Chapter 14
Fourteen
Kyron and I scurry to our feet, grabbing our clothes and haphazardly throwing them on as we race out of the stables.
The bell continues to ring, joined by horrendous animalistic calls and shouted commands.
The red and gold glow of power reflects from the low-sitting clouds, and swords clank in a horrid symphony. We are at war.
I grab Kyron’s hand as he rushes ahead, past the pigpen and grazing field. The pounding of my feet causes rocks to dig through the soles of my delicate slippers. It slows me down, but Kyron holds tight. We round the chicken coops, and I yank his hand, bringing him to a stop.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” I say, looking up at a human-size hawk perched at the top of the feed house.
The Allaji bird stares down at us, its electric blue eyes darting back and forth.
Beyond the intelligence of an efficient predator, there’s something menacing brewing beneath the surface.
It opens its curved beak, displaying a slender, wiggling tongue, like it is tasting our scent on the breeze.
The bird expands its cream and brown speckled wings, and its long sharp talons uncoil from the thatched roof.
Kyron releases me, and his hands light up with his flames. “Run!”
We sprint toward the center of camp, and the sounds of the battle intensify. The screams are more frantic and the clattering of swords constant. They are almost as loud as the massive flapping wings closing in on us.
The hawk swoops down and Kyron hurls a ball of fire at it. Tilting to one side, the bird soars by the projectile and dives for us again. I take control of Kyron’s shadows and yank him to the ground with me, letting his gift camouflage us. The hawk flies past, and I blow out a puff of air.
“I fucked up. We should have gone over protocol for an attack today.” Kyron says, helping me to my feet.
I tighten the shadows around us like a protective blanket. “It’s not your fault. We’ll figure it—”
“Duck!”
I drop to my knees, but I’m not fast enough. A sharp talon slices across my back, ripping through my nightgown. Kyron runs in the hawk’s direction and a stream of flames shoots from his hand. It arches through the sky, following the bird but never reaching it.
“How did it see us?” I yell, ignoring the warm liquid running down my spine.
“Great eyesight. It must have seen the ripples in the shadows. I’ll distract it. You head for the hub and gather the others.”
“No, I’m not leaving you.”
“Dammit, Raelle!”
I call the flames away from him and lift my hands over my head. They expand under my control, raging as they shoot high above us. “Let it try again, and we will have a roasted bird.”
He shakes his head and presses his back to mine. “So much for saving the pretty damsel in distress.”
I laugh. “What do you mean? I think I’m doing an amazing job, my pretty prince.”
He shoots me a glare over his shoulder and takes a step back, moving me forward. “If you get us out of this alive, I promise to swoon at your feet.”
“Oh, that’s a sexy picture. You have a deal.”
The hawk soars overhead in a circle, staying far from the blazing heat.
Its head moves with each turn, not letting us out of its sight.
I can’t help but feel like the bird is on a specific mission.
It was waiting for us to leave the stables, eager to toy with us.
Nothing about this attack was spontaneous. We’re its intentional prey.
Under the plume of fire, we move onto the main road, and I lessen my control on Kyron’s gift.
The wooden buildings lining the street give us some cover and I don’t want to set camp up in flames.
We need to make it to the hub, where the flashes of fire and guttural animal sounds seem to be the loudest.
A scream for help comes from an alleyway, stopping us in our tracks. I bolt toward the cry. It doesn’t matter if it is my soldier or Kyron’s, I won’t let harm come to anyone under the protection of my kingdom.
A Lucent soldier, geared up in the armor Terro designed, stands with their back to a wall.
They frantically flick their wrist, trying to get the built-in fire mechanism to ignite.
It sparks but nothing happens. A massive brown bear stalks toward him, drool dripping from its maw.
The soldier whimpers and their entire body shakes.
The beast tilts its snout and leaps forward.
I chuck Kyron’s flame at its back. A tremendous roar feels the narrow alley.
The bear whips around and charges for me, its back on fire.
Kyron steps around me, a plank of wood in his hand, and swings.
With a sickening crack, blood splatters on the side of the building.
The bear makes a sound like a wounded dog and crumples to the ground.
The bear’s fur melts away by both flame and the retreat of power, revealing a robust, naked woman. Blood coats her face and curly red, and her eyes are vacant.
“Thank you, General LeFur—I mean Your Grace,” the frightened man says, stepping over the body.
“Kyron,” he corrects, handing the soldier the plank of wood.
We don’t wait to see if the Cyffred follows us as we turn the direction of the hub.
Saving one life was worth the detour, but I fear what we’ll find in the thick of the battle.
It makes my feet feel leaden the closer we get, and my heart pounds a rapid beat.
We move around the back of the hub, and Kyron motions for me to press my body flush to a wall.
I do as he asks and look around the corner.
The world closes in on me.
Panthers, wolves, and eagles are some of the shifter animals clashing with our troops.
They’re vicious, ripping off limbs and clawing through armor.
My soldiers have paired off, the Khiros using their gifts while many of the Cyffreds’ armor needs to recharge, leaving them to fight with a blade.
Even with the Stigian warriors added to our ranks, the Allaji outnumber us, and our casualties increase by the minute.
“Do the thing with my fire and shadows,” Kyron says from my side.
I stare ahead in shock, my voice not feeling like my own as I say, “It won’t be enough. Drawing on every gift here won’t stop them. There are too many.”
A wolf snaps its fangs around a warrior’s neck and pulls them to the ground. They kick and scream but it’s no use. Blood bubbles from the warrior’s mouth, and the beast pulls away with a meaty chunk of their throat.
I turn to Kyron, pushing a sweat-soaked strand of hair away from his face. “I love you.”
“Raelle?”
“I won’t hide while they fight, even if it is useless,” I say.
He brings my palm to his lips and closes his eyes, inhaling the scent of my skin. His thumb rubs over my wrist in gentle strokes. I concentrate on that feeling, letting it calm me. When he looks at me again, I’m met with pure determination. “Just promise you will stay by my side the entire time.”
I kiss his cheek. “I won’t leave you.”
Together, we step into the battle.
I draw upon the gift of a nearby Electro. A leopard pins them to the ground, crushing them under their enormous paw. The cat bares its fangs and bends toward their neck, and I shoot a bolt of lightning through it. It roars and falls away from its prey, convulsing from the shock.
My world becomes a kaleidoscope of powers and death. The powers I wield tangle an eagle in the branches of a tree, stab a canine with stakes of ice, and the earth swallows a feline. I fight and fight with Kyron at my side. He never leaves, battling with fire and shadows. But it’s not enough.
I may stand until the end, but the victory will not be ours.
The Allaji will decimate our armies.
Jumping from one gift to another takes its toll on me.
I don’t want to drain any of our people, but I’m not used to moving so rapidly from one element to the next.
My arms struggle to remain before me and my vision blurs at the edges.
The powers of the Ignita and Pianti I control falters, and I drop to my knees.
“Raelle?” Kyron looks down at me, and the flame he uses to keep a bird at bay extinguishes.
A raven swoops in like a gloomy spirit of death and knocks him to his back.
I scramble to my hands and knees and crawl to get to him. Only I don’t make it far before I meet the steely gaze of a massive cat. It hunches down and prowls toward me. I stare into its glowing lime eyes and come to terms with my fate.
This is how I die, shredded to ribbons.
A bird squawks, and I turn my face to the predawn sky.
The hawk from earlier calls out as it circles the camp, and the other animals fall silent, listening to the constant screech.
When the hawk stops its noise, the shifters race for camp’s exit.
Some grab a Lucent or Stigian as a trophy, dragging them away while they kick and scream.
I struggle to strike down their retreating forms, but it’s no use.
They disappear as quickly as they invaded, ending our bloody battle with the Allaji.