Her black wings carry her straight toward Ethan, light gathering around her fists until they blaze brighter than the sunlight streaming through the skylight. She slams her balled fist into Ethan’s shield, and the orb wavers slightly.
Three more arrows streak through the air in rapid succession, but they ricochet off Ethan’s shield.
Damian and his queen never so much as glance at Iris. Every shot is aimed at the King of Light.
They don’t want to hurt her, I realize.
Ethan’s wings carry him off the staircase and back onto the mezzanine, a second end-all blade tight in his grip.
Elio, still shaking with fatigue, climbs the stairs one step at a time, ice entombing the gilded banister and spreading across the floors. Power crackles in the air, louder than rolling thunder.
Devi lands in front of Ethan, but Iris attacks her from behind, moving so fast I can’t follow, shadows cradling her feral form. My godmother sidesteps the first strike, but Iris’s second hand—the one holding the blue and black blade—manages to skewer her side.
The two women stand at odds for a heartbeat.
Devi’s lips part in shock. “Little Flower?” she breathes.
Unmoved, Iris draws back to deliver the coup de grâce.
“Lori! Fight her, Lori! Please!” the Shadow Queen yells.
Iris freezes for half a second, giving Devi just enough time to react. Her hand snaps up and catches Iris’s wrist, stopping the second blade an inch from her skin.
Devi grunts. She flaps her wings as the dagger lodged in her side breaks apart into dark snowflakes, then presses her weight forward and slams Iris back several feet.
Iris is hurled against the ramp and topples over the railing. She plummets to the marble below, hitting the ground hard mere feet from me.
A loudcrackechoes through the throne room, and blood begins to pool behind her head, matting her hair.
“Lori!”
The Shadow Queen abandons her crossbow and falls to her knees next to her friend, reaching for her with both hands and closing her eyes in concentration.
My gaze flicks back to Elio and Ethan facing each other.
Elio grips the hilt of an icy-blue sword, the balls of his feet finding purchase on the floor as he settles into a predatory stance. His father stands tall in the face of the imminent attack, wearing the same detached expression one might reserve for a child waving around a troublesome toy.
Elio snarls and raises his blade toward his father. “This ends now.”
“Who are you kidding, son? If you had enough courage to kill me, you would have done it a long time ago,” Ethan taunts him.
Damian jumps up one story, quick as a cat, but the King of Light blinks out of view, becoming invisible.
Next thing I know, the skylight explodes, broken glass raining down on us.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Willow croaks.
The brown-haired Fae peels herself off the floor, finally gathering enough strength to stand, her injured arm hanging limply at her side. Her wings stretch behind her, and she flies after Ethan.
Ezra follows in a blur of white wings.
Devi is right behind him, the three of them disappearing into the dawn.
Elio grips the banister and peers down, breathless. “Is she alive?”
He asks the question as though the answer will determine whether he keeps living.
Nell bites her bottom lip. “Barely. I need more time.”
