Chapter 422: Choices
Gayron towered twenty feet tall, a monstrous demon of muscle, scale, and fire. His claws, large enough to engulf my torso, wrapped around me, pinning my arms. I screamed as their razor edges shattered my cloak’s protection, slicing through my dress. Long, thin lines of blood welled across my arms, back, and beneath my breasts where his claws dug into my skin. When one claw caught the edge of the sunpurge on my side, the world turned black and white, a blinding agony consuming me.
"Xiviyah!" Korra’s frantic voice tore through the air haze of pain, accompanied by a sharp bark from Fable. I could feel my wolf’s strength flowing into me from the bond, probably the only thing keeping me conscious.
We crashed down away from my allies, between the two armies. Gayron’s claws dug deeper as we hit the ground, a small crater forming in the tundra. Flames licked across my entire body, curling the edges of my shredded dress, but they had no power against my Adaptive Resistance.
Just as I was starting to recover my senses, Gayron’s voice snarled in my ear. "Shut up already!"
Even had I wanted to, the pain was too great. But he ended my struggle in an instant, laying a claw against my throat, silencing my screams. The edge scratched a searing line across my skin, drawing thick beads of blood that dripped down my neck and soaked into the torn remnants of my dress.
Biting my tongue to hold back a cry, I quivered in his grip, tears streaming down my face. My tail thrashed against his scaled wrist, the only outlet for my pain, a futile protest against his merciless grip. His claw remained poised on my throat, a burning brand against my skin, but mercifully, he allowed me to breathe.
"Let her go," Korra said, striding across the tundra. Her soul blazed with the fury etched across her face, her hands clenched in fists. An illusory dragon curled up her torso and down her arm, its eyes smoldering with hard, blue light. The Star Guard moved beside her, and the rest of the Last Light Company tightly gripped their weapons, death in their eyes.
Gayron’s claw pressed into my throat, drawing out another bead of blood. I yelped, and Korra hesitated, then held up a hand, stalling the rest of our soldiers from advancing.
"That’s a good, obedient girl," Gayron said mockingly. "Stay right there, or I’ll tear this slut apart. Slowly."