“Can they even be stopped?” Zamani asked desperately, slicing through two more foes with her scimitars to reach Tanez and me.
The beating of great wings announced the arrival of the two Aurea of Air. “There are more and more pouring from the Other,” Enlial reported. They had chosen the lean form of an Aerieth warrior, carrying Khiraz in their arms, the Goddess of Mercy bleeding from a wound in her stomach. “I cannot heal her,” Enlial added as they carefully placed her on the ground, her face deadly pale. “The spells all dissolve.”
Zamani, Tanez, and I immediately moved toward them, the three of us forming a protective circle.
“We need to close that gate,” Aramaz declared decisively, he and Sha’am dispatching a few more Kritak to give us space to talk.
Dozens more had avoided us altogether. Like a dark, many-legged flood, they descended on the city. A troop of Anima awaited them, most in their great animal forms, shrieks and roars drifting up to us as they clashed with our enemies. Dhustan, in the form of a giant bear, tore apart one of the Kritak singlehandedly, while a sleek black panther and an enormous wolf took turns biting into a second. Tayshren and Masir, I realized. M’tar’s former master of the forge must have returned from the north with Belekoroz.
“Close it how?” Belekoroz finally spoke, eyes closed, one hand outstretched. When he opened his eyes again, Chaos glowed within them. He motioned at the giant Kritak perched on the hill above us. “The Veil is in tatters, and that monster is keeping it wide open. We need to kill it if we want to close the gate.”
“And why should we trust your word?” Sha’am growled, wiping bright red blood from a cut on his face where a Kritak had pierced his defenses. “Isn’t it a strange coincidence this is happening just as you come crawling back to us?”
Belekoroz bared his teeth at the Aurea of Fire with an angry growl. “Must be frustrating to watch everything you fear, everything you desperately want to keep out, reappear to haunt you no matter what you do.”
“Enough! This is not the time for conflict among us,” Aramaz interrupted harshly, stepping between them. His gaze flitted down to the city, where the Anima were hard-pressed but holding their own. I saw Elodia in her great lioness form, leaping onto the back of a Kritak and sinking her fangs into its spine. “We need to split up,” the king decided, his tone allowing no objection. “Sha’am, Zamani, and M’tar, help the Anima. Enlial, take Khiraz to safety. And the rest of us—”
Before the king could finish his orders, the giant spider opened its maw and screeched again. Chaos surged. The last attack must have been subdued by the remnants of Belekoroz’s magic, because this time the impact sent me flying. I hit the ground with breathtaking force, all air leaving my lungs. My entire body ached. My ears rang so loudly I could barely hear. I struggled to get back up, only managing to rise to my knees, my staff lying a few feet away.
Around me, there was only devastation. The other Aurea had been swiped off their feet as well, their bodies strewn across the battlefield. Enlial hovered protectively above Khiraz, their twin swords raised as they valiantly defended her against a relentless Kritak.
Another Kritak charged at me, and my hand instinctively came up. Light burst forth. It veered to the side, the strands of my spell morphing and contorting under the force of the raging Chaos magic around us.
I screamed out a warning just in time to make M’tar and Tanez duck, my power searing dangerously close to them. The Kritak raised its forelegs, ready to tear into me.
A blade sliced down and severed them before they could strike.
Belekoroz moved between me and the creature. His expression was fierce as he glanced at me over his shoulder and growled, “No magic!”
He quickly disposed of the creature while I retrieved my staff. Then another wave of Chaos hit us, even more devastating than the last. My eyes teared up at the pain and I fell to my knees, yet an even greater anguish coursed through me as I took in the destruction the untamed magic wreaked upon Lyrheim and our people. Our Anima fought valiantly to protect the mortals fleeing for their lives. They fought valiantly, and they died. A sob left my lips as I saw dozens torn apart by blade-like legs and vicious pincers.
Evanna, Zamani’s handmaiden, contorted on the ground, shifting through a dozen shapes without control, her shrill screams rending the air as a wave of pure Chaos hit her. The black panther I had seen earlier tried to protect her, only to be overwhelmed as two Kritak charged at him. Zamani and Sha’am had hastened down to the city and rejoined the battle, but their magic exploded outward, setting an entire row of buildings on fire.
So much death. My gaze caught on the twisting flames, reaching high up into the sky.
“We need the Flame,” I said as I rose to my feet, a sudden conviction igniting within me. Somehow, I knew even the power of the Abyss itself would not stand against it.
“Are you sure?” Aramaz was beside me once more, having heard my words.
“She is right,” Belekoroz answered before I could. “It might bethe only thing able to stop this creature.” He gave me a reassuring nod, shadows wafting around him as he reached for his magic. “I can shield you. For a few moments. But you will have to be quick.”
“I don’t know if I can…” A tremble went through me as I suddenly realized I would have to let my power reign free, would need to use it to destroy and manage to control it once more afterward.
“That’s madness.” Aramaz’s gaze flitted between me and his brother, and he shook his head. “She can hardly control it under normal circumstances. How should she do so now?”
“Your doubts are not really helpful, brother,” Belekoroz responded, shouldering the king out of the way to step closer to me. He caught my gaze, calm despite the screams and battle noises all around us. “You can do this,” he said, never breaking eye contact. “I know you can.”
I swallowed hard, icy dread knotting in my stomach. “But what if I do lose control?” I whispered, only loud enough for him to hear. “What if I…”
A small moment of hesitation, Belekoroz’s eyes darting to his brother. Then he obviously decided he did not care that the king’s gaze was upon us, because he reached out and cupped my cheek, his touch burning through me with an intensity only rivaled by the exhilarating feeling of his mind brushing against mine.
“Then I will still die with a smile on my face, my queen. For I will have witnessed you at your most glorious.”
After all those endless, lonely years, the sudden closeness between us made me gasp, part of me relishing this moment despite the danger we were in.
“I thought you were angry at me,”I answered.
Amusement trickled through our bond. Amusement and a fierce longing that made our years apart fall away.“Never stopped me from wanting you more than anything else in this miserable world.”
