86. INTO THE FRAY
At the sight of Niall’s taunt, Auren lit like a star, her power rolling off of her in waves of white light. She said something to Remic and Silas, then strode forward toward her mate, two orbs of light swirling to life in her hands.
The armies roared at the sight of her, banging their swords and shields. She had been reserving her power for the end—for the undoing. But if this next phase of battle didn’t draw Lyceius out of wherever he was stowing away like a coward, we were going to be facing a very tough decision.
Torin clenched her fists at her sides. “Commander,” she called out. It took me a moment to realize she was speaking to me. “Make sure Nivelle stays far away from my sister.”
Easier said than done, I thought to myself.
When I didn’t immediately respond out loud, the goddess turned her eyes on me. They were swirling in a fury, a blue so dark it reminded me of a raging summer storm. “Keep her safe,” she hissed, her otherworldly whisper punctuating the command.
I gave her a stern nod. “With my life.”
She, too, began her walk toward Niall.
Nivelle stepped up to my side, watching as the three unrivaled forces joined each other in the middle of the battlefield.
“She’s going to face Skadi . . .” There was an unease to Nivelle’s voice. Almost like fear.
“That’s a good thing . . . right?” I asked.
“Gods cannot kill one another. It’s divine law.”
“Then what are you worried about?”
“Just because they cannot destroy each other doesn’t mean they cannot strip one another of their power. If Skadi incapacitates Torin, the death spell won’t hold, and if she takes Torin’s power the way she took Erebus’s . . .” She didn’t have to say the rest. I knew what she was getting at.
I watched her concern grow more fierce, then dragged my gaze back to the goddess who now stood at Niall and Auren’s side.
Fuck. Maybe this wasn’t good.
I spun around, taking Nivelle with me.
Aremis, I needed Aremis—
There. He was already pushing his way through the crowd toward us.
A pulse of power bounded through the plains, slamming into a shield that Torin and Auren both threw up simultaneously. Skadi’s shadow beings and the mob of Lyceius’s abominations were on the move. Skadi herself was stalking forward, and a knot formed in my chest at the sight.
Shit was about to get really interesting.
“Ready for round three?” I asked Aremis as he stopped at my side, gathering his breath.
“If you were a red-headed female with fire-wielding powers, you wouldn’t have to ask.”
I did a double take, my jaw falling open at his unexpected response.
“Don’t tell Maeson I said that,” he said as he wiped the sweat off his brow.
I let out a raucous laugh. “Finally! A sense of fucking humor!”
“I’ve always had a sense of humor. I just don’t always have filthy thoughts like you do.”
“It’s a talent,” I said, grinning. “Oh, and you’d better not die, because I am not taking your place as second-in-command. My talents only go so far.”
He snorted a laugh. “Duly noted.”
His face fell solemn again as he caught his breath and watched as our enemies charged across Salterra.
I elbowed him as we readied ourselves. “So . . . Maeson, huh?”
“You’re never going to shut up about that now, are you?”
“Nope.”
“Delightful. Death is looking more and more satisfying.”
I gave him a pointed look, but Nivelle let out a gasp beside me that had my attention immediately swerving to her.
“Maeson! Where’s Maeson?” she said frantically as she leaned around me, searching.
Aremis turned as well. “She’s—” He paused. “She was just over there, near Laurent and Senna . . .”
A pulse of light shot forward, blasting back a group of creatures as they neared, and all of us jerked our attention back to Auren, Niall, and Torin.
All three were whirling amidst their powers, annihilating the storm of creatures and shadows.
But the onslaught was heavy, and a multitude crashed around them, bounding in our direction.
“She can handle herself,” I reassured Aremis and Nivelle as I summoned my lightning.
“No!” Nivelle yelled. “I have to find her. We need to stay together! The Aether, Roirdan . . . it’s nearly time.” She glanced back out at what was racing toward us.
“Velle—no!” I grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her to me. “You must stay close to me. Skadi—”
“Skadi is the least of my concerns! We can’t release the Aether without Maeson!”
She was right, but damnit, I swore to protect her. I couldn’t let her go off into this by herself. She meant too much to me, if anything were to happen to her . . .
I abandoned all thought, captured her chin in my grip, and kissed her. It was quick and brutal, but it meant everything.
She kissed me back, and when she pulled away, her expression was full of so many things she wanted to say.
Then, without warning, she tugged free and launched into the fray.
“NO!” I reached for her, but she was gone, carried off by a sea of black as it swarmed Aremis and me.
A claw-tipped shadow lunged for my throat, and I swung my sword, striking true and turning the entity to nothing but air.
I stumbled back, my mind a mess of anxiety and adrenaline. “FUCK!”
A blur of black rushed at me, but I ripped my helm from my head and slung it into the jaw of the creature, knocking it unconscious.
I heaved in breaths, fighting the tightness in my chest. An arrow landed not three feet from me, but all I could do was stare at it.
My shield flickered around me as I lost focus.
Then Remic was there, and Auren too. Wherever her light aimed, enemies vaporized into flecks of star-dust. I briefly noted their presence, but panic rooted me to the ground, rendering me useless.
“Roirdan!” Auren yelled. “Roirdan, MOVE!” Her voice was both near and far.
The world whizzed by, a frenzy of shadows and swords and the sounds of death. For a moment, I lost myself in it, thinking of a pale-haired witch somewhere out in this mess—
Something struck my side, just below my ribs, with a force that knocked me back into my senses.
I looked down . . . at where an iron-tipped arrow stuck out from the right side of my abdomen. I waited for the pain, for the burning caused by the metal mixing with my magical blood, but . . . nothing. Instead, the arrow slowly tipped to the side and fell from my leathers.
What the—
I slammed a hand to where the arrow had just been, feeling for blood, for a wound, but my hand only met leather and . . .
A coin.
Frantically, I thrust my hand into the small pocket that was usually meant for satchels of herbs or tiny bottles of poison—something I might find myself in need of when in the middle of a mission where life and death were guaranteed to hang in the balance.
I fumbled for the mystery object. The moment my fingers closed around it, I knew exactly what it was.
I unfurled my fist, revealing the small silver token that had been on Nivelle’s fireplace mantel. The token she’d said held an ancient incantation for protection. There was a notch in it now, right in the center, where the iron-tipped arrow had hit it.
Had it not been there, I’d be fighting to hold onto my power—a predicament I would not have wanted to be in for what remained of this battle.
And had I not made the last-minute decision to bring the token with me, my body would be scrambling to try and heal right now.
It had stopped that arrow like that was its sole purpose.
A shuddering breath left my chest as everything came back into focus. I clutched the token one last time before returning it to my pocket.
My thoughts cleared, and I let out a roar, ready to take up arms next to Auren, to defend her as she’d defended me. I turned in place, searching for her amidst the bombardment of shadows and swords, but all I saw were Aremis, Silas, and Vanir.
Auren and Remic were gone.