Chapter 33
Soren’s lungs ached as she and Rook sprinted down the rows of tents to gather their armor and weapons as they screamed into the night.
“The enemy is upon us!”
“Gather your weapons!”
They did not have time to make personal stops, and Soren’s heart clenched. She wanted so badly to go to Baz and Enara, or Jai and Adaryn, but she would be no use to them without her weapons, and Rook’s hunting knife would hardly be enough to fight off an army. She sent a silent prayer to the Maker and trusted that her friends would be able to fend for themselves.
They tore the fabric of their tent aside and assembled the thin metal plates as quickly as possible before Soren used her thigh sheath to arm herself with her new daggers. She tied back her hair swiftly then slung her bow and quiver over her back, the arrows rustling together. Rook was already in his armor, and he looked every bit the son of Adriel. A god.
He gripped his rapiers tightly in his fists and turned to her. “I hate you,” he said, a smirk trying to make its way through his now stony features.
She gave him a swift kiss. “I hate you, too,” she replied before they ran in the direction of the closest screams.
All the plans of formations and battle groups went out the window as they sprinted to the far end of the war tents. The ground shook beneath their feet as thousands of celestial bodies marched in the hard-packed earth toward them. The gate to Irefeld was close. They had planned to use it as a bottleneck to take down Celestials as they arrived, but she already knew this plan was folly.
They hurried back toward the training area to join the fray. The gate lay just beyond the next field, and by the time they made it back, their friends were already clashing swords with the enemy.
“Gather your horses!” Jai yelled to the group of riders who were fighting their way through a group of enemies whose armor bore the red sun of the Xian-Dao empire.
That’s not possible, Soren thought as she nocked her bow and took out a man who was attempting to swing at Jai from behind.
The tracker gave her a nod of thanks before slicing down two more enemies.
The group of riders managed to make it to the stables and began mounting their horses. They shot out of the wooden gate with a war cry, cutting down enemies in their path.
Rook was a blur of black and silver streaking down the field, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. Soren followed his movement with her arrows. She couldn’t help but be impressed when she realized he was specifically targeting Celestials.
Her breath hitched as her hand reached back and came up empty. Then she felt the rush of air before a soldier’s sword swung toward her face. She ducked low and swung her bow hard, the curved wood taking out the man’s legs. He fell to the dark ground with a heavy grunt, and Soren turned on him. She swung her bow to the side and grabbed Rachi from her thigh. With one swift stroke, she dragged the blade across the back of his knees, slicing the tendons there. After rendering his legs useless, she plunged Rachi into the soft spot at the base of his neck, severing his brain stem. Then she leaned in close so her breath was against his ear. She did not care that she was speaking to a corpse when she whispered harshly, “That was for Baz’s parents.” She shoved him to the ground before following the line of bodies to where Rook was pulling his blade out of the chest of another Celestial.
“Have you seen Enara?” Soren asked through ragged breaths.
“No, but I just saw Jai go over the hill with Ikei and Ori’s battle group,” Rook replied, slamming a shoulder into a nearby Xian-Dao warrior. He fell to the ground, and Soren finished him off with Rachi.
They ran again, following the trail Jai had taken over the small ridge to where the rest of the battle raged on.
Soren noticed a crater to her left that had no doubt been made by one of the Braexian’s powder bombs and gagged at the sight of the body parts strewn about the explosion site. She coughed, covering her nose with the cold metal of her plate armor, and carried on behind Rook.
“There!” Rook called out, pointing to the west side of the field.
Jai was fighting on foot, and King Elias was riding a brown horse with a black mane, swinging his sword wildly, lobbing off the heads of the Xian-Dao warriors. His form was impeccable, and he let loose a loud war cry as another head dropped to the ground.
His warriors surrounded him as best they could, but they were losing numbers fast. The Celestials were stronger and quicker than regular humans, and the field was a bloodbath. The once-black ground had a crimson sheen to it that looked sickly in the low light.
Shadows formed in the sky, inky black blots against the midnight blue, and Rook swore at the sight. “Fuck.”
“Kestrels,” Soren spat as she ran past him and onto the field. She had no idea where the rest of her friends were, but she needed to warn them somehow.
Rook quickly checked the strap holding the Oculus to his back below his armor and raced after her.
“Look to the sky!” Soren screamed. “The kestrels are coming!” She was halfway across the field when one of the winged beasts landed directly in front of her, cutting off her path and slashing forward with its talons. She tried ducking again but not far enough, and it caught the side of her face and shoulder. She let out an angry cry.
The creature laughed, but before it could attack again, Rook assaulted it from behind. His two swords shoved through the back of his ribs and out through his chest. The beast choked loudly before falling to the ground.
“You okay, little bird?” he asked, grazing the scratch on her cheek.
“Nothing I can’t manage,” Soren responded through gritted teeth. Her shoulder was unmarred, thanks to the armor, but the scratch on her face stung as the kestrel’s poison entered her bloodstream.
Together, they cleared out two more Celestials and at least a dozen of Bao-Ren’s men before they were able to reach Jai.
“About time you showed up!” Jai yelled, his sword landing in a sickening crunch into the shoulder of a Celestial. The tracker lost grip of his blade as the man stumbled sideways, bellowing in pain. Jai was on him quickly, removing the dagger from his boot and stabbing it up through the Celestial’s jaw. The man’s eyes bulged as he crumpled at their feet.
Jai wiped off the blade and returned it to his boot before planting his foot on the man’s back, wrenching his sword free.
“Have you seen Adaryn?” he asked, his eyes filled with worry.
Soren shook her head vigorously. “No, I’m sorry.”
“Fuck,” he replied, running his hands through his hair. It felt sticky to the touch, no doubt full of other people’s blood.
He pressed his eyes together, pushing his feelings into a box and hiding it away. When they opened again, he was a king personified, a true leader.
“We need to regroup. We will not survive separated like this.”
“Agreed,” Rook replied.
Soren slipped Notch from her sheath so she could dual wield. It almost felt as though the blades were humming in her hands, begging for blood.
Her armor dripped black, but her eyes blazed hot as she looked at their leader.
“Tell us what we need to do.”
* * *
Enara wrappedthe blade of her staff around the back of a kestrel’s neck, bringing it to the ground. She placed her boot between its wings before bringing Coraxis up and planting the curved blade into its skull. Then she scanned the blood-soaked field, looking for Soren’s blue hair.
It was still too dark to see. The sun was beginning to rise, but it had yet to crest the horizon. The inky black sky was slowly melting into pale blues and light golds, yet she couldn’t bring herself to enjoy the sight.
Sunrises were supposed to be a thing of beauty, but there was nothing beautiful about this day. Bodies littered the field, the majority of which were people she had come to know over the last few weeks. Where most would have looked away to avoid the pain it would cause, she did the opposite. She looked into the dead eyes of the people she had called friends and etched them all into her memory. If she survived this, she would mourn every single one of them.
Her attention moved to where Callan and Baz were pushing back against a group of Xian-Dao warriors. Her heart squeezed a little tighter as the man, who held her heart, cut down his enemies. He was the epitome of goodness, and she would annihilate anyone in her path to get to him, which was exactly what she did.
Coraxis held no prisoners as she parted her way through the bodies like a stone parts a river. Enemies fell on either side of her as her warpath separated soul from body and blood from bone. She created a new kind of river, one that flowed like liquid rubies. By the time she reached Callan and Baz, she was smiling.
“Hey,” she called to Baztien as he finished off the last of Bao-Ren’s group.
“Hey back,” Baz replied, returning her smile. Then he grasped her arm, pulling her in for a chaste kiss before refocusing on the battle. “Shit,” he muttered angrily, and Callan and Enara followed his gaze across the field.
The sun had breached the pasture’s edge and casted light over the space. It was a pure chaos. Their numbers had been greatly depleted. Most of the calvary lay in ruins, their mounts sprawled out in miniature lakes of crimson, their eyes unseeing.
Enara’s heart broke a little more. Though she would mourn every life lost, the pain of losing an animal always hit harder. Their loyalty was unwavering, and they had not chosen to fight. They rode into battle on command from their riders and fell alongside them. In that moment, Enara promised to put them to rest, as well.
A cacophony of loud booms rattled the field, causing the fight to momentarily pause as everyone looked toward the gate. Adriel had arrived, and he was not alone.
A blast of power shot out from the gate, knocking anyone within a fifty-foot radius backward as the new Architect strode forth while the rest of his demons filtered in through the archway behind them.
“Ach Fecknaff,” Callan swore in his native tongue.
“Yeah, we’re fucked,” Baz agreed as more and more enemies marched forward.
Jai was using the temporary distraction to cut through some of the battle haze and regroup the troops they had left. Meanwhile, Soren and Rook were helping the squadron get into one large formation. There were so few of them now that Jai knew their best hope of survival was to stick together. Their numbers had dwindled down to a few hundred, and things were looking bleak.
“Humans!” Adriel’s deep voice carried across the field.
A silence fell over everyone as the god-like man spoke. Even with the red scar etched angrily across his face, he was still inhumanly handsome.
“You have fought valiantly, and I want to show mercy to those of you who have looked your gods in the face and dared to stand against them.” His eyes scanned the crowd, and the coldness in them made Enara shiver.
She now stood next to Soren and Rook, noticing how rigid her brother’s stance had gotten. She knew the feeling well. The moments when her father’s rage would cause her skin to tighten and her heart to race in fear. The nights she knew she would go to bed with blood loss and broken bones. Suddenly, she understood him.
Soren had shared stories of what he had gone through at his father’s and General Corvus’s hands, but seeing the outward effect it had on him made her soul ache. Now she felt connected with him in a way that went so much further than blood. Scars of the soul were just as binding as a mating bond.
She glared daggers at Adriel as he continued his speech.
“Bow before me, and I will spare you. You will be given free pass to Anistera, and all will be forgiven,” he said, flashing his perfect teeth.
“He lies,” Rook growled, his voice deep and angry. “Mortals cannot enter Anistera. He will execute us all if we surrender.”
This caused Adriel to level him with a stare. “My son knows not of Anistera’s magical capabilities. I let him believe he could not join us in the above realm to protect him.”
There were a few mutters from the crowd from those considering switching sides.
“Do not be fooled by his charms,” Jai continued where Rook had left off. “Whether you die in battle or by his hand, there will be no mercy on this day. Do you see any remorse for those who fought from the East? He cares not for their lives, nor yours. He wants all of Entheas to burn. Do not go up in flames with him!”
This seemed to steady the unrest, and Enthea’s ranks solidified their place.
The change on Adriel’s face was instant. His eyes turned to glaciers, and his features curled down into a disgusted grimace.
“Then so be it,” he spat before his horde descended upon them.