Page 206 of Of Masks and Fury

Shrieks cut through the air, grazing across my bones.

Skathes raced from the woods on the southern side of the valley and slithered from among the trees.

“The wards,” Addie gasped. “They’ve breached the wards.”

I drew my blades and shouted for Addie to watch out.

“Get your sister on that dragon and fly,” Trew shouted. “Now!”

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

TREW

The stink hit me first. Rot and decay, the unmistakable scent of Skathes.

They poured from the trees like a nightmare given flesh, chittering and clawing through undergrowth, more coordinated than the Skathe masses we’d battled before. Thirty at least, their gray bodies rippling with stolen magic as they surged toward us across the lawn.

“Isi, get your sister on Kyreth and get out of here,” I bellowed again.

Battle-calm washed through me, slowing the world to a series of observations. As I yanked my blades from their sheaths, I catalogued the distance to the dragons, the number of enemies, and any vulnerability points. Half of my attention remained on Isi, tracking her movements as she drew her blades and rushed toward Addie. The rest showed our weaknesses, including Addie barely able to stand, the dragons too far away from them, and the wards that had been compromised.

“Gavelle, flank,” I called, and my companion roared, sending a blast of flames toward the Skathes.

Pherin stood beside him. Together they formed a wall of muscle and fury between us and the first wave of Skathes.

A sword in his hand, Commander Thorne grabbed Addie’s arm and urged her toward the dragons.

The manor’s grounds crawled with them. The flowerbeds I’d strode past this morning had already been trampled beneath clawed feet. The scent of ghostbells and tharnel blossoms choked beneath the putrid aroma that followed the Skathes.

Isi’s eyes met mine, fierce and unafraid.

“I’m with you.” Fury shone in her voice.

A part of me broke and reformed into something stronger. Even facing death, my love remained unbowed.

One of the Skathes lunged toward me.

I rushed to meet it, and my blade whistled through the air, cleaving its head from its shoulders. Black ash erupted where flesh had been, searing hot across my skin. Another came at me from the right, and I pivoted, slashing through its chest.

Isi tried to reach her sister, her twin blades making perfect arcs through the air. A Skathe leapt for her throat, and she dropped, rolling beneath its claws before rising to drive both blades up through its jaw. The creature dissolved with a shriek, showering her in cinders.

“Three on your left,” I called out, already turning to intercept some rushing from my right.

“On it.”

Pride as powerful as fear surged through me. She was lethal grace untouched by panic. I wanted to shield her from every danger, yet watching her fight made me understand why even the fates themselves would tremble at her approach.

Gavelle tore through the Skathes, his jaws snapping spines while his claws reduced their skulls to fragments. Pherin matched him, her hunting cry splitting the air as she caught a Skathe mid-leap and shredded it to ash.

From above, some of our dragons unleashed streams of fire, scorching Skathes to cinders. The air filled with ash and embers,black snow falling across the lovely lawn that had turned into a battlefield.

Dare blazed through the Skathes, his horns slashing, followed by Keek, his fangs striking out, ripping through one Skathe throat after another.

A glance toward the far side of the open area showed Commander Thorne half-carrying Addie toward Kyreth. Three Skathes tracked them, slinking through the underbrush.

“Addie,” Isi gasped, spotting the same threat.

I pivoted and rushed toward them, carving a path through the Skathes. I’d begun to think we might reach the dragons when a second wave poured from the trees, cutting off the most direct route to Thorne, Addie, and Kyreth.