Sivir's throat felt like it had been taped to a layer of broken glass. Her chapped lips burned like fire. Her eyes were unresponsive and could not focus. I've given them too much time to wait for them to leave.

She leaned over and peered over the edge of the boulder. The brigade was still by the spring, showing no signs of leaving.

Why Saenz people? There were many tribes who wanted her to die, and the perseverance of the Saenz was the most prominent.

Sivier scanned the group again, looking for any indication that they were ready to leave the old riverbed and continue on their way. She moved her shoulders, trying to gauge if her muscles were strong enough to stand up to the six. She must strike suddenly to have any chance of winning.

That glamorous Noxian really caught me off guard.

She shook her head, trying to concentrate. You can't think about those things right now. I was slumped because of lack of water. Why didn't I bring more water?

The capital is sparkling. The statue spat out a large column of water, all because of an order from the ancients. He healed my wounds and saved my life. Then he went back to rebuilding the temples, chanting strange phrases in an ancient tone. He muttered to himself in the dead silence of the city of yellow sand. I have to get out as soon as possible, maybe after a while the mage decides to bury everything back in the ground - or he suddenly feels like I owe him.

The knee-jerk swallowing action brought a new sharp pain to Sivier's throat. She looked at the spring again, and the small brown puddle lay quietly in the center of the brigade.

I've given them a whole day, she counts in her mind. I'm going to die, unless they die first. Whether it's for a few drops of water or a few gold coins, that's how the desert survives.

She charged towards the first guard, adjusting her crossblade stance. Is there enough time to get close before he turns around? She counted the distance. Fourteen steps, twelve, ten. He must not be allowed to make a sound. Two steps. She leaped hard. Her blade pierced his neck completely, plunging into his shoulder.

Blood gushed out, and she crushed the guard to the ground. Her momentum sent blood splattering outward, all behind the rocky wall where the guards were standing. She grabbed his hands. He writhed wildly, as if denying the fact that he was dead. The guard's blood drenched Sivier, and he exhaled his last breath weakly. The man didn't need to die.

Sivier's mind reappeared with Cassiopeia's dagger. That Noxian bitch stabbed me in the back. I'm dead. What that should mean.

There was a roar in the distance. The sound of horses' hooves? The sound of a wall of sand collapsing? I don't have time to think about it. Sivier crept over the rocky wall. The brigade will soon find out that there is one less guard. Her next target is walking along the ridge of the dry dam. She had to get her hands dirty before he could go away. This blow must be accurate. She threw a crossblade.

The crossblade struck the second guard, severing him at the waist. The Spinner's blade arced upwards, slowing down as it reached its highest point, and then reversed the direction of its flight. On the way back, the Crossblade severed off the head of a third man. She didn't have a chance to throw the crossblade from the shadows anymore, as it was about to finish its arc and was flying straight to the center of the pool. She just needs to run to the landing point on time. This trick has been used by her with ease, and she has tried it repeatedly. She will catch the crossblade and use the last spinning blade to finish the remaining three at once.

But as she ran, she felt her legs heavi, and her burning lungs no longer seemed to be able to get enough air. Thirty steps. She had to cover the distance before the second person's body hit the ground. Twenty steps. Her legs ached and she no longer listened to her. Fifteen steps. She only felt slippery under her feet and staggered. No, it can't fall yet.

The estimated time should not have come yet, but the body of the second person had already fallen, hitting the rocks. It's impossible not to hear the sound of bumps.

One mistake is enough to kill. The Saenz are a desert people. Before she could take another step, the remaining guards were already unsheathed.

Her crossblade landed between her and the group. Five steps from them, ten steps from her.

I can do it. Every inch of Xylvier's body was pushing her forward. Instead, she stopped abruptly and almost fell forward.

I didn't bring enough water, waited too long to do it, misjudged the distance, and I would never make such a mistake. Why is this happening? Another part of Sivier's mind answered the question. She remembered the moment Cassiopeia's dagger stabbed her in the back—she didn't feel the dagger itself, but felt a sudden weight crush her guts, so she couldn't breathe.

"I killed all three of you, and you haven't heard anything about it." She coughed dryly.

"You don't have a weapon in your hand." Said the tallest Saenz man.

"That's because I don't want your blood to drain into the water." She's bluffing.

The three survivors winked at each other. They recognized me.

"A year ago, I killed your leader, along with twenty-four elite warriors, for a bag of fluttering gold coins. Their lives are cheap enough. She stared into the eyes of the three men. They spread out near the pond, trying to surround her.

"Where did the money I got from killing your leader and your people go?" She asked. "I lost it all in one night in the casino."

"We will avenge their shame." The big man said.

"I shouldn't have killed them in the first place," she said. "You shouldn't be greedy for that kind of petty wealth. So don't force me to kill you for a few mouthfuls of water. ”

The leading Saenz nervously regained their grip on their weapons.

"I'm reminding you that I'll be able to get my hands on the weapon before you can react." Syvel explained. "And if I decide to take up arms, you will surely die." She gestured to the pool of dirty water. "You don't deserve to die for this."

"Then let's die a glorious death." The big man said decisively, though his two companions weren't so sure.

"Did I use that weapon when I killed those twenty? Still want to avenge them? Syvel warned him. There are too few of you. ”

The three men hesitated. They knew Sivier's reputation. The other two pulled the big man away and returned to their mounts.

Sivier slowly approached the pool.

"We'll bring our people back for revenge."

"A lot of people have tried it," she said. "They never succeeded."

Sivier licked the roof of her mouth with her puffy tongue, trying to calm her restlessness. Every part of her body wanted to kneel in front of the pond and gulp down. I had to wait for them to cross the sand dunes in the distance.

The three men climbed into the saddle and rode away, when another roar was heard in the distance. The sound was getting louder and louder, not the sound of horses' hooves, not the sound of sandstorms. Sivier turned in the direction where the sound was coming from, and saw a three-foot-tall wall of azure water rushing along the ancient riverbed. It's water from the capital.

Just before the splash hit Sivier, she felt a rush of cold, damp air gallop across the front of the torrent. It came out of nowhere like a sweet kiss, leaving Sivier stunned.

The first wave nearly knocked Sivier to her knees. The impact of the waves was bitterly cold, but the cool temperature began to soothe her as the water swept her waist and legs. Sivier lay in the water, letting the river wash over her. The dryness of the desert was washed away, and her hair floated freely in the water.

I died once. I had to make it mean something.