It was now or never. Once I knew I had a firm hold, my lip curled, revealing my canines, as my gaze narrowed in on the crone’s withered face.
With a suffocating battle cry tearing from my throat that remained in her talons, I used all my strength and plunged the curved blade into the witch’s heart,twistingit within her chest.
Black blood sprayed me as her grip remained, but pure horror carved itself into her features as she glanced down at the dagger that now protruded from her ruined heart.
The crone’s eyes glowed brighter than ever, threatening to blind me as I remained before her, screaming an ear-shattering screech of death. A moment later, she burst open—her body vanishing before me and replaced by swirling shadows of malicious smoke and slick, onyx gore.
My body dropped to the ground as she exploded, the blade I killed her with clattering on the tile next to me. Thefloor, walls, and my clothes were covered in what remained of the crone, and I stared up at the window she had just stood in front of in disbelief.
And then a laugh left me—it started as a giggle and morphed into a full eruption of manic, disbelieving laughter as I sat there in shock at what I had just done.
I killed the crone—me, Avery Valderre. The princess, whose only purpose in life was to be sold to a far-off lord as a bartering chip, just destroyed an all-powerful sorceress.
Pushing myself to my feet, ignoring the aches in my bones and pain from the puncture wounds in my neck, I brought myself to the window and peered out.
Black smoke still filled the air, the battle continuing on the ground below—but the wards were down. The spell the crone had been casting, shielding the gates of the city, had dropped. Which meant that our armies could now breach the gates.
“Holy shit,” I breathed.
A scream echoed in the distance, snapping my attention back to the spiral stairs.
“Mother of the gods.” My voice was a whisper. “Lia.”
I didn’t waste a second. I crouched down, picking up the curved blade I had just used on the crone, and rushed through the door. Sprinting down the staircase, I aimed for the throne room, where my sister’s screams continued to erupt from.
Chapter seventy-three
Jace
Staring down the gapingmaw of Adler’s wyvern, Lia’s pain and fear repeatedly slammed into me. Her last words that she let slip through—I love you—replayed in my head over and over. My heart was shattering, but I poured all my focus into my rage, ready to kill this vicious prick once and for all so I could find my queen.
Adler had tried to taunt me, telling me that Lia was dead, unknowing of the fact that not only was she my wife but also my mate. The look on his face once he heard those words may be the last thing I ever saw, and the only view that I wish could have replaced it was her.
Nox raced towards us from where he was guarding the healer’s tent, but I knew he wouldn’t make it in time. The fire building in the back of the red-gazed wyvern’s throat was already blinding me, and I lifted my sword high, ready to die swinging.
A roar erupted from me as I took my first step, the fire blasting through the creature's throat, when suddenly, the beast erupted into nothing but smoke and gore, sending my body soaring violently down the field.
I crashed into the terrain nearly fifty feet from where I had stood before them, agony slamming into me at the forceful contact with the ground as my body rolled even further.
My name was being called, but I couldn’t tell if it was from near or far. I blinked as I looked up at the blazing sky—a once sunny day now consumed by smoke and shadows. And then Zaela appeared above me, followed by Gage.
“Jace!” she screamed, but it was muffled in my ears as my hearing and vision worked to return from the blast.
Gage lifted me up by my back, having me sit up in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by the bloodied corpses of both man and fae.
“Brother!” he yelled, and I slowly turned to face him, blinking the dirt and haze from my eyes. “You’re okay, you’re okay!” he was screaming as he frantically looked my body over.
The veins in my neck bulged as I tried to stand, but they caught me, slamming me back down onto the ground. “Let me go!” I barked at them. “Where is Adler?!”
All three of our gazes flew to where he had been perched atop his mount only moments ago. The wyvern he rode was gone, nowhere to be seen, and he was covered in what remained of it. Pushing himself to his feet in visible pain from the explosion, his eyes were locked on us, absolute fury radiating from them.
My eyes moved across the battlefield, where soldiers from both armies continued to fall to their demise with each passing second.
I swallowed as I pushed myself to stand, reaching down and grabbing two swords at my feet from fallen warriors. “I don’t know where Lia is. She won’t let me in, but something’s wrong. All I know is that she’s alive.”
“They have our girls,” Gage breathed, chest heaving.
“Adler is coming,” Zaela warned, as she positioned herself in a fighting stance.
