11
The talon crow drops me and I fall to my hands and knees, trying not to vomit while my bloody shoulder gapes open at the edge of my vision. The bird soars upward and circles back. Its body is as big as a shadow panther, its wingspan at least eight feet wide and its talons are curved daggers, dripping my blood across the ground as it dives toward me again.
Power surges through me. Incorruptible bursts into life. Light burns through my torso and arms, my palms shoot outward with the force riding my body, spearing icy death across the distance.
Right before my power would slam into the bird, it hits a shield. The crow pulls up sharp only three paces away, settling to the ground, wings still spread. Incorruptible’s light hits a point right in front of it, but the light splits and curves around a protective force. The two forces hiss and spit against each other. I push harder, drawing more power from the stone, but the shield doesn’t give way. The bird is completely protected.
It’s sorcery. It has to be.
The bird cackles. Its beady eyes stare at me, unblinking, an eerie white substance swirling across its pupils like smoke building on the inside. Its beak opens, emitting a low moan. It’s hard to tear my eyes from the tusks rising on each side of its bottom jaw. Talon crows have some of the same attributes as a boar and can use their beaks and giant tusks to maul their victims. I can’t let the bird get any closer.
“Marbella Mercy,” the crow says as the smoke swirls in its eyes. “I’ve been waiting to meet you.”
I might never have seen one of these beasts up close before, but I know for sure that they can’t speak. There is definitely sorcery at play here. “Who are you?”
“I am Grayson of the House of Glory. Gideon was my great-uncle.”
An elf!Eli Elder had told me that there were two new members of the Elven Command who had filled the vacant positions after Teilo Splendor escaped and I killed Gideon Glory.
Grayson must be my age if Gideon was his great-uncle. It’s very unusual for someone so young to claim a place in the Elven Command. As the last Rath, Baelen had that right but the Command prevented him from taking up his rightful place. The shield that Grayson is placing around the bird tells me he earned his place because of his mastery of sorcery. If he can withstand Incorruptible’s power, then he’s more powerful than Gideon ever was.
I shudder so hard the line of icy power hitting the shield wobbles. Sorcery derives its force from death, which means Grayson is a murderer.
“I assume you have taken his place.” Pain rakes through me. I’m still losing blood. All of my energy is being channeled into keeping the bird at bay. My vision is beginning to blur and if I pass out, I won’t survive.Virtuous! Heal me! Please!
Blood continues to flow down my chest, warming me in the worst way. I’m not healing and I don’t know why.Virtuous!
The smoky mist that swirled in the talon crow’s eyes spreads into the feathers around its beak and back over its head. Grayson must be drawing on the bird’s life to sustain his sorcery so he can speak with me from his true location far away in Erawind. He’s slowly killing the animal. This gives me hope. I just have to hold out long enough for it to die. Then I’m getting the hell off this mountain.
“You are not as powerful as they warned me,” Grayson says. The bird tilts its head, one eye looking me up and down. “But you are much more beautiful.”
The bird takes a step forward, its talons digging right into the rock. The shield moves with it, only two paces away now. I push back but my arms are screaming and fear creeps into me. What if I can’t hold out long enough?
“It is a shame that I will have to kill you,” Grayson says. And in the next breath: “We will give you a month to prepare the gargoyles for surrender. If you do not give yourself up by then, we will begin killing your friends, starting with the head of your Storm Command, Reisha.”
The bird takes another step, its wings slowly turning white, its talons scrabbling at the ground. There must be some part of the animal trying to fight back, trying to stay alive.
I scream with the effort of maintaining Incorruptible’s power. My arms shake. My breathing is ragged. Why can’t I heal?
“Nothing can save you from me—”
An arrow shoots from the edge of the clearing, piercing the bird’s side. It explodes into a cloud of white dust. The shield disappears and Inocrruptible’s power shrieks to a stop. I collapse to the ground, my arms shaking so hard I can’t lift them.
The bird’s remains settle gently over the rock, its dust lifting and wafting into the breeze. I cover my nose and mouth, scooting backward, trying not to breathe it in.
A young female emerges from the pathway at the side of the mountain. “It was about time he shut up.”
I can barely focus on her. I need to figure out what was wrong with Virtuous. Searching for the emerald stone above my head, I discover why I can’t sense it.
It’s not there.
I cry out in fear before I can stop myself, desperately searching the air and ground for it. I find it several paces away, lying on the ground, its glow diminished. Grayson must have knocked it away from me when the talon crow first swooped. But how is that even possible? How is any of this possible? Everyone told me that the Queen’s heart was the most powerful heartstone. Were they lying? Were they wrong?
I scramble toward Virtuous’s heart, catching it up in my hands and clutching it against my own heart. Dull emerald light returns to the stone, but it’s very pale. Luckily, it’s enough that the pain in my shoulder stops and so does the bleeding. I don’t really want to look but a quick glance tells me that my skin has healed over. It’s not perfect though: it’s fragile and red beneath my torn clothing.
The girl reaches my side. She doesn’t pay homage to me, looking me square in the eyes. “I was told to bring you this,” she says, handing me a cloak made of thick, black fur. “But I think you have bigger problems.”
I pull the cloak around my shoulders but keep Virtuous close to my heart. I’m starting to shake, but she’s right: it’s not from the cold. “Thank you. For the coat and for killing the bird.”
