My throat tightened at the death, at knowing these males and females had probably done nothing wrong. Nothing but choosing to remain loyal to the king. I allowed my unease to pass through me, even as my blade arched and my magic blasted at one opponent, then the next. Another, another, another.
I spun and thrust and feinted and parried with strength that would make Vale proud. With every advance, I pictured his face. Pictured finding him and rescuing him, very much alive. Having his arms around me again.
Above, a few of my army still flew. Mostly gryphons and the pegasi and our archers. The winged creatures might be instrumental in a fast getaway, or in transporting the injured, and the archers would always be more effective from above.
On the decks, blood slicked the wood. I turned on my heel, taking the ship in a complete circle. That was when I saw a faerie I despised to the end of Isila and back.
Roar Lisika, his copper hair catching on the last rays of the sun, shot at opponents from the upper deck. He’d lost a leg, but that didn’t negate his skill with a bow, and when five Riis soldiers ran at him, he did not hesitate. He shot. Hitting one. The other four swerved out of danger, only to come at him again, faster. However, seconds before they would have engaged the Warden of the West in swords, Roar shifted.
The leg he’d lost grew again, and I stiffened at the realization that his magic could render him whole in new forms. If I wasn’t terrified for the soldiers, I’d have been in awe over the power.
But Iwasterrified. My blood pounded in my ears as Roar leapt at his enemies. Two claws met two soldiers, slicing them open. The other two darted away, but not fast enough.
His sharp teeth ripped one in half as he swiped at the other and punctured the fae in many places. Blood sprayed as both Riis soldiers collapsed.
I leapt into the air, determined that no one else should fall to him. Wind and the faintest sprinkle of rain began to beat against me as I soared for Roar. But before I got there, a white hawk dove from the sky and attacked the snow leopard’s right eye.
I froze as a snarl erupted from the beast. Roar batted at his face. Arla was agile and fast, though, and she flew away, then back, attacking again. Drawing blood above Roar’s eye.
I twisted and found Aleksander standing off to the side, watching with glee on his face. His expression told me there was history there. Something so poignant that he’d risk his hawk.
Not that Arla seemed to mind. After days of following a ship, she appeared to relish being on the attack.
Wait. Why is Arla here? She was following the king’s ship, and they should not be here yet.
I lifted into the air, high enough to gaze out beyond the islands, towards the open sea. My stomach sank as a fleet of ships, at least a hundred strong, entered the Shivering Sea. We would not have time to meet with our allies and prepare for King Magnus had returned early.
Chapter 49
ISOLDE
We weren’t ready.
Even worse, some of the Royal Nava’s fleet had escaped our attack. At least twenty ships were sailing into the sea, towards the king’s vessel—going to his aid.
House Virtoris’s Armada was making its approach too, but between the mage ships escorting King Magnus and the Royal Nava’s vessels, they were outnumbered.
We have to take the rest of these ships as fast as possible.
As a lord of the Sacred Eight, Roar was of the highest status aboard these ships, which meant he was in command. The sooner we took him out, the faster the sailors fighting for him would fold.
Aleksander had become distracted with two Nava sailors targeting him, but Arla continued her attack on Roar. As I soared to help, the hawk managed to hit the warden’s eye, and the snow leopard let out a horrible sound. His paw shot up, batting dangerously close to the hawk. She swooped up and out of range.
The air around Roar shimmered. He was shifting again, and when Roar took his fae form, he lunged for his bow. Thanks toshifting magic, his quiver filled with arrows was already on his back. He nocked and loosed five arrows in rapid succession at the hawk. One came close to Arla. Too close. The hawk let out a screech and flew away.
Unfortunately for Roar, I had closed in, and he didn’t see me coming. Sassa’s Blade slashed, but Roar ducked just in time to avoid losing his head.
A smirk curled his lips as he rose, as blood poured from around his eye. The lid was mangled but it seemed that the eye was intact.
“My flying lessons paid off.”
I sneered, and the shadows inside me shifted, yearning to break free. Perhaps I was a fool for not letting them, but using shadows, no matter the form, still drained me. This early in a fight, it was not wise to use up so much energy.
More than that, I couldn’t deny that my ego wanted to defeat Roar and Magnus without this dark magic. I would save that pleasure for Érebo. Nothing would feel more right than killing him with the magic he’d forced to life within me.
“You have nothing to do with how strong I am,” I retorted.
Roar laughed, the sound out of harmony with the chorus of battle on the decks of multiple ships. “I’m theonlyreason you are who you are.” He tossed his bow to the side and pulled his sword. “Without me, you’d have died in the mountains trying to flee south. You would have been bled dry by a vampire or you might have just frozen to death. Maybe orcs would have been your end. The possibilities were endless for someone so weak.”
