Chapter 44
Allie
“Who are they?” Dax rammed his back behind the tree next to mine, one of his daggers already dripping blood into the snow.
“I don’t know!” I yelled back just as I fired an arrow that ended its hiss with a loud metal clank and a groan.
Not ash.
None of them wore masks.
Not the attackers from the entrance.
It was mortal against mortal.
I broke cover and fired three more arrows in one breath. Only two hit their targets, the last one slamming into a bank of ice and fracturing it.
I bared my teeth and whirled back just as a jagged piece of metal hurled toward me.
It missed the tree bark by an inch, embedding itself deeper into the snow than a normal weapon should have. A thick, metal chain hung from its end, its rattle scratching against my ears.
“What is that?” Dax asked, horrified.
A moment later, the chain tensed. From the snow, a huge, sharp hook appeared, pulling out clumps of frozen dirt as it reemerged.
Those clumps could have been our bowels.
Flashes of the hooks hanging in the fortress armory invaded my mind. The weapons Ryker’s ancestors had used when they’d first settled here, right after leaving their allies behind.
“One of the Northern Clans,” I hissed, watching its brutal retreat through the trees and the bodies slamming into each other. “Or all three of them.”
The warriors of Solkar’s Reach roared and swung maces, swords, and axes with a speed that would have made Ryker proud.
They’d been trained well. They ducked and whirled around the trees for vicious attacks like they’d been born to do it.
Kicked ice and snow into their attackers faces to deliver harsh blows.
True sons of the crater.
But for each one of us, three more Northern soldiers thundered against the ground.
I swallowed past my parched throat, legs trembling from the strain of standing. Only the stubbornness of survival kept me upright.
“Take the left!” I shouted at Dax, and didn’t wait for him to reply as I turned, another arrow kneeling one of the invaders.
I flitted from tree to tree, a cascade of arrows announcing my approach.
Two more hooks tried to dimembowel me.
They failed.
Twenty-seven arrows and the dagger in my boot.
That’s all I had left.
“Duck!” I roared at the closest warrior just as a greasy-haired northerner scissored his cutlasses toward his neck.
The metal screeched against thin air as the warrior rolled down and kicked his opponent against a tree. The crack of his spine haunted me as I rushed forward.
The silencing spell helped Vylkor shout attack commands, which helped us surprise enough to survive.
Then he turned into a blur, just like Ryker, but only for a few moments.
He halted with a gasp, unbalanced. He still hadn’t become accustomed to his new vision, but his broadsword still left a trail of blood and fallen weapons behind him.
But there were too many soldiers.
Too well-prepared.
Too armed.
Each exhale and grunt from our warriors pressed against the spell, draining me further.
But I couldn’t risk dispelling our advantage. If I could move, I could cast.
I swerved through the grappling bodies, dodging blades and slipping on patches of blood melting the snow.
Twenty-one arrows.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw only Dax’s back as he struck one of the soldiers with his dagger pommel, bringing him to his knees.
Why hadn’t he just killed him?
The split-second distraction cost me.
My vision blurred as a body slammed into me. I grabbed my arrow in my fist, ready to impale it into a neck with my bare hands, when I recognized the raspy grunts.
Vylkor slammed his back to mine, as his broadsword swung through the air.
“Can’t you make us invisible?” Vylkor shouted. “Or invincible?”
“The wind can steal your voice, but it can’t steal your face or petrify–TO. YOUR. LEFT!”
I cocked the arrow back in my bow and fired.
The Northern soldier’s body slammed into the ground before his barbed spear fell next to him.
Nineteen arrows.
Vylkor roared and charged at the wave trying to engulf us.
More soldiers, baring their teeth and swinging their weapons at us.
They appeared from behind.
They dropped from the trees.
They rushed us in waves.
They’d been ready for us.
The metal tinge of blood soured each of my gasping breaths.
Battle had never depleted me so much, spell or not.
At the edge of the chaos, three of our warriors dragged the wounded into the safety of the forest. Dozens of bloody trails already marred the ground.
I couldn’t let my gaze linger on them. They already pressed against my mind.
I’d brought them here.
I’d given the command.
Now I would carry the marks of their souls on mine forever.
The instincts trained in me carried me further, like they’d waited to be freed once more from the cage I’d sealed them in along with dreams of crowns and thrones that felt trivial now.
“More are coming!” a young, terrified voice called from the other end of the battle.
My heart dropped as I looked at the rim.
Three more ropes cascaded down.
Bigger, burlier soldiers began to descend into our crater.
My heart slammed against my ribs. The warriors surrounding us weren’t even their best–and we were already losing.
I couldn’t let the bigger ones touch the ground.
I rushed forward, dodging more blades.
One of their blasted hooks embedded into my coat, yanking me back.
I blinked against the rattle in my brain and whirled around.
My only retaliation was an arrow.
The chain that dragged me went limp.
Fifteen arrows.
I chucked off my tattered coat as I ran.
The cold air slammed against my skin, offering sweet reprieve.
With the sun now above us, the icy wall glistened, playing tricks on my eyes and making them water.
I raised my bow at the wall and shot.
I missed the rope.
The arrow embedded itself into the ice, cracking it. A shard broke free, falling the same way my heart did.
Not stopping my dash, I grit my teeth, and tuned out the screams and pleas surrounding me. I narrowed my eyes, and aimed again.
This time, the arrow cut straight through one of the ropes, right underneath one of the new soldier’s dangling feet.
I hoped it would scare them back onto the rim.
Another rope unraveled down, taking its place.
Then one more.
My veins blazed.
I could only hope I had more arrows than they had ropes.
Just as I cocked another one, a familiar voice screamed, chilling me to my overheated bones.
I whirled around, only to see Dax writhing on the ground, trapped in a metal net that weighed him down.
The Northern soldier above him raised a barbed spear aimed straight at Dax’s neck.
Just when I almost let my arrow loose, two of our warriors burst into my line of sight, blocking my vision.
It only took one breath, but I missed my shot.