“For Celeste!” she shouted, her voice ringing out and reinvigorating us in a way I never could have. Her creatures roared, and Aeon grew to his full size. Mist poured out of his sieved body, and electricity brewed in his chest. He sent a streak of lightning directly toward the dragon beast, but Ocnolog hissed and jerked to the side before the hit could land.
And Leena rocketed after him in a streak of rosewood light like the damn beacon of hope that she was.
Pride and love filled my chest, and I shouted at the top of my lungs while raising my blood sword high. “For Celeste! For Lendria! For us!”
The answering shouts from my troops blended with bestial cries, and we once again stormed toward our enemy. Determination bright in their eyes, Charmers thrust their hands outward and pulled from whatever reserves of magic they had left. Beasts crawled out of the realm, their angry, violent snarls striking fear into the enemies before us. They stalled, and Cruor dashed ahead—shadows carrying their feet—and sailed through the air to take down the nearest brigade of Lendrian soldiers. Cruor’s blades came away slick with blood, and they once again propelled themselves forward with shadows, targeting another set of soldiers. Rhyne’s army thundered a breath behind them. Their heavy footsteps shook the earth beneath our feet, creating a cadence of hope that pulsed through our limbs. We were strong. We were united. We would prevail.
I charged forward, joining my brethren, when a gleaming, onyx blade found its home in my side. Crying out, I tumbled to the ground. I yanked the damn thing out and then watched it dissipate in my fingers as a haughty, laughing Darrien stood tall over me.
“Too long have I waited for this.” He sneered and summoned a shadow, forming it with ease into a scythe. Gripping it with both hands, he chuckled. “I decided to take your advice and get my hands dirty this time. Save the arrows for someone else. I want a front row seat when you die, Noc.”
I backed up quickly and stood, all the rage I’d felt now targeted directly at my former brother. The man who’d abandoned me when I’d needed him to help save the woman I loved. The man who’d attempted to kidnap Leena and steal Cruor right out from under me. The blood oozing from my waist responded to my anger, and I fashioned a two-handed sword as long and broad as my body. Even in the sickly light of the sun, my weapon shined like liquid.
“This ends here and now,” I seethed.
“Agreed.”
And with that we lunged at each other, knowing full well we wouldn’t stop until one of us was dead.
Thirty-Seven
Leena
Ocnolog flew into the dense, black cloud. With every beat of his impressive wings, smog furled outward around us until it was impossible to determine any sense of direction. All I could do was follow his gleaming, scaled tail and hope that he wasn’t leading me into some unexpected trap. Below I could still make out the sounds of battle. The cries of beasts as they fought and the shouts of soldiers. It had been brutal, flying out over the open expanse to see Noc and my family encircled by an army more than three times their size. It’d set fire to my veins so that when I wrenched open the beast realm door, I’d summoned every creature I could. Every beast willing to stand and fight and defend our world.
I didn’t know how much longer I could keep them with us. My body was already shaking, a cool sweat clinging to my forehead and neck. But I couldn’t think about that. Couldn’t focus on anything other than Yazmin and Ocnolog. When he’d arrived at Wilheim and he’d perched over Yazmin’s crumpled form, he took one look at the floating orb of light and then swallowed it whole. I’d watched it move down his throat in horror until it stopped in his chest, right where his heart was.
And then Yazmin had let out a sharp gasp as her eyes flew open.
Kost had been right. She’d sacrificed her heart and became one with Ocnolog. And I hadn’t been able to stop it.
Onyx let a worried yowl slip from his maw, dragging me back to the present. I’d lost sight of Ocnolog, which I’d thought was impossible, given his size. But there was nothing around us except for smoke and darkness.
“C’mon,” I said, urging Onyx in the only direction I could think of—toward the muted sun. His wings beat fervently, tight muscles coiling and unfurling against my thighs, and suddenly we exploded through the smoke. Pure, brilliant sunlight poured over us. A sea of black fog stretched beneath Onyx’s paws, and as we coasted over the expanse, his claws cut canyons into it. Guiding Onyx in a circle, I scoured the horizon for Ocnolog.
“Where are you?” I murmured to myself. I kept Onyx low against the smog, hoping the cloud would help camouflage him. A strange disturbance in the dark expanse caught my eye. Three puckered trails of smoke streamed toward us, as if a great creature lurked beneath the surface but hadn’t yet emerged. Ocnolog’s skull crested through the fog, fire already brewing in his maw, and he unleashed a geyser of flames directly at us. Onyx cut hard to the right. Heat seared the air, and my eyes watered as I clung to my beast. Instead of following us, Ocnolog submerged into the smoke. A haughty, gritty laugh—one that was vaguely reticent of Yazmin but somehow deeper—floated around us.
“There’s no escaping me this time, Leena.”Her voice seemed to echo from every direction. It was bigger, too. More robust, more beast-like, and I shivered.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I shouted back at nothing. The sunlight beat against my armor, cooking me alive, but it was nothing compared to the heat of Ocnolog’s fire.
“Why do you fight this?”Her voice was a seductive purr, and I slammed my hands over Onyx’s ears. Dragon tongue. One of Ocnolog’s many magical abilities. Rumor was that with just one thought he could control the will of all beasts and even some humans. Only Celeste’s voice could counteract this ability. And since she was nowhere to be found, protecting the mind of my Myad fell entirely to me.
Beneath me, Onyx quivered. A strangled, warbled cry escaped his throat.
My pulse raced. How was I supposed to stop this? What was my plan? Again, Ocnolog erupted from the sea of smog, and again he sent a torrent of white-hot flames our direction. This time, Onyx barely avoided the attack. The scent of singed fur filled my nostrils, and Onyx let out a painful hiss.
“You had your chance to join my side.”The voice rumbled from beneath the fog. Onyx shook his head back and forth. Bringing one paw to his face, he violently swept down, as if trying to get something out of his head.“But instead, you allied with the Lendrians.”
I strained to hear every sound and watched for the churn of clouds that would mark his approach. Nothing.
“You’ve betrayed your kind.”
“No!” I screamed back, frantically scouring the expanse.
Then, a dark chuckle.“I wasn’t talking to you.”
Beneath me, Onyx came to an abrupt halt. His wings continued to beat, keeping us afloat, but he simply hung there, his feet skating above the smog. When Ocnolog had attacked last, I’d been forced to grip the scruff of his neck to keep from falling, leaving his ears completely exposed. Slowly, he craned his head over his shoulder and skewered me with eyes that weren’t wholly his. His pupils had bled wide. Worried chattering gurgled at the back of his throat. He was trying to fight Ocnolog’s power. Trying to warn me.
