your Guardian sword, please." At her hesitation, he smiled encouragingly. "Just try. Go slowly if you're worried."

Alex touched the tip of her blade to the chains between his hands. An electric blue light flashed from the sword tip, and the chain began to sizzle and smoke as it melted away from the sword's heat.

"Cale!" Alex screamed, as blue flames erupted from the chains, and a thick cloud of black smoke billowed up. The pungent smell of burning metal stung her nose just before the comforting smell of a campfire overtook it. Cale stood and lifted his arms in front of him, inspecting them.

"I'm okay," he said. "I thought I felt the taint of the Adversary on these chains.:

"I wanna do that!" Rile touched his sword to Gabe's chains and the flames and smoke started their dance. "Why didn't it do that before?"

Gabe rubbed his neck and wrists. "Because you're a show-off, all that dramatic posing to cut off my collar."

Before Rile could reply, a bright glow filled the room and two swords appeared suspended in mid-air between Gabe and Cale.

Alex's eyes widened in surprise before frustration edged into her expression. "Why couldn't they have appeared before?"

       "Guardian swords cannot be captured," Cale said as he took his sword from the air. He turned it over, inspecting the blade for flaws, then returned his gaze to the enchanted chains. "They won't reappear until we're able to use them. I suspect it was the magic of the chains that kept them away."

Alex leaned close to Cale and whispered, "Are you okay? Did those miserable Anolis females—"

Cale patted her hand and smiled. "Don't worry. Deela was shrewd and transferred us here this morning. Cla agreed, since she didn't want to share Gabe. The Kuni didn't have time for anything before the battle started."

"Then I'm off. I've a Kuni to catch."

"Stay," Gabe ordered. "I must strategize before—"

"I have a strategy," Alex said and Rile grabbed her hand a split second before she speed-burst out of the room.

***

Alex sped through the back hallway. They flew all the way outside with a sign of the Kuni, although there was another clump of fighting by the back gate.

"Alex, fly straight up for a look." Rile pointed.

Alex nodded at Rile's command and rose higher into the sky. Below, she saw the Kuni was frantically rushing towards the carriages, surrounded by her elite guard who scrambled to keep up with her. Alex couldn't help but smirk when she noticed that Cla was no longer among them, a sure sign of her recent demotion.

"The Kuni's escaping." Alex swept after her. "Kuni! Hey, you fire truck coward! Stop running like a scared chitterer!"

The Kuni didn't turn, but the guards did, raising their weapons in alarm. Alex fired lightning-quick blasts of energy from her palms, sending each guard crumpling to the ground. In a matter of seconds, she had maneuvered herself in front of the Kuni.

"I challenge you. No guards, no substitutes," Alex said firmly. "Let's see if you've kept in shape."

Rile let out a deep sigh and said, "I got your back, Alex. These so-called warriors will stab you there while you fight the Kuni."

Alex bet that the Kuni had let too many others fight for her, that she hadn't bothered to keep up her training. Alex faced the Kuni and her hand tightened around the hilt, fingers locked onto the handle, and the blade was sharp, as sharp as a razor's edge. . It was polished to a mirror's gloss and a scent like new leather wafted from it as well as a faint whiff of blood clung to the weapon like a ghost. When she pulled her arm back, the sword rose in the air and snapped forward, a crack like a whip that snapped her body back. The sword seemed alive, not a blade.

Their swords met with a resounding crash that sent shockwaves through their bodies. The clash of metal filled the air with a deep reverberation.

"Release me mammal, or my loyalists will gut every one of your emancipated males and hang them from their entrails," the Kuni said in a voice like a mix of gravel and fire-charred steel.

Alex snorted in grim amusement, the corners of her mouth curling up into a cruel smirk. She savagely kicked the Kuni's ankle in the spot between the shin guard and armored sandal. "Not a motivational speaker, are you?"

The Kuni stumbled forward, her arms encircling Alex's waist in a vice-like grip. Alex snaked her left arm up, and with a loud grunt, she spun her elbow into the Kuni's muzzle. The Kuni staggered from the impact and Alex brought her sword around in a sweeping low arc. The Kuni deftly blocked it, so Alex redirected the rebound force of the blade upwards. Once again, the Kuni just managed to deflect the strike.

Alex charged quickly, knowing that the Anolis wanted time to recover and watch for an opening. She mustered all of her strength and lunged forward, delivering a fierce strike to her chest plate. Alex stumbled, shock coursing through her veins as she realized her blow had pierced right through the armor of her enemy and into her heart.

The Kuni should have been able to block that move. Guess she didn't keep in shape. Glad my Guardian sword leveled the playing field since she had armor and I don't. I'd feel badly except she tortured Trac to death. This is for Trac and every other male you've murdered.

Alex found, that, unlike the movies, when you run someone through with your sword, it's hard to pull back out.

What's my blade was stuck on? Too high on the ick factor to think about.

Alex tugged uselessly for a moment, until Rile cleared his throat and motioned her up. She extended her hand to him, but he shook his head.

Rile motioned her over to the front courtyard. The courtyard's cobblestone was broken into a wasteland of rubble and dirt, full of squirming shapes in the middle.  "You need to be a rallying point for the revolutionaries. I'll find my brothers."

***

A/N

Thanks to one of my best motivational readers

WhereTheRiverEnds