Raine back at his side, he extended a hand, pulling Casimir to his feet. “You good?”
Breathing through the pain, he retrieved his sword. “Just a scratch.”
About two dozen daemons charged.
“Let’s kill those fucking bastards,” Raine said, swinging his sword.
Casimir gave him a wolfish grin, raising his own blade.
Steel met flesh as Casimir fought side by side with his best friend, pushing their way forward. This was what they trained for. This was why they spent countless hours in the rings, sparring. Pushing each other to their absolute breaking point. Why they’d spent years climbing the ranks; Casimir the general and Raine, one of his best captains. It was all for this moment. For their lost loved ones. For their kingdom.
For their home.
They moved together, ducking and dodging each enemy blow. So in sync they didn’t even need to speak. Where Raine grabbed an enemy with vines, Casimir burned them with starlight. Where Casimir raised one into the air, Raine slit their throat with a dagger. As if they fought as one.
Another group of enemy soldiers broke away, sprinting toward Imsel who had just finished taking a daemon down. “On your left!” Casimir warned.
The stone fae captain smiled menacingly, spinning their staff, as they faced the oncoming threat. Rocks erupted beneath the daemons’ booted feet, throwing them to the ground. In the blink of an eye, Imsel wielded their weapon, taking down all six enemies, hardly a drop of sweat on their face.
Raine gaped. “Mother’s tits!Thatwas impressive.”
Imsel smirked.
The daemons kept coming, Casimir pulling them down with vines and finishing them off with his sword.
Bow now in hand, Raine rapidly released arrows, felling four more. “These Igneothenian arrowheads are spectacular! The way they slice through armor…” He shot another, spearing straight through the man’s chest piece. “It’s kind of making me hard!”
“For fuck’s sake,” Cas muttered, dodging a daemon before wrapping him in a cocoon of roots, then setting him alight with starlight.
Another charged, heading for Raine. Before he got the chance to face the threat, Quinn appeared, jumping onto the enemy’s back and slitting his throat from behind.
“That one was mine,” Raine quipped.
“You’ve got to be quicker, pretty boy,” Quinn chided, spinning the dagger in her hand.
“It’s not a competition,” Casimir growled, sinking his sword into the belly of a soldier.
They’re heating the river now, Aro said.
Casimir, Raine, Quinn, Imsel and the rest of their soldiers continued to push forward, cutting down the remainder of the enemies on their side of the river.
Minutes later, they reached the glimmering water and the several hundred soldiers now crossing. Maeryn barked orders to a dozen lava wielders from the shore, while Roan, the stone fae general, commanded his group of fae preparing to raise the wall.
Lava crept forward, meeting the water with a hiss. It didn’t take long for it to start simmering, transitioning to a rolling boil in seconds. Steam rose and screams tainted the night as their enemies were boiled alive.
Casimir scanned the forest around them, remaining alert for problems. But there were no ice fae to be seen. No attempt to thwart their efforts. No monsters either.
The enemy forces on Casimir’s side of the river had all been cut down. And now the fae watched as the second step of their plan was enacted, the remainder of the daemons still screaming.
“It’s working,” Quinn said.
There was a sudden cry of pain on Casimir’s right. Maeryn had an arrow sticking out of her thigh, but she ignored it and continued to feed her magic into the water.
“She’ll be alright,” Casimir said to Raine, then yelled to his men, “Archers in the trees on the far side of the river! Take them down!”
Rage on Raine’s face, he joined the other archers, releasing arrow after arrow, killing as many enemies as he could, and sending them to the ground.
Rocks grew from the earth on the opposite side of the river, pulling the rest of the daemons forward. Casimir, Raine and Quinn used vines and roots, yanking them into the water to meet their demise.
