56. Rae
RAE
“What the hell are you talking about?” Nyx demanded, and Odin growled at his side.
My new familiar let out a growl of her own as she wove around my neck again.
“Now,” Rhys bit out. “We have to move now.”
“Don’t question it,” Pax said, already looking skyward. “He’s never been wrong.”
“We were all wearing what we are now. So move,” Rhys growled.
Kian was already at my side. “Come on. Let’s go.”
But it was too late.
A horrible screeching sound came from the sky—a familiar one. The second I heard it, I was hurtling back.
The flock of crows descended, dropping one by one out of the sky. The closer they got, the clearer I could see them—not ominous birds at all but something else entirely.
The beast let loose a war cry as its jaws opened. Mouths with razor-sharp teeth snarled in our direction as the man holding me flew through the air. The masked rider atop the beast called out something in a language I didn’t recognize.
More riders surged forward.
Fear struck deep as I gripped the man holding me tighter.
“I’ve got you, Petite étincelle.”
But the skull-masked man was gaining on us. He extended his hand, reaching for me. Smoky fingers grazed my shoulder, and I cried out in pain. The man holding me turned, shielding me and taking the worst of it as we flew through the air.
“Rae!” Kian was shouting now. “We have to go.”
Olympia was already moving, but she was also chanting words that brought a ball of pure energy into her palm.
My familiar leapt from my shoulder and raced ahead of me, leading the way to the castle in a route she clearly wanted me to follow.
Nyx shouted orders into some sort of radio as Rhys watched the skies with a venomous look on his face.
The horrible cries from overhead sounded closer now, but I didn’t realize how close until fire shot from the heavens, burning a path of scorched earth mere feet in front of us.
Nyx threw up his hands as the fire flew closer. A wall of ice stopped the flames, extinguishing them instantly. But soon, there was more. Fireballs. Arcs of flame. Slithering smoke.
Rhys let out one of those alpha growls and shot his own fire straight into the sky. A piercing howl answered, telling me he’d gotten a direct hit. “Run!”
Kian grabbed my hand, tugging me toward the castle as Pax came up on my other side, with Rhys following behind. Nyx kept barking orders as he took up the far flank of our group. Olympia glared at the moonlit night and hurled an energy ball.
It collided with a fireball in what almost looked like an explosion of fireworks. It would’ve been beautiful had I not known that both were weapons designed to kill.
One of the beasts of my nightmares swung low, nimbly flying through the trees.
I could see why I’d thought it was a crow at first as a child.
Its black scales almost looked like feathers.
But there was nothing birdlike about its terrifying teeth—no…
fangs. The eyes were the worst, though. They were deep red and had my blood turning cold.
A masked rider leaned low across its back, urging it forward.
I couldn’t look away, even as I ran. It was as if the man and beast held me captive. The rider smiled in a way that said he loved causing fear in others.
Rhys shot fire in their direction, but the dragon-like beast evaded it easily, as if he’d done it countless times before.
Olympia formed a bolt of lightning in her hands and aimed it at the two. It came within inches of the rider, who answered by shooting a stream of inky, slithering smoke from his fingertips.
It headed straight for Olympia but was blown skyward at the last second, thanks to Kian and his air gift.
But me? I had nothing to help defend us. I was a liability more than anything. It was the worst feeling as I called on my magic, only to find the tank empty.
Two other creatures circled above us, raining fire.
The leader charged forward when Rhys and Nyx were distracted. And as they neared, the scar on my shoulder flared to life in agonizing pain. I somehow knew it was him—the man who’d hurt me all those years ago.
He reached out as his mount dipped lower, and that smoky hand tried to grab me.
I had nothing to fight back with. I tried to duck, but I knew I’d be too slow.
At the last moment, an arrow flew through the air, embedding itself in the man’s shoulder and making him haul that smoky hand back with a howl of pain.
My gaze jerked to find a furious Kian nocking back another arrow. But the demon was already regrouping, sending his beast straight into the night sky.
“Oh, gods,” I whispered.
If Kian hadn’t been there, if he hadn’t acted so quickly… I didn’t have what it took to protect myself. Self-hatred bloomed in my chest.
A liability.
Not anymore. I’d find a way not to be. I’d get stronger. I’d find my godsdamned magic, and I’d stand on my own two feet.
The sound of soldiers coming from the castle had relief surging. We were going to make it. But the beasts circled again, one diving as though headed for Olympia. Nyx and Rhys turned to defend.
I watched it happen in slow motion. A second dark, dragon-like beast appeared, breathing fire straight at Rhys. He was too busy sending his own fire at the first creature to see it—there’d be no stopping it.
Everything slowed even more, movements happening between heartbeats. I leapt toward Rhys with all the force I could put behind my surge and hit him in an awkward tackle, taking us both to the ground.
Fiery pain lanced the back of my shoulder, and I cried out in agony. Rhys was already rolling me as the sounds of troops grew louder and the beasts retreated. Fury lit his face as he pressed me to the snow. “What. Did. You. Do?”
Nyx’s guards surrounded us, sending glittering arrows into the sky, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Rhys. My heart hammered against my ribs as I tried to catch my breath. My back still cried out in pain, but I couldn’t find the words as my own anger surged.
“Pretty sure she just saved your ass,” Kian muttered.
“You could try something novel,” I rasped, “and say thank you.”