Page 295 of The Edge of Darkness

Roirdan whirled, slinging bolts of lightning from his hands in every direction. Not far from him, Nivelle ducked and dodged creature after creature, using her power to mimic Roirdan’s. She was fierce. Her eyes and markings glowed blue, and her long, pale braid whipped like a serpent as she spun and shouted her rage. The small blades she carried still remained holstered at her waist—a last-resort.

Another voice echoed not far from where we stood. A female voice that I would recognize anywhere. Maeson. She let out a war cry of her own as she conjured waves of fire against a rush of Lyceius’s monstrous ilk.

“Fall back!” Niall shouted.

The fae around us hesitated, finishing their killing blows before turning to verify whose command they’d heard.

“Fall back and re-form the lines!”

Those close enough to hear him began retreating toward Calledan, but those that were further ahead continued onward.

Roirdan and Aremis backed toward us, keeping their eyes on the enemies that were bounding in our direction. The commander called out for Nivelle, and she quickly fell into step with him. When they made it to us, all of them were out of breath.

“The fuck is happening?” Roirdan panted.

“We’re re-forming the lines closer to The Veil,” Niall said. “Let’s go!”

“Um . . . Niall?” I lifted my finger and pointed. His eyes followed and landed on what was coming our way . . .

Huge beasts, the size of horses, with rounded ribcages and multiple spider-like legs charged toward us. Their long tails—like a scorpions, armed with a pointed barb and dripping with venom—snapped at the air behind them. Blazing yellow eyes locked onto us, and flesh-shredding fangs gnashed at the air as the creatures hissed.

“On me! Now!” Niall shouted.

We flung our arms onto his, clutching his armor, and vanished.

When we reappeared, the beasts were a quarter of a mile away and closing in fast, trampling fallen bodies like they were nothing but dirt and stones. And with them . . . more keres, more shadows, more everything.

I spun and found Remic bounding toward us in earnest. Behind him, the lines were re-forming. When he reached us, he was breathing hard, but his eyes were wild with adrenaline and what seemed like a never-ending source of energy.

“What now?” he asked.

“Now, we coax out the gods,” Niall answered.

I watched as he lifted his hands to the heavens and fisted the air, rolling his wrists like he was grabbing invisible ropes and tugging them downward with all his might. In an instant, a veil was lifted—no, a glamour—and hundreds of hovering Dreki were revealed in the skies above. Powerful roars and violent screeches sounded so abruptly that they rattled the air. It was as if when removing the glamour, Niall had also removed the bubble that had kept all sound contained and unheard. The Dreki hovered just beyond the re-formed lines, chomping at the bit, waiting to charge forward and lay waste to the opposing forces.

Niall had kept them all glamoured. An entire legion of forces, held under his concealment. My jaw fell open in awe. I knew he was gifted with glamours, just as his mother was, but I had no idea he could use them to this extent.

To truly conceal . . . that’s another thing entirely, he had once told me.

I looked up at him, and he winked at me from beneath his helm, his eyes igniting into golden orbs as he readied his power. “High Legion!” he shouted, his voice echoing down the line.

Along with glamouring the Dreki and their riders, Niall had also concealed an entire sector of Calledan’s elite forces—The High Legion. Reinforcements that were to be called in if and when the others needed them.

If and when things went bad.

I turned and watched as warriors stalked forward, two by two, forming a new line in front of the others. They wore helms like Niall’s, and their leathers conformed to their bodies like a second skin. They unsheathed their swords as one, and took a fighting stance, awaiting their command.

“Any more surprises?” I asked my mate as I gawked at him.

“Oh, darling, I’m just getting started.”

I couldn’t help the incredulous laugh that escaped me.

Niall turned to face the enemy, shaking his arms at his sides like he was about to pull down another ridiculously oversized glamour, when a familiar voice spoke from somewhere next to me.

“Now that was quite impressive,” said Eathril.

I jumped, startled by the entity’s voice.