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“So much for our leisurely morning ride to the tunnels of doom. Looks like we have another busy morning ahead of us.” Tavion pulled an enormous sword out of the scabbard on his back. The blade looked suspiciously like it was made from pure silver and had to weigh a ton.
“Do you always pick the biggest fucking sword you can find?” Raziel rolled his eyes, and I couldn’t stop my mad grin.
“You’re just jealous. I have to slice through Reapers with something, since I lack your fancy magic.” Tavion winked.
“I swear to the gods, I’m going to kill you both by the time we get back to Solarys,” Tristan growled.
“Stop fucking around.” Zor hadn’t moved a muscle, his gaze still on the Reapers, the line of stragglers now racing for the cover of the forest. “Anaria. Come here.”
He jerked his head toward the city. “How far can you cast your magic?”
I measured the distance across the gaping cavern and my mouth went dry. “Not that far. I don’t think, at least.”
“Then we go down there and we give those people enough time to reach the forest. A mile, from what I can see.” He squinted. “The lowest level of the city is filled with people waiting to make a run for it. Let’s give them a chance.”
Zorander turned to Adele and Tristan. “You can wait for us at the bottom of the trail. The Reapers will focus on the citizens; they won’t even look in this direction. Anything happens…” He jerked his head. “The tunnels are that way.”
Tristan, to his credit, waited for Adele to answer first. If my mother wanted to stay, he would, too, even though his hands were clenching the reins as if he was holding himself back from charging down that hill. Adele’s eyes burned, and her smile…I didn’t think I’d ever seen anything so ferocious. It was my stark reminder that there were things about my mother I had yet to learn about.
“No, I’m not hiding, not anymore. We all go together. We give these people a fighting chance.”
“Then everyone needs to keep up,” was all Zor said before he spurred his horse down the steep incline.
I barely kept up—none of us could—since Zorander had obviously been possessed by some wild recklessness that had nothing to do with safety and everything to do with getting down to that field as quickly as possible.
We thundered across the wide, open plain before the walls of Tempeste which was covered with waving grass that whipped my legs raw, even with the breeches. We’d almost reached the refugees when they spotted us and began running.
Not surprising, given everything they’d seen these past days. What was surprising was how many had survived. More than I’d thought, and warmth blossomed in my chest.
“We’re friends,” I yelled, waving my arms, gripping tight with my thighs as we bore down on them. “Friends.We’re here to help.”
Zor was already there, heading off a few of the men, staying out of range of their swords while he spoke fast, pointing to the city. No, above the city, where…
My eyes flicked upwards and I swallowed down my fear.
Where the Reapers had taken notice of our frantic race across the plain and were drifting lower. And lower.
I reined my horse to a stop. He immediately began munching on grass as I stripped off the jacket, then the iron bands, discovering I had exactly zero pockets.
Then Adele was there, her hand outstretched. “Give them to me. I’ll keep them for you.” I hesitated for a moment before dropping them into her waiting palms, the iron clanking dully. “Now go save the world.”
“Anaria,” Raziel shouted, and I looked over in time to see him furiously jabbing his finger toward the sky above me. Gods, somehow, in two seconds, the Reapers were almost on me.And Adele. This close, the dark shadows became gaping mouths and grasping hands, and I had no desire to be slashed apart by those sharp claws again.
“Duck,” I told my mother.
I flung out my hand, scattering a constellation of starry magic through the air, Tempeste citizens scrambling to get out of the way of the cloud of death descending upon us. A horde big enough to inhabit every man, woman ,and child here.
They hit my magic like a thunderclap, while I fed more and more power into the dome forming above our heads. Above the citizens of Tempeste, who were smart enough to know an opportunity when they saw it. They ran for the forest, Tristan clearing the way, burning a wide path for them through the sharp grass, while Tavion and Zorander guarded their flanks.
Raziel, though, didn’t use his magic.
Just shouted instructions, pointing to where I needed to shore up my shield, sticking close to Adele, his razor-sharp gaze everywhere, watching for any weaknesses.
Above us, Soul Reapers died by the hundreds.
Dying the second they touched my magic, and yet, were too mindless to stop themselves. Maybe, with the Fae King gone, there was no one to do their thinking for them, or maybe they just couldn’t see past their hunger. But all I had to do was keep up the shield and let my magic erase them from this world.
One more blighted, corrupted creature gone.
