Chapter Seventy-Three
Castor Aegaeon
Fuck my life. Nothing about this battle was right.
Seamus faced off against Daxton, while Aelius and the human mages summoned through Minaeve’s portal engaged with Crimson City and Silver Meadows warriors. Allies were forced to combat against each other, and the free will to defy Minaeve’s wicked scheme was stripped from them all.
Having us destroy ourselves was far too easy. Minaeve’s blood oath linked Seamus to her command, which extended to his people, granting her the ultimate plan for our kind to eradicate ourselves from this world.
The shifters on the mainland were outnumbered, their population depleted but never eliminated. No, they needed one of them to unlock the Heart of Valdor.
That was the only reason their kind was still alive.
Pivoting on my toes, I unleashed a fury of attacks aimed at disarming.
Alas, some inevitably landed a killing blow, ending the life of a brother or sister.
All while acting on a will that was not their own, sickening me to my core.
I ducked and rolled under a strike to my backside.
Coming to my feet, I thrust my blades into the torso of a High Fae dressed in green armor.
“Thank you,” the male rasped as the life faded from his eyes.
“Fuck!” I cursed as I withdrew my tainted blades.
The crimson blood of my kin trickled down the metallic silver to stain my hands.
“Is this what you wanted?” I screamed, turning toward the dawning sky.
“This! This bloodshed… This death?” I cried to the Mother and Father above, my wrath and hatred for this damned fate of Valdor overtaking any remaining rationale.
Flames flared along the perimeter, and I knew Finn was in trouble. Turning in place, I searched for Adohan’s heir, finding him along the base of the outcrop where I last saw Nyssa.
“Hold on, Finn!” I roared as I charged across the battlefield.
Gunnar was fighting at Daxton’s side, but I still felt a pang of guilt for leaving my brother. Daxton would kill Seamus if he had to, but—
“Gahh!” I roared, my frustration boiling over as a premonition forced me to pause.
I sidestepped from my route and managed to duck under a blast of magic from a battling mage.
Turning my darkened eyes toward the woman off to the right, dressed in a dark blue robe with stars etched into the seams, I bared my teeth and snarled.
She looked at me and smiled, revving her magic for another blast of energy that would explode like the force of the sun.
The female fired her magic at me again, but my gifts allowed me to see where she was aiming her killing blasts.
I dodged them easily, making my way toward her location.
With the rising sun cresting over my backside, the female held up her arm to block the blinding rays. I smiled, confident that I had her.
“Try again,” she said, aiming a blast of her magic at the outcrop.
“No!” My eyes widened in panic as I threw my blade at the mage, the steel slicing through her torso, but not before her magic collided with the side of the hill, sending boulders tumbling down the rock face.
“Fuck! Nyssa,” I roared, desperately diving down our bond to find her.
Boulders scattered, and I felt my stomach drop, remembering that Finn was fighting at the base. Gods above, no.
I sprinted toward him. “Finn! Finn!” I yelled.
Shaw, in his panther form, joined me in my frantic search. His strength proved vital as he pushed aside massive boulders like they were mere pebbles.
“Finn!” I screamed, desperate to locate him.
A faint groan drew my attention, and Shaw sniffed the air with a nod, confirming my assumption. With one last effort, we shoved the final boulders to find Finn, with two of his guards surrounding him, protecting him from the falling rocks.
“Cas?”
“Thank the Gods!” I rasped, leaping into the pit.
“Don’t move him,” Zola said, appearing out of the shadows. “Castor, if you do, then—”
Shit, she was right. A stray blade protruded from his back, blood pooling beneath him. I looked at Finn’s body entangled with his guards, who were already at the crossing to the afterlife. I spared a moment and silently thanked them for their sacrifice in protecting Crimson City’s heir.
“Castor?” Finn coughed, his chest heaving.
“Hold on, Finn,” I said, grasping his hand in desperation. “You have a sister to meet, I hear. You need to hold on. You need to meet her.”
“A sister.” Finn smiled as his eyes fluttered closed.
“Stay with me, Finn!” I roared. “Someone, fetch the healers. If we can get him out of here safely, he has a chance!”
“Castor, he can’t—”
“Zola!” I yelled in fear.
“If you let me in, I can jump him to the healer’s tent,” Zola said.
I nodded, giving Finn one final squeeze before moving aside. The shadows cast by the surrounding rocks would allow her to transport them out of the debris.
Once out of the pit, I glanced at the continuing battle, searching for my brother and my mate amongst the chaos. Looking toward the east, I found her. Nyssa was dragging Skylar’s body up the grassy knoll, her attention isolated on cresting the top.
“Nyssa!” I shouted, trying to get her attention.
What in the Gods’ names was she doing?
As dawn broke along the horizon, Nyssa crested the hill with Skylar’s body in tow. Nyssa fell backward, leaving Skylar on the mound’s peak as the sunlight danced across her lifeless frame. In the next breath, an explosion of flames brighter than the Mother herself erupted atop the grassy knoll.
“Nyssa!” I roared as I shielded my eyes, running toward my mate in panic.
The flames continued to grow, drawing everyone’s attention as the spiraling cascade of fire seemed to stretch up into the rising sun. I skidded to my mate’s side, pulling her backward with me as we escaped the maelstrom of fire threatening to consume us.
“What is this?” I asked. “What’s going on?”
Nyssa smiled, signing, “Skylar.”
The flames spiraled into a swirling vortex as a familiar song echoed throughout the lands. It was a beautiful melody I remembered from my childhood. The same song my mother sang to Daxton and me. The same song I knew he sang to her—Skylar.
The heat of the flames skyrocketed, fluttering blue and then white, every pair of eyes entranced by the sight unfolding before us.
The faint outlines of feathers began to dance amongst the wisps of crimson flames, followed by magnificent wings and tail feathers that draped behind a mammoth body cloaked in fire.
The flames swirled as a figure finally took shape, revealing a magical bird of legend, one I never thought I would see in my immortal life—a phoenix.
The flames dissipated, revealing the legendary bird of fire, hovering over the battlefield and looking down on us with a familiar amber stare.
“Skylar,” I whispered as Nyssa grasped my hands.
Shaw’s roar filled the silence as the phoenix’s song answered his call, turning its sight to the mages rallying near Minaeve and Istar near the lake’s edge.
Blistering flames engulfed the phoenix’s body as it swooped toward Minaeve.
Skylar’s power and rage erupted across the land below, creating an impenetrable wall of scorching wildfire aimed directly at the heart of our enemies.
Minaeve called upon a barrier, the Heart of Valdor clutched to her chest, as Skylar dove toward the shield. Flames and talons collided with the blackened wall, as dozens of smaller portals appeared around us. Aelius warriors were pushed through at the command of human mages.
Still, Skylar did not relent in her attack, determined to break through the magic that kept her from seeking vengeance and blood for the deeds cast by the false queen.
“Retreat!” Seamus commanded, standing along the opening of a portal. “Do what you must,” he said into my mind before stepping through the blinding light of magic.
I turned my attention back toward the mythical firebird, whose flames managed to crack through Minaeve’s shield, causing her to panic.
“Through the portal!” Minaeve shouted at Istar and Anjani.
They both escaped without hesitation as Minaeve slowly backed up, struggling to keep her shield against Skylar’s wrath.
“Until we meet again, shifter,” Minaeve sneered as she stepped through the portal and disappeared with the rest of her troops.
Skylar violently flapped her wings as flames danced along feathers painted in red, yellow, and gold, blazing like the Mother herself. Traces of vibrant purple, white, and blue decorated the plumage at the tips of her wings and tail feathers, where the flames burned the brightest.
Skylar landed on the ground with her head tilted back. Her wings were gracefully tucked into her sides. She stood proud, her eyes shining with determination as she scanned the clearing, the flames cast by her magic burning brightly with the rising dawn.
She was mesmerizing.
Amid the smoke and chaos of the battlefield, I saw a lone figure marching toward Skylar. The flames surrounding her twisted and parted, clearing a path just for him.