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“You won’t be able to spare them all,” Raz muttered roughly in my ear, as if he’d read my mind. “They’re hardened soldiers, they knew the risk when they stepped on this battlefield.”
“There has to be some way not to harm our men.”But there wasn’t.
The gelding leaped to avoid a tangle of sparring soldiers, my stomach flipping from the hard landing. “Aim for the left flank, then I’ll circle us around.” My palms were too sweaty, my teeth grinding together when I let the magic off its leash, the massive swell of power turning my vision black.
Even the sounds of the battle melted away to a dull roar.
No harm, no harm, no harm.
While I prayed to whatever gods were listening to spare our soldiers, Raziel began our furious, desperate circle around the Caladrians, too intent on Zorander and his men to worry about a single horse and rider. I cast my magic like a narrow spear, straight into the mass of fighting, though I couldn’t separate enemy from friend.
No harm, no harm, no harm.
Over and over again I thought the words, prayed them, screamed them, and by the time we’d rounded the circle of enemy soldiers, though many lay dead, the rest turned on us, finally seeing the threat.
At the center Zorander raised his sword over his head, shouting something I couldn’t hear, his blood-splattered face strained with pain or fear, his eyes locked on Raz and me.
The remaining Caladrian forces charged, teeth gnashing, swords and spears raised, my breath guttering in my lungs as I flashed back to my final night at Ravenshade Castle, the slaughter of the nearly defenseless Descendants.
How those Fae soldiersate them.
“Go.Faster,” I screamed, trusting Raz to not let me fall as I flung out both hands toward the wall of feral-eyed Fae.
I was no longer that innocent, wide-eyed girl.
And I was no longer defenseless.
I was death and vengeance, and we rode straight for them, magic crashing through them like a newborn star, the flash so bright I was nearly blinded. When Raziel finally reined the gelding to a sliding stop, impossibly, Zor and his men stood unharmed in a tight knot, surrounded by the bodies of the fallen enemy, while the rest fled back into the trees.
“Turn the horse, Raz. Take me toward the trees.” We chased the fleeing soldiers, letting them disappear into the desiccated trees.
I waited, counting down the seconds, Raz’s chest heaving at my back, Zor shouting something behind us. I raised my hands and dug deep. Deep enough to plumb the darkest depths of my magic, deep enough to yank out the last vestiges of power I possessed.
Protect them. I yanked up the power, praying Torin was right.
Protect my friends and these soldiers and all the innocents inside those walls. Keep them safe so we can build a new world. A better world where war doesn’t exist.
I didn’t give myself a chance to doubt.
I unleashed a blast of white star-filled power through the once-mighty forest like a razor-sharp cleaver, a blade of light that felled bone and flesh as easily as the dry, ancient wood.
The fleeing enemy never even screamed. They died where they stood until the forest floor was littered with bodies, until nothing but silence echoed from the once-great wood. An unnatural mist hovered above the broken trees and soldiers, flickering with the occasional twinkle of white light.
I slumped against Raz, grateful he held me so tight.
Otherwise, I would have slid right off onto the ground. Not one muscle wanted to work, even my brain felt bruised after that.
“My gods.” One of the Solarys soldiers made the sign of the three mothers across his chest before pointing his shaking finger straight at me. “Witch.She’s a witch.”
“Shut your godsdamned mouth.” Zorander strode toward us, a streak of dried blood across his face, fresh blood running down his forehead. “She saved your miserable hide.”
“That was reckless.” His dark, infuriated gaze locked on Raziel. “A foolish and reckless stunt that could have gotten the both of you killed. And don’t even get me fucking started on using her as bait.” His men started going from one Caladrian soldier to the next, stripping their weapons, checking them.
“Hello to you, too, Zor.” Raz’s chest rumbled with humor. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
“You’re healed,” Zor said in return, his eyes narrowing. “I see the fall didn’t knock any sense into you.”
“And I’m not in the bowels of that hellhole.” Raz jerked his head toward the city, where thick, black smoke poured out of the upper levels of the Citadelle. I sighed. My wonderful leathers were still up there, along with my favorite boots, probably burning to ash right now. I sighed again, picking at the filthy servant’s dress I’d be stuck in for the near future.
