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Chapter 99

Koraleise

They slipped from the war camp and crossed into Duskmere as the sun began to set, weaving between shallow dips in the land until they reached a tangle of brush at the western fringe of Kryovarre’s encampment. The soldiers in reserve stood eerily still, not a single murmur passing between them. Some Norrelians moved among the ranks, but most of the fae remained near the front, concentrating on the battle unfolding a short distance to the south.

Kora risked a glance toward the field, desperately searching for those she loved.

Metal clashed against metal. There was Garric, swinging hard, cutting down a soldier who had nearly reached one of his men. Cries vanished into the winter air. Farther down, her brother fought with the frantic determination of someone who had never been trained for this degree of brutality. The earth twisted. Fire flared.

And there, Duncan.

He sat astride his horse, appearing to shout an order while turning sharply in the saddle, searching for the next threat closing around him. Kora felt suddenly lightheaded, as if some essential part of her was out there beside him.

“There,” Yaoaya whispered, pointing toward a tent at the front edge of the Kryovarre camp. “Do not step beyond,” she warned, looking at each of them to confirm understanding.

Merrick nodded once, eyes heavy with anticipation. “Like we agreed,” he murmured. “Cairon and I go deeper in. Rensaya, Kora, you work the edges.”

Cairon checked his weapons and the ashvael bundles, then nodded grimly. “Ready.”

Yaoaya lifted her hand. Their entire group disappeared.

Kora felt a prickle along her skin, then looked down where her fingers should have been and saw nothing. No outline. No shadow. Only the faint imprint of her boot in the snow proved she was there at all. And if not for the quiet crunch of nearby footsteps, she would never have known the men were already slipping away.

She reached into her pocket by feel for an ashvael sphere, then moved south, away from Yaoaya, careful the smoke would not drift toward her. Instinct pulled her into a crouch, though it served little purpose.

Her eyes fixed on the Norrelians as she struck a flint. A thin curl of smoke rose from empty air near her hand. Gathering herself, she rolled the ashvael sphere forward.

The moment the smoking bundle left her grasp, it appeared, skittering across the ground. Several others rolled into view from the direction Merrick and Cairon had gone. Another followed from where she believed Rensaya stood farther north.

The Norrelian closest to her stiffened. His hand rose to his throat. A strangled gasp escaped him as he dropped to his knees, clawing at the air.

Another fae staggered farther down her line of sight.

Then a third.

One after the other, their control began to unravel beneath the creeping haze. Scattered pockets of confusion spread through the fighting ranks. Small clusters of Kryovarre soldiers blinked and looked around wildly, stumbling as if waking from a nightmare. Blades slipped from their hands. Shields dropped into the snow.

Their formation began to fracture.

“It’s working,” Kora whispered to herself. “It’s actually working.”

A shout rose nearby.

Kora turned, searching for the source.

It came from a Norrelian standing only a few paces beyond the tent Yaoaya had warned them not to pass. He was poised, filling his lungs, ready to release another warning.

Merrick burst beyond the veil and charged the fae. His dagger plunged cleanly into the male’s heart before he could finish the second shout. The body collapsed.

Kora’s breath escaped in a shaking rush as she whipped her head instinctively toward the battlefield. She spotted Duncan again in the chaos just as he appeared to realize what was happening. Her blood ran cold in a single, torturous heartbeat.

Duncan had seen Merrick, now visible beyond the reach of the glamour. That instant of recognition dragged his focus from the fight. It was all the opening the enemy needed.

One of Valdir’s soldiers, eyes burning with amber fire visible even from this distance, thrust out a hand. A blast of scorching flame struck Duncan’s horse at the hooves. The animal screamed and reared violently, throwing him from the saddle. He hit the ground hard, rolling across the earth as snow and dirt scattered around him.

Another enemy soldier closed the distance. The man’s blade plunged under Duncan’s armor and straight into his gut before his Guard could reach him.

Kora’s world collapsed into a ringing silence. A consuming quiet, the instant after glass shatters, when every fragment hangs suspended in the air.