A burst of emerald light explodes from me, setting the demons closest ablaze. Flesh chars, smoke curls upward, and the one biting my leg howls in furious pain.
For a moment, I falter, my leg mangled and useless beneath me, but the muscle knits, skin smooths, and I’m back on my feet quicker than I thought possible.
I lunge for the panel, hand reaching toward the demon still blocking Solena’s escape, but more beasts fall on me, claws raking my back, teeth sinking into my shoulder.
I scream again as they drag me back, each inch feeling like a mile, drawing me farther from my daughter, farther from hope.
My flames falter, flickering like dying embers, as if the very fuel that feeds them, my strength, my will, is draining away. I’ve never pushed myself this far before, never tested the limits of my power and now, when my daughter’s life hangs by a thread, I learn it’s not endless.
Then, salvation, a fierce grip tears the demon from my back, wrenching it free. Red haze clouds my vision, but I focus through the pain and see Ronin, cutting, slashing, tearing through the swarm with savage precision. Claws, wings, limbs fly through the air like leaves caught in a storm.
But all I want is my daughter.
Trembling, I crawl toward Solena, still locked in a deadly fight with the demon blocking the panel.
Finally, I grab hold of its leg, skin soft and sickly, as if my fingers could slip right through it.
It looks down at me, at the bloody, broken mess still fighting to survive.
Green light courses through my veins. My body heals again, but then another demon strikes, its fangs sinking into my throat, tearing through the rune etched there.
I gasp, eyes wide as blood wells and spills in thick, relentless waves.
A sword arcs downward, cleaving the demon’s head from its body. Ronin lifts me onto his hip and drags me toward the panel. With one last desperate surge of strength, I launch myself at the demon threatening my daughter, pinning it hard to the ground.
It hisses and shrieks, but I find the power within me, gripping its head between my hands and filling them with fire. Its flesh melts away from the bone, dripping onto the floor in steaming, bloody puddles until all that remains is a twisted skull with patches of sizzling meat.
Solena stumbles into the tunnel, and Ronin follows, bracing the panel open as he reaches for me.
“Come on, Jewel. More are coming. We have to get inside.”
I lift myself up, the stench and steam from the burning demon stinging my eyes. But I barely make it to one knee before my body betrays me, staggering forward. Hot, thick blood still pours from my neck. It isn’t healing. None of my wounds are. With every passing second, I leave more and more blood staining the floor.
“Jewel!” Ronin shouts. I look over my shoulder at him, his face smeared with blood, his voice urgent. “Come here now!”
I nod and stumble toward him, bracing myself against the panel as Ronin steps back, ready for the next wave of demons crashing into the room. I glance down at my fingers. There is still fire there. I feel it coursing, molten green lava pulsing through my veins.
As the life drains from me, I look at Solena. I look at my daughter.
“Tell her good things,” I whisper.
The sudden understanding in Solena’s eyes is the last thing I see before I slam the panel shut. I press against it with every ounce of my strength. I won’t hold it for long, not long enough to save myself, but I don’t need to. Only a breath. Only a whisper. Only a blink in time.
The demons of the void scream as they surge toward me. The fire rises, bursting through my skin, lifting my hair, swirling around me like a hurricane of emerald flame. When I see my reflection in their glowing eyes, I know I am the terror they fear. I am glorious.
Then the room ignites.
Chapter 34
Daed
Rivers of blood run between the stones of the courtyard, thunder fading into the harsh clang of blades, the savage roar of battle, and the ragged screams of the dying. There are no allies here. Only enemies. The Mor’Thravar Fae clash violently with the demons of the void, bodies crashing and tearing into one another, wounding and maiming anything that dares to move. Reon fights fiercely against a ruthless Mor’Thravar warrior, blade flashing in a deadly dance, while Orios grapples on the ground with a snarling beast of teeth and claw. Above, Zyphoro cuts through the sky, locking talons with winged horrors, slicing through membranous wings and sending twisted forms spiraling earthward.
But there is no respite for my brethren. For every one who falls, two rise to take their place, and this endless night promises none of us will survive to see the dawn.
Yet all the battles raging around me pale beside the furious clash between the Prince of Mordorin and Emranth, Envoy of the Father Below, a violent storm unto itself, tearing through the darkness with devastating fury.
I can feel the weight of Death Singer in my hands, heavy with the blood and fury I’ve poured into it. Emranth stands before me, a nightmare in flesh and shadow, tentacles writhing beneath that hollow, grinning skull. He smells of death and smoke and decay.
