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The shot was blindingly bright, and the subsequent explosion threw Eira back with the rest of the Pillars and those who were battling against them. Ice clattered across the cobblestones. Eira twisted, her toes curled, muscles in her legs tensing as she got them under her. She blinked away the blue haze left behind from the shot, looking to where Ulvarth once stood.
The man had been thrown to the side, landing atop some poor, unsuspecting Pillars. They were bloody and crushed beneath him from the force of his heavy plate. The same plate that was now shattered and scattered across the ground.
It had worked.
Allun’s magic had been strong enough to counter itself. A shot from the pistol was enough to shatter the armor. Not enough to kill the man, it’d seem—which made the armor even more impressive. A shame that it had to be destroyed.
Eira pushed herself up, ignoring the aches in her arms and legs. The day, and then some, was starting to hit her. But she’d turn herself into a frozen marionette and let the ice move her before she allowed him to get the best of her. A quick scan of the buildings to her left resulted in her being unable to locateYonlin’s vantage. But that was the least of her concerns. It was time to end it.
Just when she was about to take advantage of Ulvarth’s prone state, a whisper from behind had her pivoting. A Pillar—Lightspinner—was there, the words for slumber half-formed. In a blink she had a dagger in the side of his face, sticking out the other side. She’d been going for his throat, but another Pillar had pummeled into her, sending her off-balance. If not for the thick ice around her boots, she would’ve lost her footing.
They descended on her like sharks on chum.
Magic crackled through the air. Blow after blow was dodged. Eira summoned walls of ice and left daggers and swords through appendages rather than taking the time to withdraw them—it was faster to summon another instead.
But there were so many. More than she remembered. Where was Taavin? The army? Her fellow pirates?
The sun was blotted out by smoke and frosty haze. The world was awash in gray. Somehow, her ragged breaths were louder than the clanking armor of the Swords of Light and swishing fabric. Hot blood splattered against her, contrasting with the cold numbness of the magic within her.
There was movement from Ulvarth, behind her now. She tried to twist and turn, to get to him, but only managed to capture glimpses of the Pillars assisting him. They frantically tried to strap his armor back together. To usher him away.
“Ulvarth!” Eira screamed. “Coward!” She placed her hand on the sheathed dagger, ready to draw it from her thigh. But would her desperate plan work? “Face me!” Eira shoved another icy blade into a different gut. She fought to get to Ulvarth. To carve her way through the writhing mass of bodies that had coagulated into a single monstrosity that was trying to hold her back and push her down. To strike and strikeand strikeher until she lay broken.
She would not break.
She would be the rock the waves broke around. She would be the current that would rip them out to sea and pull them under. She was Adela’s heir—her legacy. And legacies were immortal.
Ice shot out from her with a scream that pierced the heavens. Eira froze the men and women around her in their places. She pushed past the frozen statues, only to be struck by a glyph that knocked her over.
They were on her before she could get up. Hands and feet. Blades.
She would submit. Or give in. Or give up.
Sweat and blood rolling off her cheeks, she fought to gain purchase. One knee bent, enough to push off with. Twisting and using momentum to bring someone else down and spring away. A blade plunged through her shoulder, ripping out flesh and another scream.
Eira grabbed the weapon jutting from her front. Ice shot through the blade, freezing the man behind her. Killing him. Gritting her teeth, she pushed the blade through.
Fire blazed overhead. It was fueled by currents of wind to the point that the flames were more white and blue than gold and red. Like tornadoes made of flames, the cloud descended onto Pillars.
She inhaled sharply. For a second, in the blaze, she could’ve sworn she saw the outline of a familiar woman. It was as if Noelle rose once more, blazing ever brighter, even when all seemed lost.
Eira righted herself and turned to the source.
There, down the slope of the main street, was the Solaris army. At their lead were Aldrik, Vi, Vhalla, and Cullen. The latter two were lending their wind to the former. Relief hit her like exhaustion, and Eira sagged. A smile curled her lips and her eyes met Cullen’s.
They shared a breath. A moment of gratitude…and of understanding. She looked over her shoulder and then back to him. He gave a solemn nod.
I have to go, she said without words.
I know, he replied.
She could hear him in every beat of her heart. Feel his presence like the wind tangling in her hair—blazing and frozen. Eira gave him one more beat of her heart. One more second when she wasn’t sure if she was sayingThank youorI love youorGoodbye.
The corner of his mouth quirked up. Somehow, she read even that:I know; it’s all right. A chuckle escaped her. Brief. Little more than a sigh.
Then, she turned.
