Relic of the Future: Chapter 88

"Get back!"

Lightning exploded out, followed by howling gales that spread in every direction. Her panic made her reckless, but the maiden's power was still just that and he was hurled from his feet regardless. Slamming down, he slid back to the closest wall, holding an arm over his eyes to shield them from the hurricane force winds.

"It's mine!" Amber roared over it, lashing out in every direction. "My power. My responsibility. My burden!" Her voice cracked. "I didn't ask for this; I never asked for this. You won't kill me. I won't let you, Tyrian or Salem kill me!"

And so, she joined with them. Damn it. It was just like Leonardo and even Raven the first time.

Pushing up, he steadied himself with one foot pushed back, straining to peer through the sharp wind so he could see any further attacks coming. Amber wasn't aiming now; she was throwing her power out everywhere just to keep him and his hands away. With the space confined, the wind bounced off the walls, streaming left and right and mingling, mixing and twisting into a confusing storm of varying currents.

His sword arm wavered, buffeted left and right. Even if he had his gun, there was no aiming through this. He couldn't even see her – he just knew where she was by judging where the wind came from. The eye of the tornado.

Amber isn't thinking straight. She's scared; lashing out in every direction. Having her so-called power taken away must have left her feeling vulnerable in a way she hadn't for years. Without Cinder to show her just how much that was possible, she'd grown complacent.

Or maybe this was how she'd always been. He had to keep in mind he'd never truly known her and likely didn't now. Losing to Cinder the first time when Cinder didn't have the maiden's power must have also been due to complacency on Amber's part. Bow or not, she should have been able to buffet any arrows away with her power.

Crocea Mors clattered away, discarded and rattling across the floor, clanging into the back wall and sticking there as the wind took it. Holding his right hand over his face to shield his eyes, and with his left held forward to block the wind, Jaune trudged into the storm. His white coat billowed and whipped behind him, until he discarded that as well, tearing it off and letting it flutter away.

Once-upon-a-time she might have been an ally.

Not this time. People changed. They were shaped by their experiences, their past and the conflict they went through. Some might come out relatively similar; Yang, Nora and Ren. Others changed; Blake, Ruby and Emerald.

Maybe he'd been wrong entirely. Amber had only ever been a victim to him and Pyrrha. Some poor girl trapped in a tube, damaged and later killed by Cinder. He'd never known her, only pieced together a theory based on assumptions. There was a reason Amber walked around outside the Kingdoms and got ambushed in the first place. For all he knew, she might always have been like this.

He had to stop making foolish assumptions. Roman, Emerald and Raven were his greatest allies now, each of them a former enemy. Times changed. Life changed.

Fighting through the storm, Jaune pushed past the final barrier and into Amber's guard. Her eyes were wild, wide and afraid.

—Relic of the Future: Chapter 88