“Bring him down!” I surge forward, my sword held high.
22
Beth
“This is a good idea, right?” I grip the wyvern’s spines so hard my hands hurt.
“It’s an idea.” Sabine shrugs behind me.
“But a good one?” I press as we shoot up above the jungle.
She doesn’t respond, just tightens her grip around my waist as the wyvern flaps its wings hard enough to carry us high above the trees. To the north, the barren land seems to ripple. Because it’s not barren. An entire army marches there, bearing down on Cranthum with Queen Aurentia at its head.
I shiver and turn westward toward Gareth.
“Lots of death that way,” Sabine whispers in my ear.
“Fly past the city!” I yell over the wind.
The wyvern obeys, pushing through the winds as the battlefield comes into view.
My heart sinks as I see the soldiers—all of them alive when they marched from the city this morning—lying dead on the sandy ground. Some of them stumble around, but then I realize those aren’t Cranthum’s fighters. They’re Cenet’s undead. They stream into the city and fan out. They’ll soon be at the northern gate, and from there ... I glance at the jungle behind us. “Clotty.”
“Oh, yes, my little changeling. The undead will rip them apart. And the ones they don’t kill will be enslaved by Cenet. Part of his army.”
I want to ask her who’s side she’s on, but instead I focus on the battlefield and try to find Gareth. Letting him die isn’t an option. Will he be livid at me for leaving the camp? Yes. Do I care at the moment? Not even a little. I try to sense him through the bond, but he seems to have blocked me somehow. That doesn’t bode well. Why would he hide himself?
I lean low over the wyvern’s back as she soars above the killing field. The battle still rages on, but most of Cranthum’s fighters have already been overrun. Only pockets are left, and they’re being set upon on all sides. They won’t last.
“Can you burn them?” I pat the wyvern.
She snorts sparks.
“She’s a young one. Very little fire,” Sabine says in what she must think is a helpful tone.
I’m useless. How can I save Gareth when I’m riding on a wyvern who can’t shoot fire with a witch who just might be rooting for the enemy?
“There, girl.” She points to a thick knot of undead. “There is your mate.”
“Take us as close as you can.” I stroke the wyvern’s smooth scales. “Then go back to the jungle and defend the camp.”
She snorts sparks again, then tucks her wings closer and plummets toward the mass of undead. With a huge intake of breath, she lets loose a volley of blue flames. The stream is narrow and nowhere near as powerful as the bull’s, but it cuts a line through the mass. She opens her wings more, then glides down, crushing several undead beneath her.
“Thank you.” I pat her as she sends another thin stream of fire, clearing the path even more.
“This will be fun.” Sabine stays atop the wyvern.
“Aren’t you coming?” I look up at her.
“No.” She shakes her head. “Seems dangerous.”
And with that, she and the wyvern take flight, the wind from its wings knocking me into a pile of charred bodies.
“Ugh.” I claw my way out and run down the narrow lane the wyvern made for me. Undead snatch at me, and I narrowly avoid a pickaxe as I pull my little knife free. I hold it in front of me like a talisman and strike at the first undead who stumbles into my path. It’s half-charred, its hair still on fire, and it groans and falls. Triumph! I keep running as the lane closes, more and more undead coming for me. But I have to make it.
A pickaxe flies past my face, but I don’t stop. I run as skeletal fingers grab at my hair and try to pull me down. I’m going to make it. Gareth is near. Iwillsave him. I keep thinking that until a hand grabs my ankle and yanks me down.
I scream as the undead crawls on top of me, its burned face bubbled and melted as it wraps its hands around my throat. I scratch at its hands, but its skin comes off and it squeezes harder. With a hard kick, I nail it between the legs. It groans and falls over. Undead are still susceptible to a nut cut. Good to know. I scrabble to my feet and stumble forward over bodies, then land on my hands and knees in the sand.
