“What is it?” Zara’s voice echoed from the stairs, and my eyes found hers.
“Territan,” I gritted out, cursing, as my eyes scanned the parchment again. The witches took bloody control of fucking Territan.
I felt my body shift instinctively before the thought registered. Bones cracked and broke, and my body started to double, growing at a fierce rate. I didn’t care that I was in the entryway, and Julian sprinted out of the way, throwing a protective shield around himself and Zara as my expanding form filled the space. I heard the curses of the others as my vision darkened and the rage started to consume me. Stone crumbled around me and I crashed into the wall, debris flying as I launched myself into the air.
My lungs burned as they filled with fire, and I drew in a breath, releasing an ear-shattering roar that I was sure would echo through all of Nexia. The rhythmic beating of my wings drowned out all other sounds as my mind screamed in fury at the unfolding situation. The letter had been from Aria, penned in her unmistakable handwriting.
*
Territan has been taken. In the middle of the night, witches and Fae in black uniforms stormed in. We were ambushed and outnumbered. I am doing what I can, but it might already be too late.
-A
*
I flew for hours, my wings beating rapidly against the wind as I raced toward the border. Every passing hour drained my magic, but it was the fastest way to reach them—my only chance to help before it was too late… if it wasn’t already.
As I approached the border, I saw my people fleeing below, hunted by witches on Daka. I dove sharply, unlocking my jaw and spewing fire upon a line of witches in pursuit. I instantly reduced them to ash, but when I circled back around, I found a new line forming just past the tree line.
Witches and Fae in black uniforms charged forward, and I let another line of fire erupt from me, incinerating them as well.
I pushed toward the border, but a searing pain shot through my body, forcing me to shift back into my Fae form. I started to tumble from the sky.
A ward. They had erected a fucking ward to keep us out. Keep me out. And it was strong enough to disarm even me.
Struggling to regain control of my fall, I tumbled through the air at a horrifying speed. I threw out my magic blindly, slowing my body as it tore through the sky. The ward’s force sent me hurtling toward the earth, and I crashed into the ground with a resounding impact, my body tunneling through the dirt from the sheer force.
My bones ached, and I was sure I had broken more than a few from the impact. My growl was a mix of pain and fury as I struggled to stand, snapping bones back into place and healing them as quickly as possible. I regained my balance, anger my only emotion as I transformed back into my beast form, shootinginto the sky once more. Another ear-shattering roar escaped my lips, and an echoing roar sounded to my right. I whipped around to find a giant griffin spearing in my direction.
Aria.
Her red hair billowed around her, her body scorched and bleeding. Her leg jutted awkwardly out, and blood poured freely down her leg. She lay unconscious, straddled on the back of the beast as it whined in my direction and shot past me unnaturally fast. It let out a cry of pain over the wind, and I watched as it raced to save its rider because that wasn’t just blood running down her leg.
Poison.
I roared again, watching the griffin fade into the sky.
I returned my attention to the border. To where my people were still fleeing. Daka prowled like vultures as witches rode them with smug smiles.
This wasn’t just another attack, it was a declaration of war.
*
I glided onto the terrace of my castle, shifting back to my Fae form before landing. My knees nearly gave out from exhaustion, but I managed to stay upright and somehow shadowed to the end of the hall to my room. The magic cost me, and my body temperature spiked, my heart rate increasing as I staggered down the hall.
I had patrolled the border for two days. That damn ward not letting anything in, but people were able to get out, and I had incinerated anyone in pursuit, trying to save and protect as many of my people as I could.
Theo had finally arrived, our nearby armies in his wake. They had started to set up camps along the border, and I knew Dedra would have more on their way.
I would have stayed and continued to help, but I needed rest. The meeting with Morgana was tomorrow, and I was already near burnout.
The door swung open as I approached, and Zara emerged, her eyes going wide as they landed on me.
My heart felt like it might rip open at the sight of her, and I smiled weakly in her direction. She ran forward in a panic, looping her arm around me as she led me into the room and toward the bed.
I fell onto the mattress, my body giving out. It took effort to keep my eyes open, and I reached for Zara’s face, cupping it in my hand. She was leaning over me, her eyes etched with concern as she looked at me.
How could I be so lucky?
