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“Caelia!” I shouted again, pulling alongside her and grabbing her arm. “Move! Now!” The urgency in my voice seemed to snap her back to the present, and she wheeled her mount around.
The massive gate she’d targeted crumbled under the weight of the rocks, leaving nothing but a heap of rubble and dust that we barely managed to outrun.
“That was close,” I said, breathing hard.
She looked at me, eyes wide. “Thanks, Theron.”
I nodded, looking over the changed battlefield. “There’s no way they’re getting out of that gate,” I told her. “Go join the vanguard with Raenisa.”
She grinned at me and gave a curt nod. “With pleasure. Always want to battle beside that girl.”
I huffed a laugh as she shouted for her company to follow her. The wind whipped through my hair as I raced back to the command tent. The dust cleared as I reached Oz, revealing a drastically altered landscape. Where moments before had been open terrain was now filled with jagged stone formations and craters all around us. The shrieks of pain from those still stuck in rubble pierced the air as Raenisa’s group surged forward. A war cry went up as Caelia’s company joined them, the women meeting in a mass of metal before forming up their ranks.
Dust clung to my every pore, the grit reminding me of Adraedor as another blast rocked the mountainside when Kael destroyed their fortifications. I rejoined Oz and Tykas, who were staring at the map.
“There,” Oz said, pointing towards a valley on the opposite side of the mountain. It was hardly noticeable, but to a discerning eye like his, it was a promising lead. “That might be a way in.”
“It’s too narrow for a full assault,” I said, trying to envision the area in my mind’s eye.
“But not too small for an escape hatch,” Oz added with a grim determination. “This is where she’ll try to escape. You know she always has a plan within a plan. This is her exit.”
I whistled low. “You’re right.”
“I’ll guard it,” Oz declared, his voice unwavering. “I won’t let Nyana slip through our fingers. Not after what she did to our family.”
Tykas lumbered forward, concern clear on his dust-covered face. “You sure about this, Oz? I can come with you.”
He took a deep breath and shook his head. “No. If anything happens to me, I need you to take care of Zora.”
I nodded before I realized my cousin wasn’t talking to me... but Tykas.
Tykas swallowed hard. “I swear, Oz. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
Nodding his appreciation, Oz shot me a long look before turning. A few nearby warriors gathered around him as he led them around the main onslaught.
I watched them go, my heart heavy. My aunt would kill me if anything happened to my cousin. But I couldn’t hold him here. He wasn’t helpless and it would be insulting for me to treat him like he was. Oz might have preferred the life of a scholar, surrounding himself with ancient texts and historical mysteries, but I knew better than to underestimate him. Beneath that scholarly exterior was a warrior. He’d been trained to fight as all young nobles were and was formidable in his own right. He’d just had a book waiting by his side during it.
“Come on,” I said. “I need to see what they’re facing at the gate.”
The clamor of clashing steel and battle cries filled the air. My vanira must have been bred for war because it gleefully pounded the dirt, every stride taking us deeper into the heart of battle. The scent of blood, sweat, and metallic tang of steel hung heavy in the air, choking every breath. Beneath the screams of pain, I heard the labored breaths of exhausted men, and the soft chitters of distressed mounts.
Tykas and I pushed our way through the melee, Endbringer cutting a path through our enemies with ease. I barely felt the resistance of armor, the occasional sickening give of flesh beneath my blade before their limbs gave way from their bodies. The enemy forces seemed like a sea, wave after wave coming at us with relentless force.
I couldn’t get any closer with my vanira and I dismounted, despite Tykas’s protests. He followed me, swearing as he guarded my back. Raenisa and Caelia fought side by side, their armor gleaming even through the blood and grime. Their coordination was mesmerizing. Raenisa, with her swift, light-footed style, would strike and dodge, her blade dancing in swift arcs. Caelia, more grounded and powerful, would follow through, her blows finishing what Raenisa had started. It was as if they were parts of a single entity, each move anticipating the other’s, their rhythm synchronized. It was the dance of warriors in perfect harmony, and even amidst the carnage, there was a beauty to it.
I was about to call out to them when a deafening blast shook the mountain again. An ominous shadow darkened the sky, cast by massive boulders hurtling down from above. Panic surged through the ranks. Warriors, both friend and foe, were crushed beneath the weight, their screams cut short.
I’d faced countless enemies in battle, but nothing could’ve prepared me for what a Sálfar could do. The sheer destructive force Kael wielded was staggering. Part of me thought Atar had been right to take the Celestial metals from us. I’d never experienced this kind of destruction.
If we won, then I never would again.
I let the thought bolster me as Tykas and I pushed forward, even as the landscape changed with every rockfall. With every swing, I drew closer to the entrance, fighting off the claustrophobia threatening to engulf me with the narrowing of our path. Every breath was a battle against the thickening dust in the air, every step a conscious effort not to trip over debris or fallen comrades.
“Do you see any rigging for oil?” I shouted to Tykas over the din, killing a man who had attempted to sneak up behind him.
He shook his head. “No. Doesn’t look like they can without dumping it on their men too.”
I wouldn’t put it past my mother. “Let’s go, but be careful.”
