Serenna snatched the key away from her neck. Fingers shaking uncontrollably, palms slippery with Fenn’s blood, it took her three tries to unlock her tether. The shackle finally fell off, clattering to the stones.
Essence slammed into her and Serenna seized the torrent of power.
A beacon blazed in her mind.
Lykor.
He was close. Somewhere in the keep—maybe the Aerie—his proximity glaringly bright through the bond.
Hope dared to swell in Serenna’s chest, her eyes darting between Fenn and the reavers. She couldn’t manage both mending and fighting off an army alone.
Serennascreamedfor help down the bridge of their bond, desperately hauling on the silver chain connecting them.
Shoving her panic into a dark corner—a place where emotion and feeling didn’t exist—Serenna riveted her attention on the reavers brave enough to stalk closer.
She silently vowed that it would be their last mistake.
Gritting her teeth, Serenna lurched to her feet. Shadows streamed from her fists, swirling around her, coiling like vipers before a strike.
Snarling, the wraith fanning across from her hefted their weapons. Knowing a shield would be useless if they loaded golden bolts, Serenna didn’t squander her magic on weaving a ward.
Throwing her hands forward, shadows streaked out from her fingertips in a wave of ebony wrath. The closest reavers ruptured, bursting from the inside out. An explosion of blood showered down, splattering against the cobblestone street.
More wraith warped in front of her. Heart pummeling her chest, Serenna spooled the lake of rending, recalling her magic. Lashing out like a cracking whip, she snapped shadowy tendrilsaround the reavers’ throats. Yanking on the cords of power, heads flew off of necks in a spray of blood.
Ripping at Essence, Serenna spun a mantle of midnight over the next wave of wraith materializing, lacerating them in fountains of viscera and bone. Shadows raced across her hands. Channeling webs of darkness, Serenna shrieked, demanding more of her power.
Her vision started to haze as terror rooted. A handful of weeks tethered had reduced the capacity of her Well by an alarming amount.
She was going to be overwhelmed.
A burst of pressure rent the air beside her. A portal opened.
Lykor raged through like a storm, Essence combusting with the intensity of a sun. He’d answered her call. If Serenna wasn’t so numb with shock, she would’ve wept in relief.
With a flash of fury, Lykor bared his fangs at her, stalking forward. Serenna stumbled back at his sudden motion, holding her bloody palms out like she could stop him. Panic climbed back into her throat. She hadn’t anticipated that he’d be so vengeful for her reaching out through the bond.
Lykor’s attention flicked to Fenn on the ground, gurgling blood.
His rage toward her dissipated. Serenna didn’t need to tell him anything. Noticing the reavers, Lykor’s crimson gaze pinned on the horde, the fires of retribution flaring in his eyes.
Lykor’s focus shifted back to her. An unspoken understanding passed between them—one Serenna would’ve never expected. He gave her the most subtle dipping of his chin, the barest of nods.
He’d handle it.
Only seconds had ticked by since Lykor had appeared. Serenna’s stomach bottomed out as the next surge of wraith approached with golden bolts in their crossbows. She cried outas they aimed the weapons, tossing her hands to frantically reassemble scraps of wind.Lykor can’t stand against—
Thetwangof crossbows echoed along the streets. He was going to be impaled. Just like Fenn. In her desperation, she’d called Lykor to his death without even realizing it.
The cobblestone street exploded.
Losing her balance, Serenna staggered from the foundations quaking. Lykor whipped force in a hurricane of wrath. Crushing his gauntlet into a fist, he demolished the closest bridge, sending reavers falling to the lower depths. Ripping down a building, bricks flew through the air, forming a shield of solid stone.
Serenna coughed, hacking on the dust clogging the streets while Lykor continued hauling on the fortress. He prowled down the pathway straight for the rebellious wraith, his makeshift barrier moving and rippling around him. The reavers’ bolts ineffectively clanged into his impenetrable wall, deflected.
Shadows detonated, the movement of Lykor’s magic rapid and violent. The closest reavers erupted into geysers of gore. With a punch of force, the rocks of his shield blasted out, colliding with the horde. Robbed of time to warp, the wraith fell, having no defense against the barrage of bricks ripping holes through their bodies.
Lykor snarled down the bond into Serenna’s mind.Stop fucking staring and mend the lieutenant!
