A golden whip of hissing power struck him with a lethal lash that reduced him to ashes.
I blinked as Talon appeared before me, carrying a large two-handed sword. His brow creased as he got a good look at me. Unsurprising. My clothes were wet with bloodred water.
Grunting, he turned to the nearest centaur and struck out.
I did the same, jerking back when a vulture swooped down and raked its talons over my combatant’s face. He struck out blindly with his sword, causing the avian to fly off. A rippling energy blast then caught him front-on. He zoomed backward, accidentally crashing into a charging centaur and taking him to the ground.
On and on we fought. Our enemies’ numbers continuously dropped, and it soon became obvious that they were fighting a losing battle. But the centaurs didn’t retreat. Nor did the hounds, though some had fled during the last battle. I didn’t know why this was different.
My heel crashed into something while I was mid-battle. I toppled backwards and landed hard on my ass. The centaur in front of me reared up, his forelegs kicking. I rolled fast, dodging the hooves that slammed down right where I’d landed. I twisted sharply, slamming my scythe into his flank. Right then, Ajaxmaterialized and forcefully slammed a studded mace into his head and smashing his skull to pulp.
Talon was before me in a flash, snatching my wrist and yanking me to my feet. I almost swayed, little spots obscuring my vision. I then became aware that the noise of battle had dimmed, and the amount of invaders charging into the forest were now low.
Phoenixians were still in the sky, but not all were heaving enemies off the ground … as if there weren’t many left to nab.
Still alert, I studied my surroundings with a cautious eye. Only two enemies were standing that I could see, and both were taken out by Ajax and a Nemean.
Corpses strewed the ground. Sadly, some were officiates. Others happened to be beasts of Deimos. But most were either dead-or-dying enemies. Centaurs lay on their sides, the rise and fall of their chests uneven. Perishing hounds were pointlessly attempting to crawl away while others were sprawled still on the grass, accepting their fate.
Hearing heavy panting behind me, I glanced back to see Reeve’s friend, Finian.
“I think it’s over,” he said, though it came out sounding more like a question.
“So do I.” Even so, I remained on high alert just in case. But no others came. My chest expanded with a full breath as relief juddered down my spine.
Delphiae went around healing any who were dealt lethal wounds. I wasn’t concerned about my own injuries. None were fatal.
Taking a better look at Finian, I frowned. “You look deathly pale.”
His throat bobbing, he rubbed at his stomach. “I feel sick.”
That was no shock, considering … “You have centaur guts all over you.”
“I have centaur guts all over me,” he agreed with a nod.
“You going to hurl?”
“I’m going to hurl.” He spun around, hung his head, and promptly vomited.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Knots that I hadn’t known were sitting in my belly unraveled as I stumbled upon Khalida, Quillen, and Nakoa on my way back to the city. Not only were they fine, they had confirmed that Jelani and Soule were also relatively uninjured.
As they were all put to work by Keyes, I returned to the garrison with Lear. We made a beeline for the apothecary. Many people were crowded around it, tubs of this or that in hand; applying salves or gauze or drinking from small vials. Most weren’t focusing on their wounds, however—their attention was mostly on the Sovereigns.
Stood several feet away, the half-bloods huffed and puffed and demanded details as they spoke with Ajax. I felt my mouth settle into a flat line. I understood why the Sovereigns didn’t allow themselves to be baited into leaving the protection of the city walls unless other half-bloods came, just as I understood it would be a show of weakness if they did because it would say they had no faith in the Black Tapestry. But I still couldn’t help feeling angry that they hadn’t intervened.
Glory had lost her life tonight in the act of defending these half-bloods. Others had likely also died. Those deathscould have been prevented if only the Sovereigns had fought alongside their people.
Gratefully taking a tub of salve from an officiate who was passing them around, I didn’t tend to my wounds straight away—there was no point, since I badly needed to bathe first. I also wanted to do a little eavesdropping, so I wandered closer to the Sovereigns.
“The lapithae would never have answered to Theseus,” insisted Rhad, his fists perched on his hips. “They only follow Daedalus.”
Minos rubbed at his jaw. “Tonight, Theseus was letting us know that he has made yet another ally. He wants us rattled; wants to provoke us into leaving the safety of Deimos to invade the Dark Lands—thus leaving the city vulnerable and ripe for a takeover.”
Sidling up to me, Lear whispered, “If Theseus has a number of half-bloods on his side, it would have been wiser of them to attack as one right at the start.”
“I think they don’t trust the Sovereigns not to destroy the city,” I murmured.
