They would completely bury us.
I closed my eyes to focus on Sage’s perspective from above as it looked as if our army suddenly began to falter before the enemy. It was so real that even though I was standing amidst the projected chaos and knew very well it was not real, my heart still quickened. It truly looked like huge sections of our ranks were scattering in a panic.
But the ploy worked, driving the Fuath to new heights ofslavering frenzy as they picked up even more speed.
I opened my eyes and stared down the charging Fuath that were now right in front of us. I sucked in a breath and held it as they reached the first couple lines right ahead of me, which were made up of the most powerful fire users in the whole camp.
All of whom unleashed their full strength in a sudden and catastrophic blaze that came out of nowhere to the charging Fuath. I had to shield my eyes briefly as the first of the Fuath were instantly incinerated. There was no time for the ones behind to slow down or avoid the flames.
Their shrieks of delight turned into cries of confusion and panic, before all at once, the warriors with me were moving under the shouted orders of their commanders. Torches were extinguished as fire magic lit the night as Sage and Ciaran unleashed their power upon the shaken Fuath army. Earth and stone exploded from the force of the fireballs they hurled from the sky. The ground shook under Pyrope’s paws as the two armies finally collided in a maelstrom of fire and blood and screams.
Once I was sure that the soldiers in my section were holding their own, I urged Pyrope to leap over all of them. With just a few flaps of her wings, she landed right in the midst of the Fuath with a snarl vicious enough to briefly force them to make room. I was eager to test out the new depth of my power as I quickly slid down from her back. The second my feet hit the ground, I unleashed a surge of so much adrenaline that it made the hearts of the Fuath closest to me explode instantly.
“Yes!” I cackled when Rian automatically refilled my reserves before the effects of such a massive power drain could even kick in and slow me down.
Do not overdo it. Rian can refuel your magic, but you will still tire from wielding,Sage warned me.
Noted,I assured him.
I was still grinning at all the mounds of dead Fuath around me. But I hesitated when I noticed the soldiers in our front linewere staring at me after I’d completely obliterated their enemies. They had clearly never seen Summer magic in action before, so I tried to waggle my fingers in reassurance. Although I was not sure it helped. It was a good thing they couldn’t see the unhinged grin behind my mask because that surely would have only terrified them all the more.
Pyrope and I worked in perfect tandem, watching each other’s backs as we spearheaded the eastern defense and pushed south. I also fell more in love with my armour. Perhaps it was my natural knack for shapeshifting that made it easier to customize it, or maybe all riders could do it so easily. Either way, I was able to adjust the fingers so my claws could extend through. I also opened up the lower half of my face mask so I could still rip out throats with my teeth. I also loved that the armour seemed like it was deflecting the empathic touch of the Fuath that they used to launch their psychic attacks.
The other warriors got over their hesitancy after the display of my power. Ironically, it was my utter ferocity in battle that seemed to win them over.
I tried to stay close to the aes sídhe and always kept my senses open to the other riders, even as the bloodlust threatened to overwhelm me. The bulk of the Fuath had attacked at the southern bridge called Theas Droichead. Since the fighting was thickest there, Sage and Ciaran spent most of their time there, but one of them flew back to check on our flank every so often as well.
You are terrifying,Ciaran advised me during a brief lull in the battle when I had a second to regain my head.
You should already know that,I chastised him a little breathlessly as I wiped black blood off my face.
I glanced around and realized we had decimated every enemy on our side. We had also moved too far south in the fray, so I ordered the soldiers nearest to me to reform their lines and hold. Which was when we heard a counter command from further back to continue southward.
“What the fuck,” I hissed.
I was just as eager as the next warrior to keep pushing deep into the fray, but Sage or Ciaran would have asked for reinforcements if needed. And Rian had asked for the eastern flank to staycoveredduring the battle.
“Stay here,” I snarled at the soldiers when they began to move to obey Drakja’s order.
I waited until they acknowledged my demand and then climbed onto Pyrope who was as covered in black blood as I was. Within seconds, we had flown back to where Drakja was watching the troops reform.
“What are you doing? We were ordered to cover the army from the east!” I shouted in irritation.
“There is nothing out there! Why would we stay here when the fighting is to the south?” Drakja demanded as he turned to face me. I saw him startle briefly at the sight of me covered in blood and gore, but he did a good job of hiding how unnerving he found my appearance.
“We stay and keep the east covered,” I growled at him unflinchingly. “You want more Fuath to kill? Then I will bring them to you, but we do as we were ordered.”
Following commands certainly wasn’t my usual style, so the irony of me advocating for it was not lost on me. However, I agreed with these particular orders. We lost Aes Suri to Fuath trickery. I simply was not willing to risk them springing out of the fucking ground as soon as we left the eastern flank exposed.
I could tell Drakja badly wanted to disagree, but there was no room for argument in my voice. And the tiefling either respected my rank or simply knew better than to pick a fight with me, because he bowed and then began issuing new commands for us to stay.
Assured that all sides would remain covered, I pulled myself back into Pyrope’s saddle.
“They want a fight. Let’s bring it to them,” I said to my vargr, who growled her agreement.
It had not taken much to entice Fuath further down the river to chase us back to the eastern flank, and now we were in the thick of it again. Where I preferred to be.
Until I felt a flinch echo through me. At first I looked up toward where my mate was flying, terrified Sage had somehow been hurt. But when I followed the trail of pain in my mind, it took me to Pyrope.
