Page 276 of Interion

Kiara didn't even need to think. When she looked at the Gods, she didn't see home. Half of her home smelled of plum and macadamia, and the other half had eyes like the ocean. Kiara would trade an eternity in the divine realm for just one more day with them. The divine meant nothing if it wasn't where her heart belonged.

“I accept,” the chimera said, shaking out her wings and preparing for flight.

The Gods turned to leave, radiating dark emotions, and Kiara already knew that soon a storm would shake the world because of her choice.

“Goodbye, wyvern.”

Wyvern—just a species classification. She had never been worthy of even a name. Kiara didn't bother to respond. She beat her wings and rose, shattering the skylight glass and flying toward her destiny.

If she died, it would be for love—and she had learned that for love, everything was worth it.

Δ

I watched in panic as Kiara collided with the two carniceals. The impact made the ground tremble, and amid the chaos of earth, snow, roars, and grunts, the chimera intercepted the two beasts.

I blinked through my tears and screamed for her to get out of there, but Kiara bit and clawed while dodging their slashing claws. The carniceals circled her, searching for a weakness in her defense, but she shoved them back with her scaly tail. She spread her wings and beat them to fend off the attacks, sending snow swirling up like a white veil that blocked my view of the fight.

I was still standing, holding my breath and gripping the daggers, unable to do anything but watch. I saw Kiara sink her teeth into a beast's neck, then spread her wings and carry it skyward. The creature thrashed, roaring between her ivory fangs. When she reached a good altitude, she folded her wings, angled her snout downward, and plummeted while holding the monster tight. A violent, dangerous, insane fall—but she didn't hesitate. Then I heard the crash of impact, along with the sound of bones shattering. My legs wobbled, and I had to clamp my hands over my mouth to stifle a scream of despair. The fall threw up a curtain of earth and snow so massive it engulfed me completely.

I heard snarls and squeals, then my vision focused on the tangle of fur and claws rolling across the ground. I realized the creature hadn't died from the fall, but its hind leg was twisted at an unnatural angle. It lunged at Kiara, who struck back with her reptilian tail, hurling the beast against a tree that split in half. In seconds, the chimera was on top of it, tearing into its chest and biting down on its head until the sound of the skull cracking echoed across the battlefield.

I should have felt relieved, but I already knew her effort was in vain—the book said only arcane power could kill the beasts. Seconds later, I discovered I was wrong.

I caught the stench of rotting flesh before I even saw the beast's ashes drifting on the wind. My confusion was immense, but not as great as my relief. By the gods, Kiara had killed a carnichal—killed it the way archangels did in my dreams—and I almost couldn't believe it, but the ashes raining down around me made it undeniably real. The others backed away for a moment, clearly startled.

Kiara walked through the ashes, growling at the circle of beasts surrounding us. Her mouth gaped wide, baring teeth stained with black blood. She stopped in front of me at the center of the field, placing herself between me and them.

“No, Kiara! Get out of here!” I screamed desperately.

This was suicide. She was stronger than them and, inexplicably, could kill them, but she was only one and would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

I was already in tears, but she didn't turn around. And when the carnichals howled, announcing a new attack, Kiara spread her wings in open challenge. Her white feathers glowed in the greenish light of the aurora borealis, then she turned her head slightly and looked me in the eyes. Sky-blue eyes, fierce and fearless, silently begging me to run.

“Don't do this,” I pleaded again, but there was no time. A beast attacked and she turned, running toward it. The two collided, growling and grunting amid a blur of claws, wings, and teeth. Two more carnichals attacked, and Kiara held her ground. Her body, despite its weight, moved with speed and fluidity, as if she sensed where the carnichals were, as if every precise movement was guided by pure instinct... or practice.

But how, if Kiara was just a domesticated chimera?

Unexpectedly, I heard something behind me—water moving—and I spun around, startled, thinking it was another beast. But what I saw was a black, wet bow that landed at my feet. My heart, already racing, skipped a beat when I saw Adele in the lake. She took a long breath while trying to drag herself toward the shallows, breaking through the thin ice on the surface with her hands. My body finally remembered how to move, and I ran to the yonserian, who was crawling through mud and toxic water.

“What are you doing here?”

I reached out to her. Behind me, the fight raged on, filled with screams and grunts from all the creatures.

“Killing myself, probably,” she replied, dragging herself toward the shore. When Adele reached the edge, I grabbed her arms and pulled her onto dry ground, careful not to touch the toxic water. Her eyes were starting to cloud over. “We're a team, remember? If you lose, I lose.”

I clicked my tongue in disapproval and sighed, feeling my heart sink deeper into despair.

“You should have run, Adele.”

I felt my hopes of protecting her crumble. Now it wasn't just my life and Kiara's at stake.

“And then I'd be a loser,” she whispered, already delirious.

I heard Kiara scream—a cry of pain and agony—and I turned in time to see her struggling up from where she'd been thrown. There was a deep gash on her flank, blood flowing from it, staining her white fur and dripping onto the snow.

“Stay here. Don't move, just stay out of the battle,” I warned the yonserian, who nodded without knowing where to look.

Before leaving, I noticed something red in her hand and realized it was her flare. I slipped it from her fingers and tucked it into the belt at my hip, then turned my attention back to the fight.