“She knew too much. She was Gideon Glory’s first kill.”
Rage floods his face. He seems to forget everything as he advances on me, a force growing around his fists, deadly malice building in his eyes. “You will not tell me lies!”
I remain steady, knowing that I alone can kill him. “I’m not afraid to tell you the truth, Grayson.”
Inches away from me, he searches my eyes, his breathing coming hard and fast. The air between us crackles as my lightning builds, ready to defend myself if I have to. At the last moment, his eyes widen as he realizes… I have my storm power back. I got it back after I escaped from him.
He inhales sharply, whispering, “You’re the one with the power to kill me.”
“Yes.”
A painful laugh escapes his mouth. “Why did it have to be you?”
He backs away from me, one careful step at a time.
I call to him, “Ask Elwyn Elder why they bound you. Ask him, Grayson. Only the truth will save us today.”
“Us?”
I sweep my arm in the direction of the gargoyles and then the elves. “All of us.”
He arcs an eyebrow at me then shakes his head, exhaling. “We will see.”
He takes a step off the edge and drops from view.
We are minutes away from war.
On the next cliff top to my far right, my friends are dressed in Rath armor, awaiting the elven horde. Indira and Erit are stationed there along with Roar and Gilda. Baelen unlocked the main vault under the Rath mansion and distributed all of the Rath armor to as many gargoyles as possible. To an onlooker, they appear to be defending the mountain, but actually, they’re protecting Elise.
On the cliff top to our far left, Llion, Liliana, Welsian, and Arlo have taken up position, protecting Talia. Each cliff top is a hundred paces deep and wide, and Talia and Elise are standing as far to the back as they can. They spent the last few days comparing spellcasting and deep magic, sharing their knowledge with each other, and they have a plan today.
Gargoyles from the Outlier clan form our first line of defense in the sky. I nod across the distance to Senturi, giving him silent thanks, as he and the other Outliers coast the air in a row beside us that stretches far in either direction from my left to my right.
Jordan, Sebastian, and my Storm Command soon join me on our wide cliff top, along with Jasper and Elyria. They are also dressed in Rath armor, their bodies gleaming, and Talia has painted my ladies’ cheeks with runes. Elyria refused to go to the safety of Mount Denrock with the others but I know that Jasper will protect her. Everyone on this central cliff top has been with Baelen and me since the beginning. It feels right that they will fight beside us today.
“We’re ready,” Jordan says. She was my friend and guide the whole time I was the Storm Princess, looked out for me, protected my body and my heart.
“Thank you, Jordan.” My throat suddenly constricts. “Please stay alive today.”
In the final dying dark of night, a hundred flying creatures approach from Erawind. Winged stallions soar toward us, along with giant eagles, each of them bearing an elven rider.
At the front of the swarm, three golden griffins carry the Elven Commanders: Elwyn Elder, Pedr Bounty, and Osian Valor, each of them hunched and twisted, their bodies misshapen and their skin gnarled. Priscilla rides an eagle with white-tipped wings, its wingspan stretching far wider than the others.
They stop and coast the air only ten feet away. Their eyes have turned blood red. Full of death. My stomach turns.How many lives did they take in the night to give themselves enough power to fight us?
It will take a lot to kill them today.
Below us, Grayson stands at the head of the elven army right where he promised he would be. He tilts his head back and his gaze seeks me out, focused on me. Far behind him, behind the bulk of the elven army, a cage full of shadow panthers waits to be opened, but they’ll do that once enough gargoyles are wounded so that the scent of gargoyle blood will drive the panthers into a frenzy.
To get past our defenses, the elves will have to either fly over the cliffs on their winged creatures or fight their way through one of two ravines below us. The ravines are wide and will allow many elves through at a time if we can’t stop them. The sky is clear and the mountains here are not as tall or craggy as others.
The Elven Command has chosen this place of attack well.
Our plan of defense is simple: the airborne elves are the greatest threat because they can travel the farthest distance, so we need to take them down fast. While we’re doing that, we also need to block the ground forces from getting through. It’s Baelen and my job to protect our army from the Elven Commanders.
The elves are singing and it makes me shudder. The gorgeous voices of the House of Splendor rise above the others while Priscilla smirks at me. Her gaze shifts to Jordan. They are both from the House of Splendor where the song originated. Sebastian sang this same song to Jordan to tell her that he loved her. But in battle it means something very different.
They sing, “Spin gold, shelter silver.”
