Chapter 58
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
Aelius Soleia, harnesser of suns. Fire and flame bow to his name.
—Lock Scroll, the Arx.
Black clouds rose in the distance like a smudge of coal across gray linens. The winds tore at us, and though my shield held, it did nothing against the heavy, wet snow leaking from the sky. Winter had landed.
We’d flown hard and fast along the coast of Sultira for the better part of two weeks, now nearing Kayj. Flying for the Ramadiel Bone and the dark king. For vengeance.
Enya’s blade pressed against my back, its hard presence like the steady hand of fate pushing me forward. Despite my numb fingers tangled in Tiberius’s mane, my body was hot.
Raging. Ready.
Ready to return to the place of horrors I’d escaped months ago.
I left Kayj with a rip in my soul. Broken and bleeding and hating myself for what he’d done.
For what I’d done. I would return ready to rip through Dark King Daimos and his fragile castle.
Ready to shoulder the burden required to save the ashen, to rid the realm of evil.
Ready to sacrifice my soul for the damned and fight for the living.
A dark form flew in the distance, followed by a wave of apprehension. Aquila. Ti’s ears flattened against his head.
Lotrennian ships east of Kayj, Ti murmured, relaying the message from Aquila. Most of them were upturned.
Alarm sparked through my system. I squinted against the blur of white and gray that made up the wintery horizon, cursing my human eyes.
“At least two hundred ships,” Vulcan called into the wind. He shifted behind me as he adjusted his grip on Ti’s mane, unstrapping his bow and taking aim at the warriors he could spy from above.
A confident push of determination washed over me as Olienna’s Bellator connection materialized in my mind.
Leave the ships. Head to the fortress, her crystal voice sounded in my and Nerissa’s minds, the shared channel of communication somehow less alarming than the Stone Witch’s forced entry.
Daimos had created a monster with the Transcindiel power that now swirled in my veins.
Turning Olienna into something she dreaded, something she hated, and twisting the spell so she couldn’t speak of it to anyone, her words escaping in riddles and rhymes.
She couldn’t tell anyone the truth, even if she wanted to.
But this bond… This connection with those who shared the Bellator powers was as much a part of my soul as my connection with Tiberius.
I glanced back to where seven Sultiran ships flew in a steady pyramid, like an imposing air invasion.
Olienna stood in the center of the leading ship, in front of the mast, with her slender arms extended to either side, bits of light sparking off her.
She seemed younger since leaving Sultira, her eyes brighter.
Her gray battle gown billowed around her high boots.
The black armor lining her chest and arms sharpened her features.
Her violet eyes glowed as she sent an unfathomable amount of power and wind into the sails of the small fleet, controlling each and every one of them.
Tiberius and Aquila banked left as the clouds parted, and my gut sank.
Hundreds of white and gold Lotrennian ships dotted the gray-blue waters of the Juniper Sea, too many upturned and blazing.
We passed into the black clouds of Kayj, where a line of War Slayers engaged with the silver-armored elves of Nivis, blades glinting against the sharp, blood-soaked rocks that bordered the shore.
A loud thunk drummed, followed by the stinging hiss of an arrow…
No… a ship’s bolt. Panic ripped through Ti’s bond.
“LEFT!” Vulcan screamed as the six-foot-long ship’s bolt hurtled toward us.
Tiberius flipped, his wings going vertical as he spun midair. I clung to his neck, my shins glued to his side. I stole a glance behind in time to see a dark smudge of ships in the distance, and though I couldn’t see it, I knew the Hydra’s flag flapped high above them, less than an hour behind us.
As Tiberius righted himself, the airborne Sultiran ships crashed into the dark bay, rocketing cannonballs into Nivis’s fleet.
Three bolts fired from below. Tiberius’s huge body dodged and dipped, avoiding each one as he allowed instincts to take over.
Aquila spiraled around them in the distance before narrowing his focus on one and diving.
Nerissa’s arms extended in synchrony with Aquila’s wings, and a beam of white, blazing light ripped from their falling forms, exploding into the Nivis warship below. The blast echoed across the sea, drowning out any screams from the soldiers on board.
Nerissa leaned forward on Aquila’s back as he climbed higher, away from the blazing debris.
I pulled my gaze away as another bolt ripped through the sky.
My stomach dropped as Tiberius flipped. The whiz of the iron was close enough to feel its heat.
My eyes snagged on the massive black device at the prow of the warship below, where soldiers inserted another bolt.
Tiberius’s wrath melded with my own, and we narrowed in on the ship below.
Let us out, the Obscura demanded.
Tiberius tucked his wings in tight as he dove, locking onto the ship as they aimed the deadly iron tip at us.
His wings ripped open as men hurried to their stations, and we sent pure, unbridled darkness raining down at them.
Black shadows of mist and smoke enveloped the ship, and an eerie silence cleaved through the air as the ash sank into the waves, a stark contrast to the thunderous blast from Nerissa and Aquila.
Tiberius banked as we scanned the horizon, searching for our next target, when a massive flash of light ripped through the storm raging at the center of the island.
Brilliant, white light. The light of life and everything good. Bayne.
I whipped my head around, searching for Aquila and Nerissa when a wave of alarm rushed in from behind. Aquila’s massive form swooped down and soared inland.
Tiberius’s wings pumped wildly as we chased after Aquila and Nerissa.
The storm of Kayj intensified as we flew over the battle raging on shore.
Blasts of magic and clashes of swords rocked the space, and I caught sight of two Lotrennians below, surging through the surf as they raced toward their countrymen.
Carina, arms out with a look of pure hatred on the small elf’s face, was flanked by Kresida.
Her blades were out and bright with blood.
“Do you want me to drop you down—”
“No,” Vulcan snapped behind me. “I’m not leaving you.”
“No, you’ve hovered ever since we left Lotrennia,” I said through breaths. “What was Astraeus talking about in the dungeons?”
Vulcan had been moodier than usual since their little spat outside of Father Marcus’s cell.
“I’ve been guarding your back. Stop being a spoiled brat and appreciate the backup— Right!”
My breath whooshed from me as Ti banked, avoiding arrows from below.
“Astraeus said—”
“I made a promise,” Vulcan cut me off.
My stomach dipped. “To what?”
“Keep you safe,” he growled. A warmth squeezed at my chest despite the icy winds we flew through.
“At all costs,” I finished for him, remembering the beating he took on the Hydra, the arrow he took above Aedrialis. Had he sworn an air oath to Bayne?
“Why?”
My breath was lost in the gust of wind that surged from the center of the island.
“As irritating as you may be,” he grumbled, adjusting the position of his nocked arrow to the opposite side, “you’re strong. You’ve survived longer than I expected. Your resilience and sacrifice could make you a great leader. And despite the annoying sound of your voice…”
I scoffed, my brows furrowing as I did my best to keep my attention on the land ahead of us.
“I’ve come to…appreciate you. You’re perhaps what I’d imagine a sister to be.”
The warmth that swarmed my chest burned to the point of pain, and I blew out a slow breath to keep tears from forming. “Vulcan, I—”
“Perhaps we can have this conversation another time,” he growled, turning and loosing another arrow.
We flew over the shores. Moans of the fallen and the clanging of metal echoed from the rocks below as my attention snagged on a group of fighters toward the north. Rising fighters.
Vander’s eyes locked on mine as we flew by, his ragged face tired but fierce. His lips turned up, and he thrust his blade into the sky, bellowing, “Bonder!”
Triumphant war cries erupted from the surrounding soldiers.
I snapped my attention up as we tore through a sheet of icy rain that stole my breath.
The wind spun as we flew inward. Ti’s wings wavered against it.
Aquila flattened his head before a blast of wind caught his wing, and he flipped, slamming Nerissa to the ground.
She tucked and rolled as lightning lit up the sky above us, the resulting thunder rattling my teeth.
Tiberius angled to where Nerissa fell and dove. His body shook as he aimed for the rocky ground, and my shield finally broke. I gasped as it fell away, and Ti’s hooves thundered to the ground. Wings tucked in tight, he braced himself against the onslaught of wind.
“Nerissa!” I called through the storm.
She lifted an arm. Tiberius staggered against the wind, his form too tall and wide to stand against it. Vulcan leaped off his back and ran alongside him.
Find Aquila and get back to the bay! I called to Ti. Take out Nivis’s fleet before this storm gets any worse!
A wave of determination was the only response I got. My legs stumbled along the uneven ground. Tiberius didn’t slow as he turned and thundered away from the storm.
A groan escaped Nerissa as she reached for my hand and popped to her feet, giving us a quick nod, her eyes bright with fire and determination. We sprinted through the thick trees, weaving in and out, doing our best to push against the wind.
Where are you? I reached into that strange, quiet place where Olienna’s voice found me.
We’ve breached the eastern port and are headed into the island, she responded.
Bayne is here. We’re heading north, but the storm is too wild for Aquila and Tiberius, I added.
This isn’t a storm, Olienna replied before severing the connection.
My spine stiffened as a piercing shriek, deadly and familiar, cut through the whipping wind.
Ashen.
“Keep running! Don’t look back!” Vulcan called as another scream ripped through the storm.
Nerissa pumped her arms as she raced through the trees. Vulcan slowed his pace to match mine, stealing a quick glance back.
Behind us then. My lungs burned, either from the wind, the running, or the smoke that spiraled alongside the dirt and debris the air kicked up.
As we raced through the edge of the woods, we slowed, the wind dying.
My knee crashed to the ground as our footing angled upward at the base of a hill.
Vulcan’s hand was on my collar, lifting me to my feet as we clambered up the rocky incline.
My breath caught as we stumbled over the edge of the hill overlooking the valley of ashen camps and the massive Onyx Tower of Kayj.
My jaw slackened as I gazed at the uprooted trees and debris surrounding the flattened space in the center of the valley, where a wild, spinning wall of air shot to the sky.
And through the massive tunnel of wind, two elves stood against the dark king.
A vice gripped my chest. Daimos’s sickly, yellow eyes glowed in the night, his face wild with murder as he sent blast after blast of deep blue light at them.
Bayne’s brilliant white light flared again.
His green eyes were fixed on the dark king as he threw his shield up, blocking attack after attack.
Isla’s petite frame stood back-to-back with Bayne’s looming form as she sent the surrounding air into the tunnel stretching to the sky, encasing the three of them in a cage of wind with unfathomable power.
I gaped at the display of magic as we stood atop the hill.
At Isla, whose strength with the wind had grown to unfathomable heights.
At Bayne, who threw himself at the dark king, his power stronger than I’d ever seen.
A small, pathetic part of me wilted at the sight. At what distance would do to us both.
Light flashed from my left, snapping me from my reverie as Nerissa’s power flared not toward the dark king, but behind us. Bayne’s face jerked to where we stood, his mouth opening in shock as he took in the three of us. His green eyes blinked rapidly as they landed on me.
Isla screamed his name as that chilling screech ripped through the valley, and a horde of ashen broke through the trees, racing to where we stood.
Vulcan was already halfway down the hill, cutting through the horde as Nerissa’s white flame engulfed the group to the right.
I turned, rallying my strength as the first elongated claws and snapping jaws reached me.
I hesitated for just a moment, my powers at odds with each other, and the creatures raced toward us. The amplifier, heavy and warm on my chest, waited for my call when Bayne’s cry ripped through the air.
The Obscura took over as I whipped my head to where Bayne stood, his mouth parted as the dark king bellowed and threw a wave of magic that pierced Isla’s wind tunnel. Bayne and Isla flew backward, the channel of air vanishing as they crashed against the rocky ground.
“NO!” Nerissa screamed as she turned toward the dark king.
Vulcan grunted behind me as Nerissa pulled her powers away from the ashen and held her hands to the side, gathering swirls of bright, white light in her palms.
My heartbeat stuttered, as if tripping, staggering in its desperate panic.
Choices.
Xenelpha’s words echoed in my mind. The ashen swarmed Vulcan as cries of agony erupted from the center of the valley where Isla and Bayne fell.
Vulcan’s cry rose from the bottom of the hill, and his blonde head dipped below the white limbs of the ashen. Another brother.
The dark king’s attention slid to Nerissa as her hands gathered white, glowing balls of light before raising them above her head. He smiled as he reached a hand of sinister blue light in her direction.
Choices.
Everyone screamed.
Fuck choices.