3. Chapter 3

Their lightsabers met in an unholy snarl. Rey's muscles shuddered with the impact. The Sith's hood fell back as their weapons collided, revealing the wild, severe face of a woman that Rey could so easily have been. Her cheekbones were sharp, her pale hair drawn back into tight braids, and her eyes were tinged with gold and red.

"We don't have to do this," Rey said, just inches from the other woman's face. "You can still leave this all behind. I won't stop you."

"How very noble of you," the Sith hissed. "I don't want your mercy. You're the one who deserves pity—not me."

She heaved against Rey's lightsabers and broke free, arcing her blade out to the side. Rey leapt out of the way in time, but her reflexes were a hair slower than usual. She needed to end this battle quickly, before she bled herself dry. If she couldn't get through to this woman, then she would show her mercy in another way—with a quick death.

Rey lunged forward. The Sith dodged, a movement that she was clearly used to being deft, but whatever injury she had sustained during the chamber's destruction caused her to stumble. Rey sent out a wave through the Force, pushing the woman further off balance and knocking her to the floor. In three swift movements, she crossed to her, sliced her weapon-wielding hand from her arm, and knelt down with the cross of her lightsabers at the woman's neck.

The Sith's lips curled back in a sneer. There was no fear in her eyes, only unadulterated contempt. "You think you can save him," she said, and Rey knew who she meant. The faint glow of Ben's life force was a constant presence at the edge of her mind. "But the Dark Side is not a master you can betray. He will never be yours. You can't sa—"

Rey spun both blades outward, and the woman's head fell to the floor and rolled across the stones.

Rey rose, looking down at the body with no real emotion. "I already did," she said calmly.

She returned to where Ben lay, undisturbed by the fight or anything going on in the world around him. In sleep his face was peaceful, his mouth still remembering the smile after their kiss. Rey smiled too—she couldn't help it. Even the Sith woman's words could not sully this victory. Perhaps Kylo Ren could not have been saved, but Ben Solo was a different matter.

"Come on," Rey said softly to Ben, even though he couldn't hear her. "Let's get out of this place."