They were growing.
And Ella realized with dawning horror that the Orchid fire was making them stronger.
“Get back!” she barked. She tore her hands away, flame retreating into her palms. “All fire-wielders, fall back! No more fire—GO!”
Jakobav’s voice cut through the chaos a heartbeat later. “If you can’t fight hand-to-hand, MOVE! Get to the outer halls!”
Marisol hesitated only a second, flame still flickering between her fingers.
“Marisol—go!” Ella shouted. “You’ll only make them stronger.”
Soren appeared at her flank, rising from the dust like he’d pulled himself out of the floor. Earth streaked his cloak, his expression grim.
“I’ll take her,” he said, voice rough with urgency. “I’ll get Marisol out and anyone else I can reach. Then I’ll be back.”
Ella nodded once—there was no time for more.
The Leaches began to swarm.
“Get back!” Maeren barked. She stepped forward and drove her palm out; stone rippled up her forearm, forming a solid spear that jutted straight from her hand. She rammed it through the first Leach, tore it free, and pivoted to stab another.
A larger one surged toward her—bloated from ingested flame, its whole body heaving with that awful shriek. It slammed into her with such force it lifted her clean off her feet and hurled her into a bench. Wood and marble cracked under the impact.
She didn’t rise right away, bracing on one elbow, breath snagging.
“Maeren!”
Another Leach slipped from the swarm. It skittered across the shattered dais, hugging the shadows, and lunged straight for the king. A young soldier threw himself into its path and missed.Eryndor staggered back, his heel catching on broken marble as he tried to regain footing.
Savina moved before Ella could breathe.
She thrust out both hands. The floor jolted and black spikes shot upward, locking together in a sudden wall between the Leach and the king. The creature hit the stone and burst into dark ichor that hissed on the tiles. Savina’s teeth flashed, not in triumph but in the grim set of someone already calculating what the next strike would cost.
Another massive Leach dragged itself free of the breach, ichor dripping from its limbs as it bellowed. It charged straight at Thane while he was still pulling his blade from the body of another. He turned in time to see it, tried to spring clear, but the blow caught him full in the ribs and sent him crashing into a pillar. He slid down the veined marble and didn’t rise.
Someone screamed. Ella couldn’t tell who.
She ran to Thane’s side, her blade raised, ready if the Leach circled back.
Jakobav reached him an instant later. He dropped to his knees and caught Thane beneath the shoulders. Blood seeped between Jakobav’s fingers, soaking his sleeve and spreading fast across the floor.
“Too many,” she said, voice low and urgent. “More by the second. Fire doesn’t work, and blades aren’t going to hold them back for long.”
Jakobav looked up, snapping, “It’s barely working now.”
She looked around—every remaining guard locked in desperate combat, bodies on the ground, Savina alone holding an entire line of Leaches at bay, and several creatures hunched over the fallen, feeding.
Ella gripped her blade tighter. “We need a way to push them back into the seam—and hold them there.”
Jakobav shook his head once. “My shield won’t do it. If it rebounds like last time, it’ll take us out before the Leaches.”
A rough breath escaped Thane. He blinked hard, dazed but conscious, pain twisting his features. “I know what could push them back…”
Jakobav whipped toward him. “Thane?—”
“Use it,” Thane rasped, a thin line of red sliding from the corner of his mouth. “It’s our only chance. Do it.”
“No.” Jakobav’s voice cracked with the force of it. His jaw locked, as if refusing could hold the world in place.
