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This horse was so fast that we arrived at the southeastern bank of the Glawar shortly after the elven army.
Just as the monsters and demons had made way for my mate that day a thousand years ago, so too did the elven knights move aside their black steeds, and the foot soldiers stepped back, gazing at me with wide eyes as I trotted toward the shore.
Toward my father and Araton.
My brother looked me and my mount up and down in horror. Turning pale, he dragged his gaze away from mine with a grimace that crushed my heart in a merciless grasp. Even though he couldn’t meet my eyes, I could feel his immense, aching guilt.
For what I had become.
Even though he had never said it out loud, I knew he believed that if he hadn’t let his pride win and jumped off the cliff to save me, the enemy wouldn’t have had the chance to seduce me.
But he was so wrong.
One way or another, Mornon would have gotten to me. My brother had nothing to blame himself for. I could only hope he understood that before he reached his Serie in Rest.
I shifted my attention to Father. Anger and betrayal flashed in his gaze with such intensity that I sensed his command to the princess in me to dismount and kneel in obedience.
But I was no longer the Princess of Elves.
I was no longer the heir to the throne.
I was no longer his daughter.
That’s why I gave him an icy look and moved past him, stopping the stallion a few steps from the river.
The river that no longer sparkled like a diamond but boiled like blood. It seemed as if the crimson vegetation from deep within Lake Caran had also spilled into the Glawar, whose currents were unnaturally strong, creating rapids.
But that wasn’t what upset me.
It was the people on the other side who, to escape the nauseating and terrifying creatures chasing them, were willing to confront the fury of the Glawar.
Only to melt into the acid-corrosive water, emitting cries so piercing they made my eyes swell up with tears.
Mornon’s horse pawed the ground, hinting to me that he could jump over the river.
I was about to make him turn around to get a running start when more echoes of inhuman screams made me quickly look first toward the port in the gulf and then toward the villages further northwest.
There were still survivors.
And I wouldn’t leave them alone, like I was.
You’re not alone, my dear, Calien said.
Just as had happened a millennium ago, I felt the ethereal presence of the Spirits, lined up to my right and left.
In awe, I looked sideways at their translucent aquamarine forms floating on the grass: Clothed in long tunics, they had stern, pointed features, both female and male, and their gazes were fixed on Leukós with a determination that galvanized me.
Because suddenly I knew what to do.
So, I gently pulled the horse’s mane and applied pressure with my leg on his side to turn him toward my soldiers.
I observed them with the same resolve I’d had before every battle we’d fought together since Araton and I had become their generals.
A sense of relief and pride washed over me as, though subtly, they nodded with decision.
Then, I focused on my father and urged Mornon’s stallion to move closer to his. I fixed him with such a stern glare that he had to lift his chin haughtily to hold my gaze.
“Do not abandon these people just to punish me,” I told him, my voice brimming with disapproval.
He took a long, measured breath, and pride crossed in his eyes, as if, despite the darkness I no longer felt shame for, he had just caught a glimpse of the light-filled warrior I had always been. However, he didn’t bother to reply.
“You can’t do this alone against that monster, Sister,” Araton said.
I met his sidelong gaze as I drew my sword, and my mouth lifted to one side. “I am not alone.”
I turned the horse back toward the Glawar and nudged him gently with my heels to move him as close to the shore as possible. Some chunks of soggy earth fell into the boiling water, unsettling the animal further and making him constantly paw the ground with his black hooves, ready to run.
I looked at the distant capital with a fierce expression, sure that my mate was gazing back at me with the same intensity.
Then pressed my blade against Calien’s Crystal.
The Spirits granted me all their extraordinary magic, and the next moment, I aimed the weapon at the river.
A notched jet of glass shot from my sword with a shrill sound, but before crashing into the impetuous scarlet surface, it swerved upward and widened, forming a broad, arched bridge without railings.
Mornon’s stallion reared up with a powerful neigh and lunged forward, his hooves pounding on the glass.
Once we reached the opposite bank, I tried to stop or redirect the horse to help the humans fleeing from the terrifying creatures, but the animal refused to obey.
So, I swung my sword overhead, releasing another stream of glass that pierced many of the beasts near the Glawar, trapping them in ground-embedded palisades.
“Run toward the bridge!” I shouted at the humans in the common tongue, hoping they would reach it before the monsters roaming the plain, emitting terrible roars, caught them.
Because, despite what I had told him, my father was not leading the army in the Kingdom of Men.
Furious, I was about to jump off the stallion to kill every single creature myself when the thunderous noise of dozens of hooves crossing the glass bridge echoed across the plain.
I turned, and a smile pulled at my lips as I watched the elven army fan out into the Kingdom of Men, rescuing wounded mortals and taking them to safety in our land while eliminating hungry monsters.
Mornon’s steed quickened his pace further, causing the ground to seem like it was exploding beneath us with each powerful stride. I squeezed my knees to remain on the horse’s back as the wind whipped past my face, making my eyes water while we covered miles and miles of scorched land.
When we reached Leukós’ high gates, the animal stopped abruptly, and I quickly dismounted . . .
Landing on a thin layer of snow.
Startled, I turned back to see the summer sun shining over my kingdom, beyond the blackened fields and hills. Then I looked ahead and raised my gaze: Inside the city, snow was falling in tiny flakes.
Frowning, I tightened my grip on my sword’s hilt and crossed the gates.
The first thing that struck me like a slap in the face was the unmistakable smell of blood and innards lingering between the streets.
Gingerly, I moved forward along the broad main street, horrified by the bright red splashes that smeared the walls of houses and by the quartered corpses peeking through broken doors or hanging from windowsills with their sashes ripped off.
Although I didn’t see them, I knew that Mornon’s beasts were all around: I could hear them munching pulpy flesh and gnawing on the bones of their victims.
I strained to hear a heartbeat amidst the tremendous chewing, a frantic breath, or a terrified whimper. But I didn’t catch anything.
There was no one left to save.
They were all dead.
Ire surged within me like a hurricane, and before I knew it, I found myself screaming, “ Mornon!”
His creatures emitted deafening guttural noises, but they did not appear.
Nor did their lord. So, I kept shouting his name, and shouting, and shouting, the slippery white-and-vermilion blanket creaking under my boots as I avoided stepping on severed hands or some children’s small legs, my breath forming gray clouds as I advanced toward the top of the capital.
Upon reaching a square bordered by majestic temples, imposing colonnaded buildings, and villas, I paused in the center and angrily gazed at the grand staircase leading to the royal palace.
“Mornon!” I erupted. “Show yourself!”
Little by little, his monsters came out, perching on the flat rooftops and balconies of the luxurious homes or lurking at alley entrances or on thresholds. The blackish drool along their saber teeth was so corrosive that snow sizzled beneath where it dripped.
Even though they had no eyes, I had a burning feeling that Mornon was watching me through them.
Like a predator waiting in the shadows.
“ Mornon!” I roared again.
The beasts hissed. I stayed on guard, believing they were about to attack me. Instead, they didn’t move, limiting themselves to growling at me as if trying to make me realize something.
Something I eventually understood.
I lowered my sword and closed my eyes, letting out an annihilated sigh. I felt like my heart had just fallen into an endless well. “Amlach,” I breathed.