And neither…
are we.
CHAPTER 57
COMMANDER RYATT
The army of fae rushesin for attack, and the sound is deafening.
Movement next to me has me turning, and I’m shocked as Lu comes up beside me. Osrik too. Digby and Rissa on Argo. A dozen Second soldiers just behind. King Thold and a few of his men. We tighten into formation, readying ourselves.
One. Last. Stand.
With blood and sweat and pain and rage and defiance. We stand here, when we know it’s going to be a slaughter.
Lu, Osrik, and I share a glance. It’s heavy. It’s fuckingwrong. Because Judd isn’t with us. He should be standing here with a shit-eating smirk on his face, ready to throw himself into the battle and lift our spirits all at the same time.
But he’s not standing. He’s lying on the ground somewhere, gone where Wrath can’t reach.
So even though the fae are charging, shouting, ready to swing the final blade of death, we stand tall.
I’m going to be cut down, but I’m going to take these fae down with me—as many of them as I can.
“For Judd,” I say as I grip my sword, muscles tensed and ready.
Lu and Osrik both nod. “For Judd.”
We face forward, weapons in hand, and our Wrath charges toward Death.
But before we can reach the front lines, a booming sound rips through the land. Like the side of a mountain breaking free and toppling. Like an entire city’s worth of buildings crashing down all at once.
Everyone stops, Orean and fae alike, looking around in shock.
When my gaze lands on the source, my eyes go wide. My heart stops pumping. Because the fog around the bridge of Lemuria suddenly parts, like something in the airswells. Shoves.
For a moment, this force, whatever it is, sucks away all the thick fog that was obscuring the bridge, clearing it for view. At the far end, I can see fae soldiers in blood-red armor. But at the middle are two figures. Not soldiers—I can see that even from this distance.
As I squint, trying to see who it is, trying to figure out what’s happening, the bridge suddenly bursts.
I thought the sound before was loud, but no, this explosion isdeafening.
World-altering.
The fog, the air, the land, the void, it all seems to rupture in one cataclysmic event. The entire earth shakes. The skies above thunder. Fatal magic fractures the realm.
I’m knocked to the ground, right along with everyone else. Lu and I land beside each other, and we share a stunned look.
“The bridge just fucking exploded…” she breathes out.
“It can’t have,” I blurt, even though I know it’s nothing more than pure denial bullshit.
Because it can.
It fuckinghas.
Then the shaking stops and seems to settle. I look around, thoughts spinning. “We—”
I was wrong. It’s not settling. It was just the inhale before the blow.
