Page 107 of Heart of Night and Fire

His voice was different from the dream forest. Less muted, but just as authoritative. She glared at him, more than a little irritated by his less-than-warm greeting. Not authoritative. Bossy. Who did he think he was?

“Leave me alone. I will do no such thing.”

She tore her arm from his grasp and backed away as he moved to fill her space.

“It isn’t safe out here,” he growled, his jaw hardening into steel.

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

Zarya then noticed a kala-hamsa streaking towards Rabin. To prove her point, she shoved his massive bulk out of the way and slashed the bird from the air. It dropped like a stone, landing at his feet.

Zarya grinned as a flicker of confusion crossed his perfectly crafted face. She didn’t wait to hear what he might say next. Instead, she took off, hurling herself into the mess.

More and more birds descended into the garden, and Zarya swung left and right, trying to cut them down. Talons raked the soft flesh of her cheek, and she grunted at the bright spot of pain before she felt the warm trickle of blood.

“Zee!” She spun around to find Yasen jogging towards her, his gaze honing in on her injury.

“I’m okay,” she said, wiping the blood away.

“Stay close to me,” he said, and they fell into sync, moving side by side as Yasen brought down beasts with military efficiency. Zarya’s technique wasn’t quite as tidy but still effective enough as she took out her share of the shrieking birds.

She caught a glimpse of Rabin, his entire presence like a magnet pulling her in. He moved like a sandstorm, nothing coming close as he hewed down entire groups of demons at once, their bodies exploding in showers of blood that glittered like ink against the night.

Across the garden, Apsara fought with a bloody sword in one hand, calling down spears of ice with the other, impaling birds and pinning them to the earth. Next to her, Suvanna held two curved blades as she spun and danced like an apparition, graceful as waves rolling on the shore.

Zarya spotted a giant naga slithering down the wide center path. She ran towards it, lifting her sword as the serpent curled, lifting its head to eye level. Before she could react, it lunged, its sharp front teeth slicing against the skin of her stomach. Zarya cried out, using the momentum of her swing to cleave her sword against the naga’s neck.

Her blade melted into soft flesh, slicing clean through. After the head landed at her feet, she kicked it away, her foot tangling in her long skirt that was now filthy beyond redemption.

Zarya clutched her bleeding stomach, bending in half as she tried to catch her breath. The wound was aching, blood draining out and soaking into her clothing.

How she wished she were wearing her usual kurta and leggings right now. Since the beautiful garment was already ruined, she used her bloodied sword to slice away the bottom half, leaving her legs free.

When she was done, she scanned the garden, finding Vikram fighting off a dakini, bloodied flesh hanging from its maw. Covered in dark iridescent scales, it stood the height of two men on thick legs with clawed feet, its long fingers tipped with more sharp claws.

Needing a moment to recover, she watched Kindle spool ribbons of fire from his fingers as demons cowered from the heat. She found Koura, his expression thunderous as he slashed down their foes. Gone was the gentle healer, in his place was a fearsome warrior who fought with the same intense passion he reserved for the care of his charges.

Aarav roared as he descended on a pack of vetalas, their jaws dripping with blood and gore. After he finished them off, he spun on the next group, facing them without an ounce of fear.

“Do your worst, you maggots!” he yelled, and Zarya realized this was what he’d been born to do. Joining the Khada had unleashed something he’d been missing, with its brutality and its cruelty but also with its noble purpose. Something that spoke to him in a primitive way.

A rumble beneath her feet sent her spinning around, searching for the source. She found Rabin bent on one knee with a fist planted on the stone path. A jagged line formed before splitting open, demons speared by points of earth that shot up like a mountain range from the ground. They toppled along the sides of the peaks, disappearing into the rift, dozens falling to their deaths before he sealed it shut, silencing their echoing screams.

Shouts of alarm rang out beyond the palace walls. The demons were also terrorizing the city, but there wouldn’t be enough soldiers to help them all. No one had ever imagined an assault of this magnitude.

A nearby chorus of screams drew Zarya’s attention to a group of trembling courtiers who hadn’t yet found shelter in the palace. They stood cowering beneath a dakini, its body covered in thick, black scales and corded with sinewy muscle.

“No!” she cried out when she spied Amrita amongst the group, clinging to the Ravana wives. Where were her guards? Her question was answered a moment later as she registered the heap of bodies lying at the demon’s feet, the soldiers mutilated almost beyond recognition.

Zarya covered her mouth to quell the bile climbing up her throat. She had to do something.

Running towards them, she shouted, “Over here!” hoping to distract it away from the princess.

“Help them!” she screamed as the dakini finally noticed her presence.

She came to a halt as it stared at her, paralyzed by the satisfied look in its eyes. The corners of its horrible mouth tipped up before it lifted its head to the sky and let out a series of short, shrill whistles. A signal or a call?

Deciding that couldn’t mean anything good, Zarya forced herself to move, raising her sword and swinging for its neck. Yasen appeared and charged from the other side. The demon ducked as she swung, her blade hissing through empty air.