Fire.
That was orange fire on his sword, blazing like it was dipped in oil.
The scar on his face glowed in its light, stark against his skin.
His other hand lifted, and the wolves backed a step away, as if bracing for the inferno of the Firemages, a legend in its own right. Sure enough, a whirlpool of blue began to stir in his palm, glittering orange at its edges.
Magic.
True magic, the likes of which she had never seen.
She leaned forward, hope filling her lungs.
But just before he struck … the light went out.
‘Now would be the time torun,’ Arawn said over his shoulder. He grimaced, as if in pain. ‘Go!’
Ezer scooped up the dagger and whirled towards the procession behind them, hoping to find safety in the crowd of prisoners and Redguard.
Just in time to see three other shadow wolves soar down from the trees and attack.
This was how she would die.
Not by old age, imprisoned in the tallest tower in Rendegard, but by the claws of a winged monster in the north.
She stood frozen, a single dagger in her hand as the world collapsed around her. Blood stained the snow in splatters that looked like wet paint.
You’re in shock,a voice told her. It sounded like Ervos.You must run, Little Bird.
Run or die.
Arawn’s runed blade collided with the first monster’s neck. It screeched as black blood sprayed, and that blood turned to shadows –living shadows– that went slithering back to the wolf, filling the hole in its neck.
Impossible.
She screamed as it leapt for him.
But when the prince lifted his hand, ready to send a blast of fire towards it …
Nothing happened.
The fire in his palm had fizzled out, only a tendril of smoke in its place.
Kill it!she wanted to scream at him.Use your magic!Why are you stopping now?
The wolf snarled, and they went down in a tangle of shadows and limbs.
To her right, a monster leapt upon the Redguard at the back of the pack. A male, whose shout was cut off instantly as the beast gutted him with two clean swipes of its front claws.
The wolf shook its head as it began to feast upon his innards, growling and slinging blood.
‘Get out of here!’ Arawn yelled to Ezer as he stood. Blood dripped down his arm, but he was still alive.
The second wolf growled and lunged, but he batted it back with his sword.
Hope glimmered within as he murmured another invocation and tried to call that magic to his palm.
It was like an ember fighting for life against the wind.
