Page 164
“What are you—”
The world disappeared. Kit’s spear fell from her grasp. And when she once again felt solid ground beneath her feet, when she emerged from the shadow . . .
“Kit?”
No.
“Kit, where did you just—”
Tenny’s voice barely registered as Kit clutched her side and frantically searched the field below, looking down from the hill where she’d emerged in front of the makeshift healer’s tent.
No, no, no, no.
Tenebris Nox was locked in battle with all three abominable creatures, stepping in and out of the shadows as the monsters whirled and screamed, tails and claws lashing at the nocterrian. Kit recognized the clear blue sheen of her own icy spear bursting from the chest of one of the beasts as Nox appeared behind them.
It went down with a gargled cry.
Twenty feet or so away, Ollie, Tristan, and Jocelyn fought several armored beasts of their own, aided by some of the remaining soldiers. More humans had banded together in clusters, defending against the seemingly endless barrage of viciousness. Surrounded by Thraigg, Kingsley, and the remaining dwarves, archers shot their arrows into the sky, where only a handful of the monsters were still airborne.
Across the field entirely, Elyria was a blur of sunlit shadow, golden light emerging from her and Cedric both, finally reunited and battling no fewer than ten raging monsters together. The dead bodies of a dozen more surrounded them.
They were more than holding their own, but . . .
From this vantage, Kit could see everything.
Every fallen body.
Every torn limb.
Every spray of blood.
Every face contorted in pain.
So much hurt.
So much death.
So much loss.
Her heart clenched as she saw Onyx’s bloodied body amidst a group of felled creatures, the dwarf’s blue eyes open and unseeing. How much more of this could they sustain? The monsters were relentless, like Malakar’s burst of power had reinvigorated them, given them new purpose.
Worse still, the dark sorcerer himself remained completely untouched, continuing his machinations by the mana spring uninterrupted.
That would have to change.
Kit swayed as she rolled her shoulders back, readying herself to take flight. Elyria would likely be pissed at her, but she was busy at the moment, and somebody had to stop the madman.
If they both survived, she would forgive her. Eventually. Probably.
“Kit!”
Tenny’s panicked voice gripped Kit’s heart in a vise.
“What is it? Who’s hurt?” She whirled toward the human, eyes roving to where the other healers continued to work on the injured with blood-covered hands. Zephyr groaned in pain as she lay prostrate on the ground nearby. Next to her, a bloody shroud covered a dwarf-shaped corpse, and Kit’s heart sank. Georgie.
“Who’s hurt?” Kit repeated.
Tenny’s amber eyes swam with some emotion Kit couldn’t place. “You are,” she whispered.
