47. Chapter 47
Chapter 47
Alyssa
T he battlefield was changing so quickly that it was hard to keep up. Blood dripped from the blade of my sword as I panted to catch my breath, surveying my surroundings.
The plan had been to make my way to the centre of the camp and break Arik’s control, but it had all gone to shit as soon as we’d realised that most of the soldiers were not asleep in their beds as we’d assumed, but already standing and armed.
There were so many here. We’d all heard the stories of how Arik filled his training camp by tearing children from their beds in the night. But seeing it in front of us now, seeing the sheer number of people who’d been given no choice but to become a weapon for him, it was hard to not feel a righteous anger and need for revenge.
I ducked beneath an axe aimed for my neck and felt the hairs on the top of my head move in the breeze it created. Fucking hell, that had been far too close for comfort. I couldn’t afford to get distracted out here.
I came up under the soldier’s swing, twisting the hilt of my sword in my hand so I could slice deep across his bicep. He dropped the axe with a shout and then dived for me. We both tumbled to the ground as we fought for my sword.
The temptation to reach for my magic was strong. But I couldn’t risk it. There were far more Endless here than we’d expected, and I needed to make sure I was strong enough to break the connection on them all.
“Is that a royal mark? I wonder what Arik will give me when I take one of the thrones for him,” the soldier spat in my face.
“The pointy end of a sword, you stupid fuck,” I screamed as I finally got control of the sword and drove it up through his chest. “He’d kill you to take the line for himself.”
I saw the look of disbelief on the man’s face just before the light faded from his eyes. Whether it had been because he was dying or because in his last moments, he realised he was following a man who didn’t give a shit about him, I didn’t really have time to care.
I pushed the dead body off me and clambered back to my feet, dodging to the side as another soldier swung for me, only for one of our own fighters to step into his path and meet the sword with his own.
As I looked around, my field of vision was filled with so much gold armour, and I realised that The Endless were focusing their attack on this part of the battlefield. Not only that, but they were quickly closing in.
They were coming for me.
Well, at least that made my job easier.
The Endless formed a line, raising their swords as one as they stared down the fighting happening in front of them. When they advanced, they began cutting through the fighters without mercy. They didn’t pause in their advance, swinging mercilessly at anyone who stepped in their path, even their own soldiers.
None of them stood a chance. Some didn’t even realise what was happening, thinking The Endless were there to back them up.
They should have known Arik better than that.
But there were so many people between me and them, and I couldn’t just stand here, hiding behind our people while I tried to pull on my magic, letting them die to buy me enough time.
Without taking a second to consider what I was doing, I sprinted forward, pushing through our forces. It would leave me vulnerable while I tried to do what needed to be done, but I wasn’t about to sacrifice the people around me when I was the one Arik was targeting.
I tried to pull on the magic as I ran. My desperation made it difficult to control as I wove my way through the fighters, dodging the skirmishes that were still being fought.
They were so close when the panic set in that I wouldn’t be able to do it in time. But as soon as the closest Endless turned its head to look at me, rising its foot to step in my direction, a wall of flames burst to life between us. They shot into the sky higher than I’d ever seen, creating a living wall with a heat that had even me taking a step back.
I swung my head in the direction the fire had come from to see Maddox, striding closer, covered in blood and holding a sword in his hand. Tank’s bear was close behind him, and Ryder fought his way through the battle to join them with Dean’s wolf at his side.
My mates were here.
When I turned back to The Endless, it was with a renewed sense of resolve. I could do this. We’d do it together.
But before I could even sink into the connection that bonded me to my mates, The Endless who had been so close to me before, locked eyes with me through the flames, and I heard the unmistakable sound of Arik’s laughter.
My stomach sank because I knew something terrible was about to happen.
Before we could do anything to stop him, The Endless stepped into the flames. I knew they didn’t have a choice, that Arik had control over their bodies, and it made me want to kill the man even more than I had before as I watched The Endless stand motionless amidst the fire.
Arik was truly evil. He wanted me to watch them die. He knew I could break his control over them and rather than lose them; Arik would rather they died.
“No!” I screamed, raising my hands to take control of the flames.
But this wasn’t my magic, and there was just too much of it.
Maddox shouted, and I felt a surge in the air as he tried to extinguish the flames. But it was too late, and The Endless were already fully engulfed. Silently standing there until that dreaded golden armour blackened from the heat.
The magic around me thickened and twisted in the air as my mates and I all threw whatever we could at saving The Endless. Maddox pulled back on the flames as Dean drew down the water from the air. Ryder pulled away the oxygen so fast, I felt my lungs burn with a desperate need.
I reached for the source of magic I was the most familiar with, and Tank apparently had the same idea as hundreds of vines exploded from the ground around us. They twisted around each other, coating the bows as they grew thicker and stronger, darting through the air and into the fire. We didn’t need them to last long, just enough time for us to wrap them around The Endless and wrench them from the flames.
It was seconds at most, but they were the longest seconds of my life. Once the flames were extinguished and the danger was passed, the whole battlefield fell into silence as we all stared in horror at the twelve burned suits of armour that now lay amongst the ashes.
We couldn’t reach them all.
We’d failed.
I heard the sound of swords being tossed into the mud behind me, but I couldn’t take my gaze away from the horror in front of me. My heart broke as I looked at every person I’d failed.
The vines lashed the rest of The Endless to the ground where they’d been thrown, and not knowing what else to do, I sank into the magic, preparing to free them from the control Arik had used to turn them into his murdering puppets.
I still heard his voice as it echoed across the silent battlefield, though, echoing all around us for all to hear.
“Oh, sister . You are so much fun to play with.”
Tears flowed down my cheeks as my magic found the darkness inside The Endless that didn’t belong, and rushed to correct the abomination. I felt the bonds inside me open up, but there was no euphoria to be found in the power this time. I was just a conduit, funnelling a power meant to free the people of Nymeria, or at least those we’d been able to save.
There was no satisfaction in this victory, no taunting words for the evil man who caused all this death.
I knew he was watching me through their eyes until the last possible moment, but I had nothing to say to him.
I broke the connection as easily as I had the times before, not feeling the weariness of the past now that my mates could help me.
Instead, I stood in silence, looking around at the cost of this battle, and tried to decide if we’d done the right thing.
How many lives lost were acceptable?
How far were we willing to go?
This wasn’t over, and I didn’t know how much more I could take.