Chapter 50 – Isolde
ISOLDE
Arla’s screech sounded through the din of combat as Aleksander fell to the deck, his eyes staring up at the bird.
Blood pounded in my ears. The sprinkle we’d been fighting in had transformed into fat drops of rain that clouded my vision. All around fae fought, screamed, groaned.
I seemed unable to move. Unable to breathe. To do anything but stand there in sheer horror as my brother’s innards peeked out of his torso.
Roar’s boot landed on Aleksander’s chest. “You’re so concerned and I cannot help but notice that his wings are like yours, Isolde.” A smirk rippled across his face, so aware that I watched. How what he’d done affected me. “If I had to guess, that means I get to take down two white hawks today.”
Roar leaned his weight into my brother’s chest, and Aleksander let out a pained scream that was quickly swallowed by a gale of wind. The storm had well and truly arrived, in more ways than one.
Arla dove, her talons extended, but this time, Roar was ready. He sent a wave of winter magic upward to meet the bird. Arla froze on impact and plummeted.
Rage boiled through my veins, and a shadow figure burst out of me, so ready and willing to commit violence. But no. I would finish Roar myself, and I’d be sure the job was done this time.
“Get the bird,” I commanded. “Take her to land. Get her warm.”
The shadow flew as fast as the wind, catching the symbol of my house before she hit the ground, and flying Arla over the water, to land.
“Abomination.” Roar stumbled back. Rain dripped off his face, illuminated by fire attacks blooming in the sky—trying to take down our flying archers and Rynni who swooped and used her enormous claws to pluck enemy sailors from the ships and crush them.
“I didn’t think it was true. Thought he was lying, like all his kind. ”
“érebo can lie.” I intended to take advantage of Roar’s fear. “But he didn’t lie about this.”
Palm to the darkened clouds above, I called another shadow, felt the tether tighten as it appeared. “Go to Aleksander. Keep him alive.”
Aleksander was not as small as Arla. To have a shadow fly away with him would greatly strain me. But there was no other choice.
The shadow soared to Aleksander and did as I commanded, holding his belly together while I prowled forward.
“The fae of Winter’s Realm will never accept you. A shadow wielder.” Roar had backed farther away from my brother. He spat on the expanse of deck between us.
“Some already have,” I replied. “And maybe others won’t, but the truth is, they will have me and my sister, or a king who is willing to ally with King érebo. The very Shadow Fae who once warred against their ancestors. And let’s not forget the whisperer in line for the Crown of Winter.”
Shock flitted across Roar’s face. Then revelation. “Rhistel.”
“I think my odds are better than you say.”
Roar snorted. “Magnus is an idiot for his alliance. For keeping his son alive too.”
“At least we can agree on something.” I called another shadow, but this time it was more difficult.
Two were already doing my bidding, one of them keeping someone alive, and while I’d practiced often with this magic, it wasn’t second nature yet.
Particularly not making shadow people. And yet, the dark figure materialized next to me, not in the concise form of a person like the other two, but good enough.
The Warden of the West stumbled away, plunging his sword into the scabbard before scooping up his bow and nocking the arrow.
“Shield me,” I said as the arrow flew for my heart.
The shadow expanded, and when the arrow sank, it disappeared into the dark void. Harmless. Shock flitted through me, and that shadow vanished as I momentarily lost control over the figure.
A string of curse words left Roar’s lips and he nocked another arrow, aimed, and loosed.
I did not call a shadow in time but spun out of the way. “You’re out of arrows.”
His hand shot back to the quiver, and he grasped at air. Discovering I was right, Roar pivoted on his heel.
“Running again?” I called out, calling my dark magic another time. “This is becoming quite a habit of yours, Roar.”
Sweat joined the water on my brow as another vague shadow form appeared at my behest. “Bring him to me.”
The shadow surged forward and seized Roar.
The high lord began to shift, but with a breath-stealing push from me, the shadow grew too, able to accommodate whatever size Roar became as long I was strong enough to keep hold of the shadow.
The warden growled and stopped shifting.
He remained fae, though he didn’t stop fighting.
Kicking and thrashing in the air, Roar fought and fought, even as the shadow came to hover before me.
My control over the darkness strained, but I didn’t let the exertion show on my face as I moved to stand before the male I’d once trusted. A male who had kissed me, sought to manipulate me, and then used me for his own means. I looked him up and down.
“I don’t know how I didn’t see how very small you were from the very start. Always using others. Me. Those human slaves. Magnus too—though I can’t say I feel bad for him.” I laughed. “He’ll meet his end too. Hopefully at my hands, but if my sister wants him, that will work just as well.”
Roar stilled. The shadow had him under the arms, and he hung there. Useless. Pathetic. Alone.
I scooped up my sword, turned it over in my hands. “Did you know this is Sassa’s Blade? I wonder how long it’s been since a Lisika has seen it up close?” My gaze drifted upward to meet his, and I took great pleasure in the fear I found there. “Maybe since Sassa’s own husband?”
“We can make a deal. I’ll swear to you. I have the largest army in Winter’s Realm. Spare me, and—”
“Spare you? After all you’ve done to me? To those I love? After seeing how you use humans and sell them to vampires?” I shook my head. “I would never ally with a slaver.”
“I have gold!”
“I don’t give a damn about gold!” I lifted Sassa’s Blade so that the edge graced that tender, throbbing vein in his neck. “You have nothing I could want. Are nothing I could ever want.”
Roar sucked in a breath.
“Any last words, Warden?”
He lifted his chin, said nothing.
“Pray the Fates have mercy on you then.”
One cut with so little pressure applied, and his neck opened. Blood poured, and I watched the life drain from Roar Lisika’s emerald eyes.
“Release him,” I said to the shadow when not a spark remained in the warden, “and then go.”
The inky form vanished, and the absence of a tether to the being loosened my chest. I turned to Aleksander. My hold on my second shadow was still there, though beginning to fray with the effort of keeping it sustained—and thus, Aleksander alive.
I knelt, assessed the wound. There was so much blood. Too much. I was out of my depths.
Where was Rynni? I cast a glance across the ship but didn’t find her. In fact, few fae remained on this ship. Only a half dozen or so were still fighting. Mostly I stood on the deck with corpses or sailors tied to masts.
I took over holding the wound together and nodded to the shadow. “Go find the dragon-fae, Rynni. I need her.”
I wasn’t sure that Rynni could heal this wound, but at the very least she might fly to the mainland and help get Aleksander proper care.
The shadow left, the effort of another large task draining me more. It was not as bad as when I used the shadows within Sassa’s Blade, but noticeable all the same. Terrifying too, in a time when I needed every drop of energy I could spare.
I exhaled a long breath when I spotted the dragon rise from another ship and fly to mine. She shifted back in the air and fell into a squat as her knees absorbed the impact of landing mere paces from me.
“By Eirial’s mercy.” The dragon-fae came to kneel beside me. “How long has it been since he was struck?”
“Ten or fifteen minutes?”
She swallowed. “I can do a temporary bind, but he needs to be stitched up. And the wound cleaned before that.”
My arms trembled. “I fear he can’t stay on your back, but I can send a shadow to carry him to the town. That poses another problem.”
“The fae there might be fearful of shadows, and not help him,” Rynni said. “I’ll go with and once we’re on land, I’ll carry him. Make sure there’s a competent healer. You’re fine if I go?”
My stomach tightened. No, I was not fine with that because though Rynni had only one good fire breath a day, that counted for a lot. As did her teeth and talons. Who knew when we’d need her?
Aleksander might be my brother, but he was only one fae in this army, and we brought precious few healers with us. Her strength aside, it was likely that we’d need Rynni again for what she did best.
“Come back quickly,” I said finally. “Before you go though, how many others are injured? Fallen?”
“I’ve been called to close a dozen wounds. Fallen? I can’t say, but we’ll soon have a count. We’re winning—have almost won entirely.” She was already working magic, temporarily binding the wound. As magic poured from Rynni, I took the time to take in the ships around us.
Yes, the sounds of fighting on the other ships were dwindling. Almost gone.
The dragon-fae finished and sat back on her heels. She turned those keen healer’s eyes on me and spotted the missing piece of my wing. “I can help with that too.”
“Again, quickly.” It might hurt, but my injured wing was still capable of flight.
“It will be superficial, but the pain will be lessened.” Rynni made a motion for me to turn around, and when I did, Thyra landed right in front of me.
“Is Aleksander alive?”
“Clinging to life,” I said as a tingling sensation began in my wing. The pain lessened somewhat. “Rynni is taking him to land. Should anyone else go?”
“A handful.” Thyra placed two fingers in her mouth. A shrill whistle sounded and caught Bac’s attention. He began flying our way, only to have Caelo join him.
The pair landed, and after a quick examination, I deemed them unharmed. Bloodied, particularly Caelo, but not injured.
“Bac, I need you to gather enough people to fly the most grievously injured back to that village with Rynni. Then come back.” Thyra studied the area. “We’ll be sailing to battle, but unless the storm worsens, you should make it in time.”
“I’ll come with you to get the injured situated on the gryphons.” Caelo joined, and as fast as the pair had arrived, they were gone.
“I should go too,” Rynni said. “Tell your shadow to trail me and disappear when we reach the town. Have it set Aleksander on the ground gently.”
The moment Rynni was gone, the shadow followed with our brother.
“Fifteen dead on last count,” Thyra said. “Those who aren’t going to land may have sustained small injuries but can still fight. And we’ve taken all the ships that remain.”
I marveled at how good she was at gathering information quickly and parsing what were the most important bits.
“Ideas on what to do with the living Nava sailors?” Thyra asked, ending her report.
“Congregate them on one ship and lock them up,” I said.
The sailors might fight for the king, but they’d likely had no other option, and now that they were unarmed I would not kill them. If my sister and I lived through the night, and we still required soldiers, we’d do our best to give them a choice of who they fought for.
Thyra nodded. “We have twenty-five ships left.”
That many had slipped into the sea before we took them? My stomach sank. We were so outnumbered, but we had to move on and come to the aid of our allies.
“Then we’d better start preparing to sail,” I replied with more confidence than I felt.