Vella reached the crater as another row of needles tore loose from the ridge and swung toward Hajin's spilled blood. She dropped beside him while Juna braced his shoulders across her knees, holding his head clear of the broken rock.
His mouth opened, but nothing came out except a wet rattle and more blood across his chin.
Helen crossed in front of them and drove her rapier into the sand, six frost Shards flaring around her wrist. A wall burst upward thirty feet high and curved forty paces along their exposed flank, ice between them and needles.
"Get him under cover!" she shouted, bracing both hands around the hilt.
The first needles struck before the crest finished thickening, spraying chips across Vella's sleeves while others bored deeper into ice.
Helen shoved mana through her blade as cracks split the wall, sealing them with fresh frost before the next volley. Her elbows shook against the buried hilt, and her jaw locked so tight that cords stood out along her throat.
