9. Calista
9
CALISTA
Commander Luxe walked with me through the forest, keeping several feet between us at all times, like he wanted to make it clear that he heeded my request to remain platonic.
I wasn’t used to such a respectful response to my wishes. I either didn’t have a say in the matter, or I was coerced into submission. But Commander Luxe accepted my answer without argument and didn’t pursue it again.
I held my bag of fruits and vegetables that I had received at the market, all the things I would prepare for my meals over the next few days. There was no one to cook for me like there’d been at the castle with Talon or even in the Arid Sands. I had to learn how to wash, prep, and cook everything, because I’d never really learned.
“Commander Luxe, do you mind if I ask how old you are?”
“Luxe.”
“Sorry?”
“You can call me Luxe. I consider us friends now.”
“Oh.”
He gave me a slight smile. “And be careful when you ask that question. Elves consider it deeply offensive.”
“Why?”
“Because the older you are, the closer you are to madness.”
“Oh. Then I apologize.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “I’ve asked you personal questions. I’m actually a young elf, a young adult in your world. I’m 532.”
“And that’s young…?”
“Very. That’s why I’m unmarried and have no children. That’s something that happens later in life.”
“Wow, I can’t imagine having all that time to decide what you want.”
“It’s a gift in some ways. In other ways, it’s not.”
“How is it not?”
“When there’s no urgency to do anything, then there’s no reason to do anything at all. There’s no reason to meet someone or try to fall in love. There’s no reason to worry about your legacy or think about the future, not when the future is always the present.”
“That’s an interesting way to think about it.”
He stopped near one of the merchants. “This is where you can get your milk. Oat milk is my favorite, but the almond is an excellent choice too.”
I walked up and ordered my container before I placed it in my bag.
We continued our walk.
“How’s the reading?” he asked, walking with his hands behind his back.
“I returned all my books to the library and grabbed new ones.”
“Wow, you read quickly.”
“No…it’s just all I do.” I hadn’t made an effort to integrate with society because I’d been too sad to do so. The last conversation I’d had with Talon was heavy on my mind, even a week later. He didn’t say how much my words wounded him, but he didn’t have to…because they were written on his face.
“You’ll need to decide how you’re going to contribute to society,” he said. “Have you considered what I said?”
“About joining the army?”
“Yes.”
Now that I was no longer fused with a dragon, I was unremarkable. I really had nothing to offer except for a couple moves Talon had taught me. “I think I would be better suited doing something else.”
He accepted my answer. “I’ll think of a few ideas for you.”
We continued our walk and then a soldier was visible down the path, wearing the dark green armor I’d seen my uncle wear in the forest. He ran straight for Commander Luxe beside me.
Luxe stopped, his hands still behind his back.
The soldier launched into a quick message, speaking in elvish, so I had no idea what he said. “ Sor bien hurrengan pione nuiasence…”
Luxe’s entire body went still when he heard what the soldier said. When he responded, he spoke even faster, showing the severity of the situation. “ Bian tureolo vixie frumauto .”
The soldier nodded then turned away. He didn’t walk—he ran.
“What’s happening?” I blurted. It was Talon, wasn’t it? He’d figured out where I was and would face me on the battlefield like he prophesized.
He retained his calm, but his eyes showed a distinct terror. “An army of ten thousand Behemoths march upon the forest.”
“What? What are Behemoths?”
“They’re large orcs, seven feet tall, three times your weight…”
I felt the life slowly drain out of me like a blade had pierced my abdomen. “Oh fuck.”
“They come from the Wastelands. They’ve never crossed the boundary into our lands before. I’m not sure what provoked such hostility.”
“How can I help?”
“You can’t. I must report to the front line.”
I felt hopeless, unable to provide any assistance whatsoever. I felt terrible about it.
“I’ll escort you to the queen.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s where your uncle would want me to bring you. Come on.”
I followed him as we turned in a different direction, returning to the east where I’d first arrived in the forest. The structure became visible, and the guards stationed there had tripled since the last time I was there.
When we arrived, my uncle emerged out of the doorway and down the steps. He spotted me, and the relief on his face was palpable. “Calista.” He was in his full armor, the metal protecting his body having a bright shine because it looked brand-new. His sword was across his back, along with his bow. “Commander Luxe, thank you for bringing her here. I just returned from her tree house, and it was vacant.”
“We were in the market,” Commander Luxe explained. “I need to grab my things before I head to the front. I’ll see you there, General.” He walked off without saying goodbye to me, his mind on the battle that would shortly arrive at our borders.
“What’s going on?” I immediately asked. “Seven-foot-tall orcs?”
“Don’t worry about them. I won’t let them breach the border of the forest.”
“How big is our army? Can we defeat ten thousand of them?”
His hands went to my arms, and he gave me a squeeze. “All these concerns lie with me and not you. We have the power of the forest at our backs—and that’s invaluable.”
“What about the dragons? They could help.”
“We would never ask for their aid.”
“But you’ve been protecting them all this time.”
“A full heart does good in this world and expects nothing in return.”
“But if they take the forest?—”
“With all due respect, Calista. You’ve been here for a few weeks, and you’re telling me how to do my job. My whole life has been spent preparing for this moment. I won’t let the forest fall—and I would never let my queen fall.” He stepped away. “I leave you here with Queen Eldinar. There’s no safer place for you.”
I turned to the steps, seeing her standing there, not in her white dress with flowers in her hair, but in pristine white armor with two short blades at her hips. Her beautiful long hair was secured in a tight braid down her back. Her look shifted to me—and her blue eyes showed her rampant anger. “I’m not sure if I’m welcome here…” I turned back to Ezra.
“You are.” His hand moved to my arm, and he guided me to the steps where the queen stood. “ Fleur Nia , I leave Calista here with you. Retrieve her sword so she’s not unprotected…in case it comes to that.”
Now she gave him the same pissed-off stare. “Queen Eldinar rules the forest—not General Ezra. I would not arm this girl with a simple dagger.”
I knew I wasn’t welcome…
My uncle looked at her, the surprise moving into his gaze…and then the hurt. “I don’t understand?—”
“You think it’s a coincidence that an army marches upon our borders after she’s been here for mere weeks?” She wasn’t the calm and eloquent queen I’d met when I first arrived. Now, her voice rose, and it was deep and angry. “I don’t believe in coincidences, and neither do you. She’s the one they want, and I won’t sacrifice this forest for her—even if she is your blood.”
My eyes dropped, feeling terrible for the marital strife I caused.
My uncle took a full minute to recover from her venom. “Calista didn’t come from the Wastelands. The march of Behemoths can’t possibly be related to her visit.”
She stepped forward, facing him as an opponent more than a lover. “They saw her ride upon a fiery red dragon. They saw it—and wanted it for themselves. They’re monsters, so they wanted it for war or wanted it for dinner.”
“That’s merely speculation?—”
“The Wastelands haven’t attacked us in a millennium—but you insist it’s a coincidence?”
His eyes shifted back and forth between hers before he looked at me. “Calista, could you please excuse us?—”
“I have nothing to hide.” Her wild eyes remained on his. “The Death King comes for her. That demon doesn’t let anyone go. I warned you it was only a matter of time before he came for her.”
“He has no idea where she is?—”
“He clearly does.”
“He would not employ monsters to serve him when he has his own army and a dragon?—”
“The army can’t cross the White Mountains, so he found a new army to serve him.”
“ Fleur Nia ?—”
“Don’t you dare call me that as I command you as Queen of Riviana.”
“What would you have me do?” He lowered his voice. “I can’t respond to an attack based on assumptions.”
“They want Calista—so give her to them.”
“Again, you assume?—”
“I know. I’m sorry that she’s your niece, but the people of the forest are my children, and I will not sacrifice the many for the one.”
He stared her down, his eyes flicking back and forth in silence.
She held her ground, her spine harder than the steel of his blade.
“If I’m what they want, I will surrender myself.”
Ezra was the first one to look at me.
Queen Eldinar turned a moment later, her eyes dulled in their wrath.
“The forest has been my home for a short while, but its beauty has already pierced my soul. Your people are kind and generous, and I would rather lose my life than see it fall. I will sacrifice myself if that’s the cost of your perseverance.”
Ezra’s eyes were heavy with a terrible sadness, but he didn’t argue.
Queen Eldinar finally sheathed her anger. “Go, General Ezra. The front line needs you.”
He turned back to her, his eyes still broken.
“If they ask for her, I will escort her personally,” the queen said.
He inhaled a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then released it. “Yes, Your Majesty.” He bowed his head slightly and turned away.
“ Protego Nia .”
He halted and slowly turned back to her.
“ Coreno Amore Nia ,” she whispered.
He stared at her, his breaths coming in deep and heavy, and then he marched back to her, grabbed her by the face, and kissed her hard on the mouth.
I felt like I was in a moment where I didn’t belong, so I moved down the stairs and stepped away.
“ Coreno Amore Nia .” He gripped her cheeks with his palms and brought their foreheads together.
I looked away, their affection so profound it gave me a sense of longing, a longing for someone I’d never really had in the first place, for someone I hated as much as I desired.
Ezra let her go and marched off. He didn’t look back at me or her.
He just left.
Hours passed, and Queen Eldinar remained where she stood, her eyes on the trail where her husband had disappeared, the two blades at her hips, the bow across her back. Her eyes stayed straight ahead and none of the guards dared to speak with her.
I kept quiet, didn’t even ask for my sword and tried to disappear as much as possible. But my heart had raced since the moment Commander Luxe had told me of the danger that marched for our borders.
I had a hard time believing that Talon would enlist the help of monsters and destroy a magical forest just to get what he wanted, but I’d seen him do horrible things before. I’d watched him destroy my own life firsthand.
As the night deepened, so did the music of the forest. It usually grew quieter as we neared twilight, but now, it grew louder, erratic rather than subdued, like the forest felt the danger that approached her trees.
I wanted to reach out my mind and speak to Inferno, but he was too far away. Without being connected by a fuse, I couldn’t reach out to him for help. I’d told Talon I didn’t want to see him again—and now I’d give anything for him to appear before me.
I looked at Queen Eldinar, who hadn’t moved for hours, who was as still as the trees and the statues that surrounded her palace. She was petite and short, just like I was, but something about her stance indicated the power beneath her steel.
I took the steps to her side.
She still didn’t look at me.
“Your Majesty?”
She remained still, like she hadn’t heard me.
“I don’t know why the Behemoths march here, but I don’t think it has anything to do with the Death King.”
Her hands gripped the hilts of her blades, and she remained still.
I didn’t expect an answer.
“You assume this, why?”
I couldn’t tell her that he breached the borders of their forest with his mind, that I’d seen him several nights for long-winded conversations. “I just don’t think he would.”
“A very concrete reason…”
“I just want to prepare you?—”
“Do you hear that?”
I turned quiet, hearing nothing but the sound of my own breaths.
“Close your eyes and listen.”
I did as she commanded and closed my eyes. But all I heard was the sound of the forest, the high-pitched music that seemed off-key. But then I heard it… thump, thump, thump …so quiet it sounded like a heartbeat.
“That’s the march of the enemy,” she said solemnly. “They’re almost here.”
I opened my eyes again and felt the terror rush through me. What did my uncle see at the front line? What did Commander Luxe see? “Do we have enough soldiers to beat their army?”
“A single elf has the strength of three men, so we can defeat an army thrice our size. But Behemoths are much stronger than men…so I can’t answer your question.”
I swallowed, my mouth and throat suddenly dry. If I lost this forest, there would be nowhere else for me to go. Nowhere else to call home.
“Kneel.” Queen Eldinar moved down the last of the stairs until she reached the grass outside her palace. She slowly brought herself down, bending one knee while the other pressed into the grass.
The other elves followed suit.
The queen glanced at me over her shoulder. “Kneel.”
I moved down the stairs and took a knee a few feet away from the queen, feeling my leg touch the cool grass.
The music stopped—and then it was silent.
The fireflies that illuminated the clearing suddenly dispersed, bringing the area into formidable darkness.
I didn’t know what was happening, but I didn’t dare ask.
The darkness remained for minutes, a star or two visible in the opening of the canopy far above. The march of the Behemoths became louder, the vibrations from their boots sending tremors through the earth and reaching my knee in the soil.
Then there was a glow, golden in hue and warm like fire.
It started off as a single light in the darkness, then slowly grew, becoming powerful like the sunrise, bringing the clearing into a vibrant light. It became so bright that it hurt my eyes to see, so I closed them tightly as it grew warm.
And then the light faded from my closed eyelids instantly.
I opened my eyes and looked ahead, seeing a woman outlined in golden light. She had red hair and green eyes, wearing a white gown that only covered one shoulder, adorned in gold jewelry. Like Queen Eldinar, she was beautiful…but also terrifying.
She stood there, nonexistent wind blowing through her hair, her eyes on the queen. When she spoke, there was an echo to her voice, as if several beings were speaking at once through her. “Evil marches upon your borders. Ten thousand strong with a vile leader that desires bruised flesh. They come with fire—and they will burn this forest if you fail.”
Queen Eldinar held her stare. “Help us, Riviana. Help us protect the Realm of Caelum.”
“It’s not my place to interfere with the living, Queen Eldinar. You know this.”
“I ask you to protect the forest, not our people.” She remained on one knee but continued to conduct herself like a queen who stood in a beautiful gown. “We’re expendable, but the trees that have been here since the beginning of time are not. Help, not us, but yourself.”
Riviana stared at the queen before her, staring with unblinking eyes just the way Talon did. The golden light continued to encase her outline, making her shine like a fallen star. “Every able-bodied elf must report to the front. Many of you will die, but that’s the only chance you have of success. Your army will not be enough.”
“And what will you do?” Queen Eldinar asked.
“I will fight their fire with my own.”
My sword and armor were returned to me, but instead of feeling safer clad in the protective gear, I felt more vulnerable. When I’d come to this forest, I felt safe in my tree house, felt safe among the people, even if they weren’t particularly kind to me. But now I realized there was no place in this world that was ever safe. Danger lurked behind every corner, on the other side of every mountain, and you only lived long enough to fight another day.
Queen Eldinar seemed unafraid to march into battle, like she’d done it before or simply had no fear of death. She ordered every able-bodied elf to arm themselves with a weapon and armor and to march to the border where the battle would take place.
I didn’t speak a word to anyone, too afraid to form words. I’d dueled Talon several times, but when he unleashed his true strength, I was greatly overpowered—even when I was fused with a dragon. As a regular person with no experience, I would die the second I stepped into battle.
But I refused to stay in the forest like a coward when no one else objected to the queen’s call. If I wanted to call this place home, I needed to serve it like it was my home, like it meant as much to me as it did to everyone else.
I smelled the smoke before I saw the fire.
It wafted through the trees, chasing the fireflies and birds away. The song of Riviana was stronger than before, but even higher, more distressed. I coughed as I moved forward, hearing the sound of battle cries just minutes later.
The cries of the dying.
I thought of Commander Luxe…and my uncle.
I didn’t think about myself anymore.
Queen Eldinar wore such an angry look on her face that she didn’t seem to share those same thoughts.
The fire became visible, the tops of the trees ablaze, some already felled and catching others on fire. It was chaos as we approached, elves and orcs on fire, running through the forest and rolling on the ground as they desperately tried to put out their flames.
Queen Eldinar unsheathed both of her blades. “Calista.”
“Yes?” A howl of wind rushed through and blew the smoke away for a moment…and I saw it. The endless line of enormous orcs fighting elves a foot shorter. Their black armor was like the night, their eyes like drops of oil, their teeth ragged and sharp.
“Stay at my side. I’ll protect you.”
I pulled my gaze from the horror and looked at her.
“Aim for the neck—that’s where their armor is weak.”
“Okay.”
At that moment, an orc barreled down on us both—and Queen Eldinar moved like the wind. She sliced one blade across his throat then tripped him, slicing the other blade straight through his neck as he fell forward.
Another came at her a second later, and she made another flurry of blows, moving with a speed that a bulky orc couldn’t replicate. His body dropped to the ground on top of the first.
I watched her, utterly mesmerized.
“Calista!”
I ducked just in time, an orc swinging his blade at my head. “Shit.”
Queen Eldinar threw her sword and impaled him right in the face.
He staggered before he fell sideways and collapsed.
The queen placed her boot against his helmet then yanked the blade free.
Chaos and fire surrounded us, and I sputtered out the first words that came to mind. “I hope Ezra is okay.”
“He’s a mighty warrior, Calista. I know he lives.”
“You do?”
“Yes—I feel his soul.”
“What does that mean?”
She didn’t answer because another orc came down upon her. She spun both of her blades and struck him down, felling a beast far taller and bigger than her. Black blood squirted across her pretty face, and she wiped it away with her forearm.
I turned at the right time, seeing an orc rush me.
I screamed before my sword moved on its own, the brief training Talon had given me kicking in. I sliced my sword across his neck before I ducked, missing his blade by inches, and then ducking before his massive arm could strike me.
I wasn’t fast enough and took a hard hit to the head.
My body hit the ground, and for a brief second, the world went black. Terror rushed me an instant later, and I forced myself up, but a massive leg pushed down on me, keeping me stuck to the ground. He applied more weight, like he was trying to make my spine shatter in half.
I screamed as the pain broke me, and he laughed at my misery.
“No.” A voice I’d recognize anywhere came to me through the smoke and the screams. “Not this one.”
I felt the foot leave my back, and I immediately turned over, needing to know that I hadn’t just heard what I’d thought I heard, that my mind had never been more wrong. Propped up on my elbows, I looked at the gray armor that covered the muscular physique—and then I looked up to see his face.
His blue eyes locked on mine for a second that felt like a lifetime. They were still possessive and cruel, unhinged and corrupt. The intensity in his gaze faded as the sneer moved across his lips—the most disgusting one I’d ever seen. “I’ve missed you, sweetheart.”
Flashbacks flooded my mind, all those horrible nights, the chains around my wrists, the bruises on my face that the other slaves never asked about because they already knew, the times when he didn’t feed me because I refused to cooperate. It’d been the worst year of my life, and now he wanted to take me back. “No…”
“Yes.” His smile widened, like he thoroughly enjoyed this, my terror as well as the sound of the dying as they screamed around me, as the forest shrieked in agony as it was assaulted with fire. It was a nightmare, but to him, it was a fucking dream.
I crawled backward, trying to get away from him, looking for Queen Eldinar because she was the only one who had the strength to defeat him, but she was nowhere to be found.
He moved over me, his smile permanent on his face, and he grabbed me by the ankle.
I screamed. “No!” I kicked as hard as I could, desperate to be free, desperate to be dead rather than his prisoner.
He grabbed my other ankle and tugged me. “Yes.”
“Fuck you.” I kicked hard, kicked his wrist, and got free again.
But then he snatched me again, his armor taking the brunt of the force of my kicks. He dragged me hard across the ground and over a rock.
I screamed my heart out, screamed for anyone to help, but everyone was so preoccupied with their own battles that my screams were drowned out by others who were dying or pleading for their lives. “I will kill you. I swear on my fucking life, I will kill you.”
He dragged me away from the forest and through the fight. “I look forward to the attempt.”
I screamed to the sky, the sky I couldn’t see because of all the smoke.
And then his hand released me, and I went still in the dirt.
A black cape blocked my sight, and then the dark green blade appeared, matching his armor, and he struck at General Titan with the speed of a snake and the strength of a mountain. “Run, Calista.”
General Titan met Ezra’s sword with his own, the steel ringing in the night as their blades collided.
I fumbled to my feet and prepared to run, but I couldn’t leave, not until I knew if General Titan was dead, so far gone that he could never come back to haunt me. I drew my own blade and waited for an opening to get him between the plates of his armor, but both men moved so fast.
Their blades clashed, and they sidestepped each other’s attack, each of them equally powerful and experienced. The glow of the fire reflected off the clouds of smoke. It was everywhere, suffocating everyone.
General Titan got an opening and slammed the hilt of his blade into Ezra’s skull.
My uncle immediately fell back to the earth.
“No!” I ran forward, seeing General Titan move to finish the job. I threw my body into his and knocked him over.
He kicked my knee and made me topple. Then he was on top of me, slamming my head into the ground so I lost my sight for a moment. My sword was stripped from me while I saw stars, ripped from my loose fingers. Then he got up again and pointed his blade down at my uncle.
“Stop!” I grimaced as I forced myself up, grabbing his own dagger and stabbing it into the back of his leg.
He screamed like a wounded bear and turned back on me. “You’re lucky I won’t kill you.”
Ezra came to and tried to rise.
But General Titan grabbed his blade and prepared to stab him right through the neck.
“Stop! I’ll come with you! Right now.”
Ezra was still dizzy, his eyes hazy like he wasn’t all there, blood dripping from his skull. “Calista…”
“I’ll come,” I said quickly. “Please just leave him.”
“No…” Ezra tried to get up again and grimaced the whole way.
General Titan didn’t care for him, his maniacal eyes on me instead. “Then get your ass up.”
I pushed myself to my feet.
Queen Eldinar came out of the smoke, blood across her face, with a bruise next to her right eye. She dropped down to where Ezra lay, like she’d somehow known he was hurt and came running. She raised her head and looked at me.
The second I was on my feet, General Titan grabbed me by the neck.
Queen Eldinar unsheathed her blade.
“It’s okay.” I raised my hand to her. “Save him…please.”
She stayed kneeled over Ezra, her hand still on the hilt of one of her swords.
Ezra had closed his eyes again. I wasn’t sure if he was knocked out…or dead.
General Titan grabbed me by the arm and shoved me forward, shoved me away from the forest and through the lines of battle, the screams of the injured right next to my ear. There was smoke everywhere, covering the sky and making it hard to breathe.
When it finally started to clear, he stuck his boot into my back.
I fell forward, my face almost hitting the dirt.
“You really thought that was the end of me?” His hands moved to my back, and he unclasped my armor, the one that Talon had made just for me. He grabbed the back of my shirt and forced me up and forward. “That I would let that arrogant asshole take what’s mine?” He kicked me again, harder this time.
I barely caught myself on my hands.
This time, he removed the armor on my legs, making the metal plates come free. Then he tugged off my shoes.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I kicked him back.
He slammed his fist hard into my face, moving so quick I didn’t even know it happened until I was blinking in pain.
He tugged down my pants and my underwear as I lay there, too comatose to stop it.
“Up.” He grabbed me by the shirt and forced me up, everything at my waist and below exposed to the cool night air. “That ass is tighter than I remember. I’m going to enjoy sticking my dick in it again.”
Was this really happening? Was I back to where I started?
He kicked me and sent me to the earth again.
He came for my shirt next, forcing it up over my head.
I tried to fight, but my arms didn’t work right. Nothing worked right.
He punched me again.
I lay still on the ground, and then I retched, the pain in my skull so extreme, my body didn’t know what else to do. It’d been a long time since I’d been hit that hard.
“Up.”
I lay there and didn’t get up again.
“I said, up.” He kicked me.
I started to cry, not because of the pain, but because of the nightmare that had returned. I couldn’t go back to where my life had been, tied to headboards and beaten bloody for disobedience. I couldn’t take his smile as he thrust into me. I couldn’t go backward. “Kill me…please.”
He kicked me again. “Come on, sweetheart. Don’t act like you don’t miss me.”
I screamed. “Kill me!” I reached for the dagger at his side, not to stab into his calf, but to pierce my heart.
But he grabbed me by the arm and twisted it down.
I screamed again.
He forced me up.
But my knees buckled.
“You think I won’t fuck you right here in the dirt? Because I will.”
I lay there, sobbing into the dirt, praying for Riviana to take my soul.
“As you wish.” He started to remove the armor at his waist, grinning all the while.
And I lay there and cried, cried like the weak and pathetic thing that I was. Then I heard it…
“ Rooooaaaaaaarrrrrr! ” It was so loud, it shattered the sky, brought the battle to a sudden standstill. Quieted the sound of the injured and dying as they all looked up to the sky…and saw the glow of the fire on the black scales of the mighty dragon that soared above us all.
We are here, Pretty.
My tears died in my throat instantly as I looked up to see the scales pass overhead.
General Titan stopped adjusting his armor and reached for his blade instead, unhooking it from his back, and planted his feet shoulder width apart. Now, that horrifying grin was wiped from his face.
Thud . The ground shook when the dragon landed upon the earth. It was hazy from the smoke that blew from the forest in the wind, his scales hard to distinguish in the chaos that surrounded us.
But then I saw him…
Talon.
He appeared through the haze of smoke, his cape flapping behind him in the breeze, his sword already unsheathed and tight in his palm. I’d provoked his anger before and had seen the consequences of those actions, but I’d never seen him look like this…like he was about to burn the world. His dark eyes shook with unspent rage. His muscular body shifted with power as he walked toward us. His handsome face was no longer attractive, not when his jaw was clenched like that, when his cheeks were hollow from the grinding of his teeth, when he was so utterly pissed off that he was about to combust.
I started to crawl away, to crawl toward Talon and be free of this fiend once for all.
But General Titan planted his foot on my back and forced me down before he aimed his blade toward the back of my neck.
I stopped when I felt the cold steel against me.
“Take another step, and she dies.”
Talon met his look with bottomless black eyes then slightly raised his left hand.
I lay still and breathed hard, still feeling the prick of the blade against me.
Hold on . It was Talon’s voice, deep and pissed off as fuck.
I closed my eyes and kept my forehead to the earth.
General Titan gave a cry, and the tip of the blade was removed.
“Run to Khazmuda.” Talon moved forward as he flicked his sword around his wrist, the blade reflecting the brightness of the flames in the distance.
I ran as hard as my heart would allow me then tripped to the earth. When I looked behind me, I saw exactly what I expected to see.
The army of the dead.
They surrounded Talon and General Titan, forming a ring that prevented the general from escaping. The dead were limbless and eyeless, some wore armor like that of the elves, dark green. Some of them were newly dead…and looked like they were still alive. They’d just fallen in battle and were already called to serve again.
I stayed where I was and watched the fight unfold in the breaks between the dead soldiers.
Talon gripped his sword and faced General Titan, his powerful cape flowing behind him in the breeze.
General Titan was no longer his arrogant self.
Talon slowly circled him, the way a wolf stalked his prey. The rage in his eyes showed his desperation for retribution—for revenge. He moved at a saunter, taking his time, making General Titan suffer through the wait.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Khazmuda came over to me and dipped his snout to my head like I was his hatchling.
My eyes were on Talon, who struck without warning, swinging his blade in a flurry of blows that I couldn’t even keep track of. Whatever he’d shown me in training was child’s play. What he’d shown me in the mountains when I’d tried to escape was even less. This was his true potential…and it was insurmountable.
General Titan struggled to keep up, immediately forced backward toward the wall of the dead. He had no offensive moves himself, because all he could do was block Talon’s attacks and nothing more. Now, he was the one to cower back, to have his face contort in exhaustion and fear.
I watched all the while, not wanting to miss a moment, not wanting to miss an instant of his suffering. I had no doubt that Talon would win, that he could win this battle with his left hand.
Their swords continued to dance together as the dead watched on as spectators. Talon executed his next move with such strength that he swiped General Titan’s blade clean in half, slicing it through the base and leaving nothing but the hilt behind.
The blade dropped to the dirt.
General Titan scooted back, reaching for the only thing he had left, his dagger.
Talon watched him, his arms resting at his sides, his eyes still maniacal. Then he sheathed his blade and pulled his own dagger, gripping it with the tip pointing down.
The men came closer together, trying to find a weakness in each other’s armor. I was worried how this would go now that it was so intimate. Talon had already defeated him with his sword, and I wished it would just end. But before I even had a second to panic, it was over.
Talon yanked the general’s head back by the hair—and then stabbed his dagger straight into his mouth.
General Titan fell to his knees, gripping the hilt with both hands but too afraid to pull it out, struggling to breathe as the blood pooled into his mouth and dripped to the earth.
Talon didn’t wait around to watch him die. He immediately headed back toward me, the dead tightening their circle around the general once Talon was gone, pulling in close around him as he stayed on his knees.
He started to cower, to crawl away in the other direction, only to stop when he realized the assault was on all sides. Tighter they closed in until they came into contact, stabbing him over and over with the blades and daggers, making him collapse underneath the undead soldiers.
Then I saw only him—Talon.
He walked to me, his eyes still so angry they looked like the gates to the underworld. The fire and battle continued on behind him, but his only concern was me.
I was on my knees, shriveled up with my arms across my chest, trying to protect my dignity and fight the cold.
He reached behind him and tugged his cape free, pulling it from his armor until it was a blanket in his arms. Then he kneeled before me and wrapped the fabric around me until he secured it at my neck in the front, covering me all the way down to my feet.
I looked him in the eye…and started to sob. I didn’t know why the tears broke free like that, if it was relief that General Titan was dead, if it was because my dignity had finally been restored, if I was just happy to see his face again…
The rage left his eyes as his fingers dug into my hair. “It’s okay, baby.” He placed a kiss to my forehead as his powerful arms circled me and brought me close, right into his chest, into the safest place I could ever be. “I’m here.”
I continued to cry, to release everything I’d been holding for so long, to finally feel free for the first time. I gripped him so hard because I never wanted to let go, never wanted to be apart from the only man who had ever protected me.
He kissed my forehead again then sealed his mouth over mine, giving me a soft kiss that quieted my cries. He squeezed me to him, like he’d missed me as much as I missed him, like he had been broken until our souls were reunited.
He was the one to move away first, to dig his hand into my hair and cradle my face. His dark eyes looked empty, not in defeat, but in peace. “Stay here with Khazmuda. I have to finish this.”
I wanted to ask him to stay, to never leave my side again, and my fingers gripped him so hard my knuckles hurt, but I forced them to relax…and released him.
His eyes softened as he watched me struggle to part with him. Then he leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead, a kiss that lingered for seconds, that burned as hot as our lips. “Once I save your forest, I’ll come back to you.”