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“I’m strong enough to stay in the air,” I reassure her. “I won’t let us fall.”
Her loving face swings toward mine. “I know, Ellister. I know that.”
“Just close your eyes, darling. I’ll tell you when it’s over.”
“What if I want to see?”
“You don’t.”
Hannah’s trust in me proves to be deep-rooted once again, because she takes my word for it. As her eyelids flutter shut, she rests her forehead in the crook of my neck.
Although I don’t want her to witness the tragedy unfolding, I can’t help looking.
I dip my focus back to the ground.
Then all I can do is watch the carnage.
The effects of whatever Ackealenvyos did spreads beyond the arena floor. It seems to be contained to the ground, but it’s destroying everything and everyone it touches.
All the folks still trying to make it out of the stadium become a puff of dust when they ignite.
Yorenzo doesn’t escape either. As he’s scrambling over the ledge, he and his books are gone within seconds.
And the flames keep going. Like a hole burned in the middle of a piece of paper, the green flare from Ackealenvyos’ staff has grown.
It razes the lush grass on the lawn until it’s just dry, cracked dirt. Anyone running, even the lucky ones who’ve gotten a good distance away, are obliterated when the circle reaches them.
“What’s happening?” Hannah asks, her breath puffing against my skin as she continues to keep her eyes tightly shut.
“Some kind of destruction spell. It’s heading for the palace now.”
Mere seconds later, it sweeps over the building. Although it doesn’t make the structure crumble, it erodes and cracks the beautiful marble exterior until it’s just a shell of its former self.
Next, the garden maze goes ablaze. The hedges making up the walls become brittle brown twigs, and the fountains dry up in a wisp of steam.
Rotating, I look to the forest behind us. Rabbits, birds, and other wildlife are wiped out. Although the trees remain intact, only a carcass of peeling bark and brittle twigs is left behind.
Nothing is spared.
With horror, I move my gaze in the other direction and watch the circle expand to the town beyond the royal walls.
I feel sick to my stomach when the entire city of Hailene meets the same fate. Just like with the palace, the buildings withstand the damage, but anything living ceases to be.
Farm animals. Children playing in the streets. So many innocent bystanders who had nothing to do with today’s events.
I’ve never seen anything so devastating.
The few faeries who got into the air are the only ones untouched by the fire, and they’re flying in all directions, swooping back and forth while trying to find a safe place to eventually land.
Ash starts filling the blue sky like a dark cloud, blocking out the suns as if there’s a storm coming.
Bodies.
The air is polluted with what’s left of them.
“Cover your mouth with my shirt,” I tell Hannah. “It might be toxic.”
While she pulls the fabric up to her face, she looks down and gasps at the desolate landscape. “When will it stop?”
