I could feel it growing, the decay accelerating, as the bodies moved faster, climbing on top of one another, forming a bigger, larger enemy, one that Reza couldn’t possibly destroy. The dead soldiers climbed on top of each other, until twenty of them formed a leg, and then another. Then more formed the body of a beast, shoulders, arms, and a head.
Until the creature was as tall as the River Palace.
It was a rotting creature of death, greater than any army Reza could call, and he had no hope of killing it.
For how does one kill death?
Body parts began falling off the giant creature as it moved toward Reza and the guards around him, a silver—armored army of his own soldiers rising from the dead against him.
Reza reared back, his eyes wide at the monster built from the bodies of the Court of Salt.
It was harder to control than the dead halmasti I’d summoned at the palace, because that was made of material in a further state of decay. Here I had to push all my power into accelerating its decomposition to exert more control. As a result, it lumbered like a slow-moving deo, a giant out for Reza’s blood.
Rebels and soldiers alike began to flee from the rotting monster, screams rising up from the battlefield in its wake.
As I wielded it, I saw Mishah and Yas still running toward Reza, but he was too distracted by the dead to notice.
If Yaseema managed to capture the crown, then that would be worth it.
If they freed my family, if they restored our power, it didn’t matter what Reza did to me, as long as our Court was free. I closed my eyes again, the rebel guard around me moving tighter together when the Salt soldiers figured out who was controlling the beast. I could hear the battle raging around me, but I trusted my soldiers, trusted the protection I’d built to alert me if anyone got through. For now, I concentrated on moving the beast, knocking down Salt soldiers in its path, until it finally reached Reza.
Reza turned to face it, and I gave him far more credit for his courage that I previously had. But now he didn’t have me to do his dirty work, so it was all up to him to go against my death magic.
He raised his arms and tried to funnel the magic from my creature, touching one of his own dead soldiers that I commanded. I could feel him pulling against it, just as he did with my dead creature at the palace, using King Rusul’s crown to channel his magic through.
But the crown only controlled the thread of life magic in the Court of River. Even with the twin crowns, he couldn’t stop my manipulation of the dead.
Yaseema was right about that.
At my thoughts, I searched for her in the battle but couldn’t see her or Mishah anymore.
I bade my creature swing its great arm forward, knocking Reza and his guards off their feet.
All my concentration was being pulled to controlling the beast and I could feel my strength waning, my arms shaking.
No.
I needed to hold on for her. There was no way I was going to let her face him alone.
My concentration broke as a shout sounded—too close.
I looked to my side to see Salt soldiers break through the branch barrier around me, still fighting my rebels. My creature made of dead bodies was still standing, but my focus was now split.
I pulled my sword from its sheath on my back, raising the blade and pushing the first soldier back while keeping the monster upright. I killed the second swiftly, being reminded of my time in the fighting pits with Talal as they threw five Salt soldiers at us for sport.
And we had defeated them.
I had one hand raised, holding my creature aloft while I fought off the Salt soldiers with my other hand.
But it was an impossible feat—my beast needed too much singular focus, and I couldn’t keep the level needed when more soldiers poured through the barrier. Instead, I stepped back, holding the creature up as long as I could before tearing my hands away and giving all my attention to the soldiers who infiltrated the circle.
I slammed my sword against the scimitar of the first soldier, ducking the blade of the other and kicking against his shin so he lost his footing, which bought me precious time.
I tried to summon my life magic, but I was already conjuring death—it was too much. A sapling grew from the ground, until it sputtered and died, shriveling black.
My sword sliced through the belly of the first soldier, and he slid to his knees, dark eyes blown wide beneath his silver helmet. The other soldier came at me, his tail wrapping around my sword arm and yanking it down before he charged with his own blade, aimed at slitting my throat.
I sidestepped his attack, hitting him in the head with the hilt of my sword. He dropped to the earth, and my hand pressed to his back, pulling him forward to impale him on his own blade.
