Chapter 40
It had been two days since she’d found the Drasil, but it felt like a lifetime. She twisted it between her fingers, feeling its power ripple outward, grazing her skin. The Drasil was alive and enjoyed being wielded by its master.
Tingles broke out across her flesh, feeling like the best sort of freedom, one she’d never known.
She desperately wanted to tell Kiran about Zorah and the Drasil—if anyone could appreciate such beautiful magic, it was him.
But could she trust him? Gods, she wanted to.
She wanted anyone to confide in whom she could truly trust.
But that would be foolish.
Midnight came that night, and still no word from Kiran.
Imani walked back and forth in her robe as unease coiled inside her. All her muscles tensed, yet the night was calm and the castle quiet. He’d been gone for nearly three weeks.
Jalton, Kiran’s third brother, had arrived from Eto earlier, tired and battle-weary. He’d told everyone that the city had fallen into significant disarray—their high sentinel was dead, and it had taken some time to get things under control there.
Respen was working quickly.
Tonight, she had practiced using all her brands with the wand, and everything came rushing out smoothly and powerfully.
It was like nothing she’d ever felt. She then practiced moving with her shadows.
One moment, she was in the corner of the room; the next, with her shadows coalescing around her, she’d moved to the center of the space.
This was something she and Zadie had been working on for weeks—Imani became her shadows and moved with them, then materialized as herself several feet away.
Finally, with the Drasil, she was starting to unlock her full potential.
There was so much more to learn, but she was finally getting somewhere after months of slow learning.
Imani’s instincts told her to leave Niflheim now, that nothing could stop her from going home. The Drasil could break the binding with the throne, and she had unfinished business with several people in Essenheim. This was the perfect time to ambush them.
But a part of her couldn’t leave without Kiran. She didn’t want to separate from him and be on different sides again. She’d felt what it was like to be on his side, and she liked it.
Clenching her eyes shut, Imani fisted the wand and debated the question again. Should she tell Kiran about the wand? Would he leave his country—his family—behind if she asked him to follow her? She imagined them using this horde he was after to stop Tanyl and later ruling Essenheim together.
It was a dream she desperately wanted to realize, but several secrets were still wedged painfully between them, maintaining the wall they’d both built to keep the other out. Before, she’d protected herself behind that wall, but lately, with the Drasil in hand, Imani wanted to knock it down.
She strode to the window, and a cold breeze whispered through it, blowing her hair back from her face. Imani breathed deep. Wrapping her robe tighter around her, she tried to calm her nerves. But she couldn’t shake off the turmoil that swirled inside her. Something was off.
Minutes passed. Imani’s view from her Niflheim room was vastly superior to the one in Essenheim, and she enjoyed the sounds and sights of the bustling city.
A flutter of birds launched themselves from a rooftop down below, scattering across the dark sky in different directions to deliver their messages.
Then a flash of light caught her eye. Imani’s heart picked up at the sight.
While still dark—as it constantly was here—the weather was predicted to be free of storms for one rare night.
She fixed her gaze on the same spot on the horizon, waiting to see if the light would come again.
Just as she was about to give up, a low boom rumbled in the distance. Startled, she took in a sharp gasp and gripped the windowsill. Another minute passed before a column of flames lit up the far edge of the sky. It sent a shiver down her spine.
More column-like bursts of fire followed.
Mouth gaping in fear, Imani couldn’t fathom what would cause such a large display.
Another boom sounded, louder this time, and the glass panes rattled.
Imani’s hand trembled as she brought it to her lips. She took a few steps back and squeezed her eyes shut. This couldn’t be happening, not tonight. Kiran wasn’t here.
Another boom resounded through the room. It spurred her into action.
Ripping off her robe, Imani let it drop and grabbed her black leathers and a dark tunic, frantically pulling them on. Then, with the Drasil held between her teeth, she tugged on her black boots and stuck the Draswood inside, almost tripping over herself to get them on.
Respen was attacking, like they’d anticipated. She had to find Zadie or Esa.
In the hallway, others had started to come out of their rooms. Nervous energy sparked in the air. Using the wall to brace herself, Imani practically flew down the stairs.
Outside, legions and guards were gathering. Kiran’s second brother, Jonik, stood on the walking grates above, his eyes fixed on the horizon as he clutched his hands behind his back.
Swallowing hard, Imani decided she’d go to their training spot in the forest. Hopefully, Esa and Zadie would find her there, and they would join Saevel to help defend the castle. For a vague reason she couldn’t identify, she just knew that was where she needed to go.
Another boom shook the ground.
Closer … the enemy moved closer.
She turned her back to the castle, an eerie feeling pulling her deeper into the mesh of trees, snarled branches reaching for her from the growing darkness.
While she scurried down the steps of the courtyard, it dawned on her that they were too late. Respen was already here.
Inside the gardens, it was even darker than she’d thought it would be, and with her wand, Imani tested her new fire elemental brand. With just a thought, a small flame appeared above her head, floating alongside her as she ran through the winding paths.
A shudder followed, shaking the trees below.
Another tremble ran through the landscaping, stronger this time, like a ground quake. It was a quick boom, then it faded away.
Imani needed to find someone. She’d never met Respen, but she was certain he was not the type of enemy she wanted to take on alone.
Even if Kiran hadn’t told her himself, after all the rumors they’d heard, and the rumblings of rebellion with the jewel and Drow elves these past several months, it was clear he’d been planning something.
She just hadn’t realized it would be this soon.
Continuing through the gardens, Imani wondered if anyone might find her here in time. Where was Kiran? At least she’d be safer hidden down here. She wasn’t stupid enough to run back into the impending carnage at the castle alone, and once he came, then they could figure out what to do together.
Beyond the sounds of battle preparations in the background, Imani focused on her breathing and being as quiet as possible. Every footfall cracked a branch or crunched a leaf as she ran deeper into the woods. Eventually, she came to the clearing and twisted around to stare up at the castle again.
Imani heard them before she saw them. Several loud roars shook the ground and forced her to cover her ears.
Then a dozen massive shadows descended overhead, blocking out any residual light from the moon.
Imani’s nostrils flared. A nervous anxiety flitted through her at what she would see when she looked up.
Tilting her head, at first, all she could see was darkness, but then her vision cleared, revealing the forms of five—maybe six—massive creatures. They looked like wyvern, but with the fire they were breathing, she knew they were something entirely different.
The dragons Zadie had mentioned. Part of the wyvern family but far more deadly.
Instinctively, she knew these creatures weren’t of the Mesial realm. They were from the Under.
Ten more of the beasts followed, their wings flapping in a chorus as they approached the castle, some veering to the left, others to the right. They encircled the palace as if they were caging it in. The sounds of their roars were deafening, but it was the fire that was truly terrifying.
Imani ran down to the south tower and pointed her wand, black shadows exploding from her outstretched hand.
Looking up again, she saw one seemed to be the leader as he drove them into position. Scales made of pure black made it difficult to see exactly how big the creature was, but his wingspan was double the others, and his tail had three barbed protrusions instead of one.
The largest beast dropped onto the tower. Stones and shingles fell. It roared, and Imani couldn’t help but scream in return, her black shadows encircling her in protection. He seemed to be searching for something, or waiting for the right time to strike.
Finally, he leaped from the tower in a steep fall, soaring over the gates where Jonik stood.
The monster opened its maw and released a stream of blue and orange flames so large it crushed a hole through the entire wall in mere seconds. The fire cut through the clouds and darkness.
Imani’s heart pounded, a strong feeling of coming home overtaking her. Violent. Terrifying. But something to be revered rather than feared.
Doused in flames, Jonik appeared to die instantly, unlike the other men who screamed and flailed about before either falling to their deaths or dropping to their knees.
Nightfire, Zadie had told her it was called. The distinct blue and orange color made it impossible to mistake.
How had nightfire and these dragons come to their realm when they only existed in the Under? The most logical way would have been through the doorway—the one only Kiran knew about. But she didn’t have time to ponder the issue as another roar made her cover her ears.
Turning around, the black beast dipped back down and shot another column of fire through the second gate. The glow broke through the mass of the atmosphere like a comet. Then it took off, ascending higher in the sky until it disappeared.
Her mouth fell open as the middle wall between the gates caught fire and crumbled, effectively creating an opening the size of the castle itself. Wide enough to fit an army through.
That was when she saw them.
A group of soldiers streamed through the rubble, many of them elves. The castle’s guards spread out to meet them, blades clashing and casting magic with wands.
More fire rained down from the other flying beasts, too. The searing colors of nightfire stung her eyes. It consumed most of the edge of the forest, but just happened to miss Imani.
Her heart almost pounded out of her chest, and she took deep pulls of air into her lungs. She could have just died.
Imani observed the damage. She could hardly catch her breath.
The scene before her was one of pure carnage.
Most of the top parts of the castle were burning, blasting ash and smoke into the sky for miles.
The screams of dying people above could be heard mixed in with the shouts of soldiers and the roar of the creatures.
The fire was mostly confined to the top floors of the castle.
Another wall collapsed, and the screaming crowd ran for the edges of the garden as the black dragon swooped into view again.
The beast landed gracefully on top of one of the towers overlooking the huge city of gigantic buildings and dragons flying over them. Its massive feet crunched into the shingles, which tumbled to the ground.
The creature was beautiful and otherworldly.
An enormous triangular head swiveled from side to side as it searched the crowd, its rocky, black scales almost the same shade of darkness as the sky it had descended from.
It opened its mouth, and the most deafening choral voice spoke words in something too transcendental to be language.
In the next second, the black dragon spread its enormous wings, flapped them with great beats, and took to the air. He loosed another roar, and flames ripped through the south end of the palace.
Spinning around, Imani watched in horror as whole parts of the castle burned, and the black dragon’s rage, its anger, was so magnificent and terrifying that she screamed.
The beast dropped down again to the only standing part of the gates that remained.
Perched on the ledge of the immovable, sleek, shining obsidian wall, the beast stood stock-still.
Then, as though awakened by the simmering violence, it slowly lifted its immense reptilian head in the direction of the forest. In the direction of Imani.
Waves of nausea slammed into her. She squeezed her eyes closed for a moment, and she could hear him ascend from the roof.
A shadow circled overhead, tracking her. When she glanced up to see its eyes watching her, there was no mistaking who was inside that beast.