A heaviness settled in my bones, and with the dark clouds lingering ahead, it did nothing to help my spiral of emotions. We were doomed.
I would lead these civilians into battle, and all would be slaughtered. Each village had farmers, lesser Fae, people who had never trained or fought a day in their life. Yet somehow, we were going to fight off those as powerful as the dark ones?
I shook my head in my hawk form as a haze crept over my vision.
Was there a point to moving ahead with this plan? We could live and submit to terror or die trying. The options seemed insurmountable.
Dew collected on my feathers as I flew through a low-hanging cloud, and I stretched out my talons.
Black spots circled my vision, or perhaps the storm clouds had been closer than I thought, waiting to dump a deluge of rain upon our lands.
Thunder cracked and lightning streaked through the sky.Great, just great.
A storm of this magnitude would severely inhibit my flying capabilities. I would be forced to take shelter, waiting for it to pass.
Which meant losing precious time.
My final destination on this journey was only a few more hours away. But I’d never make it with this overwhelming sense of dread weighing me down along with the impending storm.
You’re better than this,I told myself. This thing inside of me had been calmed as I witnessed the response from our citizens rising up and declaring their loyalty to Lana. But now, facing down fears and managing the weight of exhaustion, it slipped through the cracks, breaking free once more.
Gliding through the end of the cloud, a high-pitchedclangattracted my attention to the land beneath me.
A skirmish waged far below.
Flapping my wings harder, I dove toward the fight. I tumbled gracelessly onto the ground, shifting into my Fae form slower than usual. Exhaustion inhibiting the full use of my magic.
I pushed myself up onto my feet and drew my sword from its sheath before examining the fight around me. A group of dark ones fought a small caravan of civilians. Their carriages of goods lay tipped over off the small dirt pathway.
Fight with your brothers.The menacing thought crossed my mind as my grip tightened around my blade. Anger danced in my veins as I ran toward the skirmish, impatient for release.
Rain fell from the sky in sheets. Thunder cracked. The storm turned the sky dark as night.
The dirt pathway quickly turned muddy, and my boots squelched as I entered the fight.
I gravitated toward the dark one closest to me, the same darkened spots clouding my vision, but as I swung toward the civilian, I had to catch myself. Shaking my head forcefully, I shoved the darkest thoughts out and focused on the battle that lay before me.
What is happening to me?
Quickly sidestepping, I maneuvered my sword toward the dark one and sliced through his stomach in one swing. He crumpled to the ground.
The Fae he battled grabbed the fallen dark one’s sword as he thanked me, running to aid a friend. Turning, I too ran to help with the nearest fight.
Slowly, the number of dark ones dwindled, the Fae citizens reigning victorious.
The sounds of crashing swords behind me alerted me that victory hadn't been won just yet. The clang of individual swords clashing became more prominent as the surrounding battles ended. Fae uninjured in the skirmish assisted those less fortunate, tending to their wounds.
My limbs ached and body protested, but I sprinted toward the dwindling fight.
This time I crashed the hilt of my sword down upon the nape of the dark one’s neck in a surprise attack. The Fae he battled slammed his dagger into the dark one's heart without hesitation.
As our gazes met, and my eyes widened in surprise. The very person I was flying to see stood in front of me.
Ryland chuckled, as he shoved at my shoulder, panting, hair slicked with rain and blood against his face. “Fancy meeting you here, Ian Stronholm.”
Chapter 8
Lana
