Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
NERISSA
…a commander of the Lotrennian War Slayers whose loyalty will always lie with the Land of Light and Life.
Nerissa – Nivis
My blades were a part of me, and together, we made a weapon. The hilts were warm on my skin. The leather was worn and smooth against my calloused palms, perfectly melding with my hands and creating an unrippled extension of my arms.
Frigid air cut across my cheeks as it whipped off the Albyrn Mountains and dove into the small valley we sparred in. The training facility was well-kept by the late Dark King Daimos. Its rings and stations were now occupied by liberated slaves and the more agreeable Nivisian warriors.
After Dark King Daimos’s death, Selvina had taken over the leadership of Nivis. Half of the dark king’s soldiers rebelled, but with three Bellators on hand, the uprising was squashed quickly, and the ice queen didn’t fuck around.
Selvina had executed two hundred of them.
The remainder had submitted, many of them surprisingly subservient. The captains were now training ex-slaves and preparing them for battle.
Ursa’s blade angled up, and she grimaced. Her golden brows pinched as she prepared to take me off guard. My blades caught hers, and I twisted, ripping the hilt free from her hand.
The line of silver cut across the blue sky as she let out an exhausted curse. Her hands dropped to her knees as she bent over and caught her breath.
“Your frown gave you away,” I explained as I stepped away and retrieved her blade. Drips of sweat trickled down her temples, despite the relentless wind. “Keep your face relaxed.”
Ursa kept her face to the ground as she nodded her head. Her back bobbed as she sucked down the air. I pulled a water skin free and handed it to her.
“That’s enough for today,” I declared after taking a swig of my own.
She straightened and cracked her neck before nodding. I kept my gaze on her sea blue eyes, resisting the urge to look at the thick scar on her neck from the collar she wore through slavery. Lyvia hated when people stared at her scar, so it felt best to avoid looking at her cousin’s.
Ursa was strong to endure over twenty years of slavery at the hands of the psychotic elf that ruled these lands—at the hands of the Tauruk…
My appreciation for the elf had grown since spending more time with her.
She’d asked me to train her, to prepare her.
And unlike Selvina, Ursa preferred blades to ball gowns.
Though years of slavery had left its mark on her, Selvina had healed Ursa’s injuries. A bad ankle, a misaligned back, and various other injuries left by her previous owner. But haunted memories lingered in her eyes most days.
A low, guttural growl resonated across the sparring yard, and I snapped my head around as two massive white forms clomped through the thick snow.
Nivis bears.
Fascinating.
I cocked my head as Ursa turned toward the bear in the front, led by one of her chosen captains. The bear’s giant head swung in her direction. A bridle crafted of dark leather and bright silver glinted in the sunlight as it nearly knocked her over.
She caught her footing and gave the bear a shove back before chuckling.
“They don’t know their strength,” she explained as I approached.
The bear turned a giant black nose toward me before huffing in my face. I grimaced, wiping away the spray of bear snot.
Ursa slipped a booted foot into the stirrup of the saddle and swung her leg over. The bear lifted the side of its black lip, flashing a sharp canine when I didn’t take a step back.
“Knock it off,” Ursa chided, tugging on the reins. The bear took a reluctant step back, leaving a platter-sized print in the wet snow. “Sorry,” she murmured.
“At least you don’t have to fly,” I replied as Ursa adjusted her seat and prepared to leave. A wave of indignation rippled down my bond with Aquila from where he soared.
No offense, I murmured to the ancient bird.
You couldn’t ask for a more noble or stable flier, Aquila replied, his deep voice wrapping around my mind like a warm embrace. You simply have a weak stomach.
Did Kyson put up with your quips? I asked.
Kyson didn’t leave the contents of his dinner on my wings. I can still smell last week’s fish, he retorted.
Poor bird got his fancy feathers dirty, I replied.
I seem to recall requesting you not to call me bird, Nerissa Ravindra, he muttered, and I swore I could feel him puff up in response.
I’m sorry, I finally said, smirking at the use of my full name.
Don’t apologize, Aquila murmured after a moment. You were born to run, not fly. But I’ll always be your wings. As I was his.
Warmth flooded my chest, but my brows narrowed as I thought of my ancestor.
Kyson was far from perfect, I’d learned.
I often wondered if things would have ended up differently for Bayne and me if Kyson had stored his power in the Bellator Bone like Enya had wanted.
Would our parents still be alive? Perhaps Queen Antares wouldn’t have been so eager to marry into the throne…
Ursa nodded as she twisted her hips. The bear followed her movement, and she rocked as he clomped to the nearby training course.
A wave of alarm sparked down a different connection that sent my heart racing.
Alarm and panic…from Selvina.
What’s happened? I asked Aquila, knowing he’d be communicating with Selvina’s caeluma in his own way.
Something’s coming through the gate, Aquila replied, his voice hardening into practiced calm after thousands of years of battle. Nishanth says their power will do nothing against it. I’m coming for you.
I steeled myself before my stomach could tangle. Selvina and Nishanth used the Ramadiel power to heal, but the pair didn’t hesitate to twist it into the lethal corruption Dark King Daimos has used to cause destruction, undoing every bit of healing that had ever occurred in their foes.
Wind buffeted my body, and the tiniest bits of ice cut against my cheek. The Island of Kayj came into view as we soared through the sparse, cottony clouds. My fingers tightened their grip, and I honed my senses into razor-sharp focus when my breath caught at the sound of his voice.
“I love you,” he said against the calming music, and the part of my heart that had frozen over seemed to thaw. For a moment, the wind ripping off the shores of Kayj felt more like a cloud of his breath, mere inches from my face.
Ronan.
A wave of calm rippled from my bond with Aquila, and I strained my ears to hear better. Where was he? Could Ronan possibly be here?
I scanned the water below, searching for…a ship? How could he be here?
“I’m up here,” I called back, and an overwhelming sense of alarm shot down my bond from Aquila.
SHIELD UP! he commanded, his urgency snapping me out of my trance.
An invisible shield of wind surrounded us, and the calming tune that had accompanied Ronan’s voice dissolved into something wicked.
We broke through the fresh clouds floating over the rocky hills of Kayj. I didn’t have time to think about that voice as a chorus of shrieks ripped through the wind, and a wave of repulsion crashed through my bond with Aquila.
What in the gods’ names… He gasped as we gazed upon hundreds of dark blue, scaled creatures crawling down the slopes of the ruins on Kayj and slithering into the Juniper Sea.
Disgust roiled in my gut as I watched the creatures pause.
Their clawed, human-like arms tore into the bodies of fallen warriors.
My anger rose. My warriors. The few warriors who knew the Realm of Vael was under threat chose to stay and defend it.
Wrath pumped through my veins as the rest of the scaled creatures tore through the remaining vegetation, downing trees and shrubs as they clawed their way to the shore.
Light ’em up, old man, I urged Aquila.
Ladies first, he replied, an anticipatory smile riding his voice.
Shattered sunlight pushed through a small break in the clouds as if beckoning the release of our powers. Heat gathered in my chest before spinning into something molten, blinding and lethal.
Flames sparked off Aquila’s coppery wings before he tucked them in, rallying our shared power. My hands gripped the soft, downy feathers close to his neck, and I leaned in, steeling myself as he rolled and dove.
Saliva flooded my mouth, and my breakfast threatened to rise as my stomach flipped. Shame stole through my chest as I clenched my jaw. My anger quickly squashed the weak emotions, and I frowned as my hands shook. The rocks of Kayj raced up from below.
Aquila’s wings snapped out to the side. My stomach dipped as our momentum changed, and I swallowed the vomit that rose. I let the molten flames feed off my growing anger for one moment longer before igniting the world below.
Shrieks turned to screams as our white flames melted the scales off the creatures’ backs. Their frilled faces stretched black eyes to the skies as they raced for the healing waters of the sea. We banked, sending a long arc of flames surrounding the horde, cutting them off from the shore.
My lips pulled up in a vicious smile as long, scaled talons stretched to the sky and slashed at the air as we passed. We raced back and forth over burning finned creatures until our inner flames began to gutter. The last of them winked out with my one remaining amplifier.
Exhaustion hit us at the same time and my shield wavered against the wind as Aquila banked.
Shrieks fell to pained moans as the last of the creatures attempted to crawl through the burning carnage, a bubbling mess of green and black mud.
A flash of white appeared to our left as Nishanth flanked us. Selvina waved her arm, motioning to a clearing where our two caelumas landed a safe space away.
The ice queen hopped off her snowy hawk. Kresida slid down after her and I scanned the War Slayer. A coating of thick, green sludge dripped from the sheathed blades on her back.
“Commander,” she murmured as she stepped toward me.
I nodded, resisting the warmth that came with the title she had bestowed upon me. Kresida had gone from a rather large pain in my ass to an ally I could count on.
“How many have come through?” I asked, scanning her for injuries and finding none.
Selvina straightened her flying gown and wiped a few drops of green sludge from her cheek. I frowned as she ran her fingers through her hair. Gods forbid she get a little dirty defending her queendom and the realm.
“Five hundred, at least,” Selvina finally answered.
“Five hundred?” I gaped.
“We took out almost a hundred before we were overwhelmed,” Kresida piped in, shooting her eyes between us.
“The Ramadiel can’t touch them,” Selvina murmured, her voice dipping.
A shade of shame quivered against the Bellator bond I shared with her before she buttoned that connection right up.
“It’s as if they’ve never suffered any injury. Their bodies haven’t been broken. I cannot undo healing that has not occurred.”
Frustration built. These creatures were…fresh.
“How many did we lose?” I asked through tight lips.
Selvina’s eyes dipped as a muscle feathered in her jaw. I waited, my molars scraping against each other.
“How many?” I repeated, turning my gaze to Kresida.
“We couldn’t get down there,” Kresida murmured. “Selvina couldn’t heal them from above. Not with the numbers. They were just overwhelmed—”
“We lost them all. Eighty-eight in total,” Selvina cut in. Her thin lips trembled before she drew herself up and stripped the emotion from her face. “I take full responsibility.”
My nostrils flared, and I nodded. My eyes dipped as I scanned the wreckage across the desolate island, and an uneasy certainty settled on my shoulders. I wouldn’t be leaving this place for some time. My powers were needed here.
“Five hundred, you think,” I murmured, glancing to the distant shoreline.
Kresida’s dark head bobbed in confirmation. “Where do you think they’re headed?”
“I don’t know,” I replied. “But our seas are not safe.”