Page 161 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

Finally, the Taara Aazheri came in droves, forming a snaking line across the field. Hundreds of them. Maybe even thousands. Without her magic, without the Phoenix and the dream they fought for, none of this would have been possible.

Once she was sure it had to be enough, Zarya dropped her head and focused on the spinning anchors in her heart. She acknowledged each one and the role they had played. Then, she whispered to the darkness, knowing she would need it now more than ever.

Gathering each thread into her heart, she twisted them together with the full force of her magic, and then her nightfire erupted in a blinding flash.

It raced along the line, touching every person whose hands were linked, and then… a wave, a wall, a tide of pure sparkling black magic exploded from their army, racing over the land, spreading like ink.

The demons screamed as swaths of midnight death consumed them whole.

It took the Ashvins, burning through them like acid until they were nothing but dust tossed into the wind.

The magic sunk into the earth, spreading across soil and roots and water. Zarya felt it. She felt it reach from where they stood, just like the day they’d saved Dharati.

It sped over the miles, through mountains and forest, through farmland and lakes. Pure starlight purified the earth that had nearly been taken. It buried deep into another world where two evil kings had once been banished. She felt it strip away their taint and the horror they’d brought upon their own people.

This wasn’t the end anymore.

The vanshaj were finally free.

The Ashvins would soon be dead.

And this was finally a beginning.

She lifted her head as another roll of power slammed into the twins.

They screamed. It was a sound that spoke to the darkest part of her soul. They writhed and twisted as her magic burned through their clothes and then their skin, peeling it away to expose bone and sinew, blood and viscera, until their bodies glowed like the sun.

Zarya dug further into her power, focusing another blast straight into their depths, tearing them apart.

They shattered, exploding into pieces before dissolving into nothing but puffs of white.

She exhaled a choked sob of victory as her magic continued surging and flowing. It rolled from her in waves, spreading over the plain and across Rahajhan, touching everyone who had stood together and tried to change the world.

FIFTY-SIX

Yasen clutched a sword, dripping with dark blood as he watched Zarya’s magic spread over the horizon. It shattered through the nairatta in a flurry of screams and agony. They dissolved under Zarya’s light until nothing was left but the barest wisps of smoke.

They hung in the air, suspended for several seconds before the breeze carried them away.

That was it. They were gone.

Zarya dropped her hands and fell against Rabin before they collapsed to the ground, both unconscious.

“Zee!” he cried, running over and dropping to his knees. He rolled her over onto her back while Row did the same for Rabin.

“They used a lot of magic after Zarya died,” Row said, feeling for Rabin’s pulse. “They’re alive, but they’re very weak.”

“Take them to the palace,” Miraan said, crouching next to Yasen. “They’ll see my best healers. I don’t know what happened, but I have a feeling we owe everything to them right now.”

He shouted orders to some nearby guards, and a few minutes later, a row of palace healers appeared with stretchers. They laid Rabin and Zarya out before spiriting them away.

“Will they be okay?” Yasen asked Row.

He shook his head. “Let’s hope so. They both went through so much.”

“They saved us?” Miraan said, his hand over his heart. “I… can’t even imagine what might have happened…”

“You have no idea,” Row said. “But yes. They saved us all.”