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They passed through the portal, the air shifting around them, the atmosphere growing thick and murky as they entered the Dark Realm. They flew in silence, over a scrappy barren landscape, and Kellen shifted, turning to look at Callum.
Callum shook his head, as though to indicate that something wasn’t right, and Kellen turned forward just in time to catch a small ripple in the illusion. He pointed, not daring to speak, and Callum caught what he was showing him. The king held his hands up, muttering words under his breath, and the illusion dissolved.
Alarms sounded as thetrueDark Realm was revealed.
Instantly, they were thrown into battle. Even Kellen, who had the advantage of being on the offensive, was surprised by the onslaught. Below them a gleaming black castle with spiky turrets dominated a city where thousands of Domnua poured forth from their hidey-holes, like someone had kicked an ants’ nest. The city met the ocean, the water a greasy golden-brown color like spilled oil, and in it, the Water Fae surfaced, tridents in hand. Fire exploded in a rushing wave across the hills, like lava pouring down the slopes of a volcano, as Sorcha and Torin arrived. The earth rumbled, shifting, as Terra joined Sorcha and they marched on foot toward the castle, warriors with a mission, their men at their sides.
“Ahead!” Bianca cried and Kellen looked up to see a flock of…dragons? No, it wasn’t dragons flying their way. They were reptilian, almost raptor like, like an eagle that had been plucked of all its feathers and flew on shiny wings of skin. Domnua clung to their backs, weapons raised, and the ravens met them full force.
Riker pushed forward, spearing a Domnua with a bolt of fire from his horn, as the ravens overwhelmed the raptors, pecking at their eyes, their wings, ripping bits of flesh and skin apart until one by one the prehistoric birds dropped from the sky, their riders tumbling from their backs.
A flash of lavender caught his eye and Kellen turned Riker away.
Far below, Domnu raced across an outside wall of the castle, Raven at her side, and ducked into another wing of the castle. Relief swept through him.
She still lived.
Which meant they stood a fighting chance. The songs of his people, and those who went before him, filled his blood and he turned, raising an arm into the air.
“Dance on the wind. We side, we side, with the light,” Kellen sang with all his heart, as the Air army pivoted as one and dove toward the castle.
“Dance on the wind…for today,today, we fight,” Kellen whispered, hope filling his heart.
22
Raven
“How dare they?”Domnu seethed, snapping her fingers so the door slammed behind her and Raven. At the first shout of warning, Domnu had been on her feet, dragging Raven through the castle, across the parapet, and into a weapons room.
For a brief moment, when they had been outside, Raven had glanced to the sky.
Fear gripped her, clawing at her throat, as she saw the Alicorns suspended in the air, thousands of ravens surrounding them, and otherworldly dinosaur-like demon raptors on the attack.
Kellen.
He was here. The Alicorns were here. No, no, no. Raven could’ve kicked herself. She should have made her move sooner. Now the people she cared about were going to get hurt.
“Do they honestly think they stand a chance against my power? They are nothing.Nothing. A speck of dust to be wiped off my lapel,” Domnu seethed as she snapped her fingers once more and her gown changed to a shiny patent leather bodysuit that matched her castle décor nicely. Slipping a silver shield embedded with onyx from the wall, she strapped it to her front like a chest plate. “Take one.”
Raven’s eyes widened as she realized that Domnu expected her to go into battle at her side. Of course she did. She truly thought they were in this together, that the two of them would take over the world. On one hand, this worked in Raven’s favor, on the other, it would look horrible to her friends when she stepped outside by Domnu’s side. Knowing she had little choice, as the game was already in motion, Raven stepped forward and picked a chest plate, looping the straps over her shoulders and tying them at her back.
“What weapon do you prefer?” Domnu asked, a trident in hand.
“I…I don’t know.” Raven didn’t want to reveal the knife still tucked at her waistband. She was handy with a knife, but would a sword serve her better? She’d had some basic training in how to wield swords from her jiujitsu instructor, but otherwise that was it when it came to weapons. “I’ve never gone to battle before.”
“Is that right? Didn’t you kill a few of my men not too long ago?” Domnu’s eyes sharpened as she walked over to her daughter. Leaning forward, she traced an icy finger across Raven’s cheek. “Did you think that I wasn’t watching, Raven? That I wouldn’t know you were killing my people?”
“How was I supposed to know who they were? I just knew they were trying to hurt me,” Raven retorted, reverting to her stubborn teenager act.
“That’s fair, I suppose.” Domnu thought about it and stepped back. “You fought well for not having gone to battle before.”
“I lived on the streets. Every day was a battle.”
“This will suit you. In fact, it might even be yours.” Domnu reached for a gold blade on the wall, caught somewhere between a dagger and a sword, with delicate etching on the handle. “That’s right, it belonged to your father now that I think about it.”
“You…you took his blade after you killed him?” A note of incredulity filled Raven’s voice as Domnu handed her the blade. Immediately, the sword hummed happily in Raven’s hand, as though it had found its home, and Raven gaped down at the weapon. It felt almost warm to the touch, and a soothing current of liquid light poured from its handle and into her body, illuminating her soul.
It was love, she realized.
