She fell to her knees, struggling to draw breath, her vision slowly clearing.
“Move, Astraia!” Caelan roared. He was standing beside her, his hands outstretched. His body was alight with a green glow, pulsing into the earth around them—his green eyes alight with his Desire bond.
He clenched both of his outstretched hands into fists, and the root around the wraith’s arm squeezed violently, crushing the arm into pieces.
The wraith screamed again, but Caelan did not relent. With another flick of his hand, a second root slammed up through the back of the wraith’s head, straight through its open mouth. More black ooze burst from the wraith, dripping down the root.
Green light pulsed around the body of the wraith, glowing from the dirt. As Caelan flicked both his hands outward, the ground opened up in a great fissure, a deep pit into the earth twice the length of the wraith and so deep there was only blackness that stared back up at them. The wraith plunged into the darkness, its red eyes already fading with defeat.
Bringing his hands together, Caelan sealed the pit shut, locking the wraith in the belly of the realm it had come to destroy.
Astraia stood and rubbed her neck. Swallowing, she bit back a cry from the pain in her throat.
Then two warm hands were on either side of her face. Dark hair rustled in the wind as green eyes peered into hers.
“Are you okay?” His voice quivered, low and uncertain.
“Yes, thanks to you,” she croaked, giving him a small smile.
His lips curled at the edge, the ghost of a smile beginning to form. She felt the tension in her chest loosen, just slightly.
A sharpthunk, and the smile never bloomed.
The bolt struck between his shoulder blades with sickening force, driving his body forward. His eyes widened in shock as he collapsed to his knees before she had time to shout his name. Red painted his tunic beneath his armor.
Astraia flung herself to the ground. Kneeling beside him, she helped him down to his side, seeing the black arrow lodged in his back. Astraia froze, the moment split in two—beforeandafter.
“Astraia, run,” Caelan gasped, blood leaking from the side of his lips.
Her heart beat out of her chest, panic flooding her senses.Not Caelan. Not the boy I had loved, who loved me even when I was gone. Not the man who built stars for me.
A whistle whizzed by her ear, blowing her hair back, as another bolt nearly missed her head.
Snapping her head up, she looked back at the tree line, where the first wraith had fallen. He was kneeling on one knee, aiming a black crossbow at them. Her arrow was still wedged in his eye, pulsing with white light.
She glanced at Caelan, his breaths becoming shallower. She would not be able to heal him fully until the last wraith was destroyed. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and rose.
Still channeling her bond, she grabbed her Starwood bow from her back. Speed was her ally, and Power was her deathbringer. In rapid succession, she loosed her arrows, aiming for all the exposed parts of the wraith. White streaks of lightblazed through the darkening sky, like lightning strikes on a stormy night.
The wraith managed to dodge several of the arrows, deflecting some with his armor, and others with his smoke and flames. But Astraia did not stop. She walked toward the demon as she fired—arrow after arrow.
One tip wedged between his armor on his shoulder, streaming the Power bond into his cracked skin. An eerie shriek made her ears ring.
She was only a few paces away from Dominion’s steward when her quiver ran dry. The wraith too had no more bolts to fire and pulled his broadsword off his back, the fiery iron aglow with flame and smoke.
Astraia ushered her bonds forward once more, flaring Power and channeling it into her lightning blade. Her grip tightened on the hilt, sweat dripping down her face from exhaustion as she stepped toward the beast.
Nightfall was upon them, only slivers of sunlight peeking through the trees and bidding the field goodnight. Yet the glow from the battle resembled a bonfire. White and red light danced along the blades of grass as smoke and shadows painted the trunks of the trees. Both wraith and Starborne raised their blades in unison, ready to end the other in their own fires.
Astraia lunged first, slashing her Starborne blade down on her enemy. The air hummed as the sword cut through the air and came crashing down onto the broadsword of the wraith.
Power and Dominion met once again, this time in the hands of steward and Starborne.
Acrackechoed through the field, red and white sparks flying on impact.
She did not wait for a counterattack, bringing her blade down again with all the force of Power behind her stroke. The wraithmet her strike for strike. What felt like hours were mere seconds as blades collided, and Astraia’s strength began to wane.
She needed to end this, now. Or Caelan would die.
