Chapter 32
RAINIER
For far too long, we were weightless as the ground disappeared beneath us. I couldn’t breathe; all the air in my lungs had been left behind. Someone’s knee slammed into my head as we fell, and I saw stars as I summoned wind to cushion our fall. Still, though, even with my divine interference, grunts of pain rang out around me.
And then came the screaming.
My divine fire had only struck one of the shadow creatures as the ground beneath us gave out. The woman screamed as the remaining wolf latched onto her leg, and she scrambled to get her toddler away from the struggle. Lasu lunged toward them, taking the girl from her mother, as Aurelia stood and unsheathed her sword. Wincing from the pain in my head, I summoned divine light into my hands as Aurelia struck the demon. It was no good; the shadows parted around her blade, and yet its teeth still gripped and tore at the woman’s flesh.
“Move!” I shouted, not having the confidence to control my divinity in such tight quarters. Stumbling closer, dizzy, I aimed for the beast.
The woman screamed in agony as white-hot flames licked over her flesh, burning her alongside the attacking creature. It was unavoidable, but I did my best to minimize the damage. The moment the beast disappeared, I withdrew my flames, but the scent of charred flesh remained. The woman sobbed, and I wished she would lose consciousness to miss the worst of the pain. The little girl shrieked, struggling with Lasu to return to her mother, and my heart ached. At my friend’s feet lay the lifeless body of the infant, and I swallowed down my sorrow. It would certainly turn to guilt as time wore on. I hadn’t acted soon enough to save them all.
“I’m afraid that was rather pointless, Rainier,” the Supreme called out, and this time, I spotted him leaning over the edge of the pit he’d created. High above us, Nythyrian and Folterran soldiers alike stood sentry along its edges.
“Heal her,” I ordered Maurice, hoping he was capable, as I turned to open a rift.
But nothing happened. The Supreme had warded the area around the woman, I knew that, but I hadn’t realized the elven magick would still work when we were so far below ground.
“Mmm, disappointing,” the Supreme said in a quiet voice. “Retreating is not an option, I’m afraid.” I couldn’t see the evil man, the night still too dark to make him out. But I knew it was him. I could picture his brown eyes that I’d once found understanding and warm, fatherly almost, when I’d never experienced that from my own blood. I thought of the patient kindness he’d shown me as a child, and it made me sick to my stomach. The trust I’d had for him was obliterated, and yet his soldiers watched with rapt attention, waiting for his commands. He’d earned their loyalty while coming for my wife and kingdom. I would kill him with my bare hands, if I had the chance.
“Enough taunting.” Though I couldn’t see Nereza, I recognized her tone as she reprimanded the Supreme. If they were both here, I knew what would come next.
“Emmeline will not fall into your trap,” I called, willing it to be true. I’d known what I was getting myself into, but I couldn’t watch as he killed what remained of that innocent family before my eyes.
Though my soldiers were innocent and had done nothing but defend our walls, there was something about the vulnerability of those children that made me come undone. It made me understand that I had to take the risk. If we survived, if Em triumphed over the Accursed, it would mean nothing if the most gentle and pure perished.
If Em came, I could trust her. I had to believe it. Despite my doubts and fears, despite the mistakes we’d made in the past, she would make the correct choice. She might give them her blood, but she wouldn’t surrender herself to them. Her soft heart was her greatest strength—not a weakness. She would do what was right for the thousands of people spread across our three kingdoms.
Perhaps I only underestimated her because I struggled with my humility daily. If it were me, if it were my choice to surrender, I wondered if I would be strong enough to keep it all in perspective.
“I hope that she will walk into it,” the Supreme replied, chuckling. “There is no need for all of this fighting. It was a simple request.”
“It’s not a request if the alternative is death.”
“To a king, a request and a demand are one and the same. You should know that by now,” Nereza said, coolly. “I tire of this, Zaphus.” I could just make out his frown as he adjusted his robes.
Quietly, I summoned the ground beneath my feet. I was unable to open a rift, thanks to the ward, but I could still use other aspects of my divinity. Despite being surrounded, if there was any way to get outside the reach of the ward, I could get them out of here.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the Supreme said, followed by a softer, “Show him why.”
The ground rumbled, and I realized the Nythyrians encircling the pit were conduits as the dirt walls pressed closer. Several of my soldiers stumbled toward the center of the pit, forced to move by the shifting dirt. Anton began to climb, jabbing his feet and hands deep into the soil, scaling the wall with an impressive quickness.
When the earth opened up, pulling him deep into the dirt and swallowing him whole, my throat closed.
“Let him go,” I demanded. “I won’t use my divinity again.”
“Oh, but that’s not what I want at all,” the Supreme said. And to Nereza, “Summon his queen.”
The Nythyrian queen cleared her throat, as if she wanted to give the Supreme a piece of her mind, but instead, lifted her hands. Aurelia gasped as shadows poured from Nereza’s open palms.
The wolves hadn’t been the Supreme’s at all.
A dozen of them landed along the perimeter of the pit, snarling and snapping at each of us. The little girl screamed, shoving at Lasu to free herself. She slipped out of his grasp, and started to run.
“Grab her!” I shouted, lunging toward her myself, despite my distance. Because, while she’d run from the wolves she could see, she hadn’t known there were more creatures behind her.
Lasu dove for the little girl, and I lifted my hand, divine fire dancing on my palm. But one of the Supreme’s creatures jumped, its sharp teeth enclosing around my elbow. Screaming erupted around me as my soldiers were attacked. Using that divine fire, I rid myself of the wolf clinging to my flesh, but it didn’t stop the assault. I’d killed three of them before I had a chance to breathe, searching for the little girl.
I couldn’t see the child, but her mother was certainly dead. Two of the shadow beasts tore into her body, ripping the flesh from her bones. Lasu struck one with his club, though it did little to hinder their ravaging.
Em’s divine fire was the only thing that would stop them. And for every wolf I slaughtered, Nereza sent more. Within minutes, we’d all been shoved to the center of the pit. Elbow to elbow, I stood with my soldiers, flinching at each snap and snarl from the shadows.
“Give me your club,” I commanded Lasu, who faced the opposite direction. Between us, the body of the woman and the infant lay still and silent. I could only hope the toddler was beneath her mother’s body, protected from the horrors we’d just experienced and what was yet to come.
Lasu passed his weapon without question, and when I set it alight with my fire, it offered a brief glimmer of hope. It was too bad the rest of my soldiers only carried swords. Bleeding and broken, we fought, but with my divine fire as the only thing capable of stopping them, I wasn’t sure how long we’d last.
And as Nythyrian soldiers started shoving overpowered Vestians into the pit, and the screams grew louder, I knew that was the point. Though the Supreme didn’t know Em and I could feel each other’s emotions through the bond, something unheard of before between conduits, he knew she wouldn’t be able to ignore the tug of the bond as I used her divinity.
And when I’d felt her anger grow through our golden connection, her rage turning into a simmering confidence, I knew he was right. She was coming, and I couldn’t stop her.
But I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
With my head tipped back toward the sky, I sought comfort in the constellations. I closed my eyes, pouring all of my divinity into protecting those around me, prolonging our demise. I envisioned the ring of divine fire, its sweltering protection all I could offer for those who would die alongside me.
But when I heard an earth-shattering roar, I opened my eyes and found our salvation. I was certain my vision deceived me, the size of the opalescent creature soaring overhead much larger than possible. But it didn’t matter.
Damia, death-bringer.
The constellation of stars on Em’s shoulder lit the night sky behind her.
My dear heart had come—and she’d brought her dragons.