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He’d sworn to make a difference in the world, and Niall had stripped that opportunity from him before he’d barely begun. But maybe he could do this. Maybe if he successfully saved these people, they’d remember more than just the scars he’d carved into their history.
Smoke rose from some of the houses and Rion scented the air before sprinting west. He found Saoirse in less than a minute. She danced with her magic, leaves and trunks unfurling at her command. The siblings locked eyes and Rion tore her enemies away, launching their bodies through the air to give them a moment of reprieve.
“What’s going on up there?” Saoirse asked, her blades covered in gore. Rion spotted Zylah behind her, assisting the injured onto a platform.
“The city is going to fall.”
“I gathered as much. We’re already evacuating.”
“Good.” He looked skyward again, then surveyed the village below. He’d never attempted something on such a massive scale, but his magic was roaring for release. He just prayed it would be enough.
“What are you planning?” Saoirse asked.
“I’m going to slow it down. Stop it, if I’m lucky.”
Her lips parted as if to tell him such a thing wasn’t possible, but she snapped her mouth shut. “You think you can do it?”
He loosed a breath. “Honestly. I don’t know.” Rion was about to say more when something in the air snapped. He couldn’t quite explain the rush that flew over the area. Like an icy gust of wind that pricked one’s skin, only there wasn’t a breeze. Instead, everything froze.
He counted the seconds, but Rion knew, deep in his bones, that whatever held the city high above their heads had just snapped.
Rion braced his feet. He didn’t have time to think about those in the surrounding area. He couldn’t watch to ensure no one was caught in the cross fire. He could only pray they moved fast enough as he sank his magic into the earth then jerked his hands upward.
Dozens of thick pillars rose from the ground at frightening speeds. They surrounded him in a circle, but Rion knew they wouldn’t be enough. He pulled more, another ring, then another further out. Rion pushed them up and up and up. Then he reached high, feeling for the city itself. It was massive and he strained against the distance. Rion imagined his magic forming into a massive pair of hands and gripping the enormous structure.
He gasped from the pressure.
Saoirse watched at his side, ready to run. For all he knew, the city could come crashing down and bury them all beneath his weight. It rushed down, faster and faster and cast a long shadow of the area that had everyone running for cover.
“Rion?” Saoirse’s voice was questioning, uncertain, but she stood beside her sibling even as screams filled the air.
The massive city slammed into the first set of pillars and Rion grunted from the pressure threatening to break his spine. It felt as if he actually held the city above his head with his bare hands. Chunks of rock broke off from the pillars and several Fae stopped to shield civilians from the falling debris. Saoirse joined them, preventing one particularly large boulder from slamming into Rion’s head.
The city crashed into the second row of pillars and they crumbled too, even as he pushed against it. More rocks fell, barreling to the earth with enough force to shake the ground beneath his feet.
It hit the third set of pillars and Rion crumpled to one knee from the weight bearing down on his body. But it was slowing. Not stopping, but slowing. Enough that the people just might be able to escape.
Saoirse looked him over once, then ran toward Zylah, likely commanding her to leave while she had the chance. The female didn’t argue, though Rion thought he saw a longing look pass between the pair. He couldn’t linger on it, not with the weight pushing against his body.
Tree trunks shot into the sky, reaching toward the underbelly of the city. They rose up and up and up, as high as the ones that guarded Nàdiar. But not high enough. They couldn’t reach, not yet, but perhaps those who’d used the magic hoped it would help in the long run.
Giant pillars of ice formed, then lifted into the sky, higher and higher. Rion couldn’t see when they collided with the base, but he could feel it. A slight lift of weight. He struggled for breath, braced himself, then rose back to his feet with a deafening roar.
Rion kept pulling at his magic, kept summoning the earth to climb up and repatch the pillars every time they crumbled.
Then the weight hit him again and Rion gasped against the pressure. Saoirse cursed and he followed her gaze to find Fae attacking those who were trying to assist him.
Saoirse moved, tearing their enemies apart with a precision she’d honed through the decades. Her warriors joined her, fighting, pushing, pivoting until their bodies were one with the magic they wielded.
Rion let them work and returned his attention to the city overhead. He pushed hard. Harder, fighting against the lightheadedness that threatened to pull him under. He wouldn’t let it.
He would hold the city up until every last soul escaped from above and below, even if that meant he wouldn’t follow.
Chapter Ninety-one
Arianna
The city jolted and Arianna collapsed, grasping for anything to hold onto as the city shifted back and forth, tilting as if threatening to send them over the edge. When they’d fallen again, she thought it might be the end, but then she’d felt Rion’s magic explode from his body. His very tired body. She chewed her lip, trying not to think about it as she carried the weak female toward one of the main platforms.
