My Storm Commanders are everywhere and nowhere all at once and within moments Priscilla rocks beneath the blow of a dagger to her heart, screaming out her frustration as she wrenches the weapon out and flings it back at Jordan, missing her by a mile. Priscilla is full of sorcery and will be hard to kill but Jordan attacks her with a savagery I’ve never seen before, whirling and stabbing Priscilla three more times in quick succession, before slitting her throat and screaming, “That’s for Elise!”
I zoom over the top of them, shouting, “Jordan! Get clear!”
I wait another moment for my friends to leap out of the way…
Then I release my power straight at Priscilla. At the last moment, she drops and rolls and the deathblow strikes the rock instead. She rolls straight over the edge of the cliff, stretching her hand out as she falls, compelling the nearest creature to fly to her. A stallion with an empty saddle soars beneath her and she drops onto its back, landing on her stomach in an ungraceful heap before righting herself. She darts away.
She wants to hurt me. She’ll be back.
On the other cliff top, Indira, Erit, and Roar fly upward to meet airborne elves who make it as far as the cliffs. Their swords flash as they drop five elves from their rides while Gilda finishes the enemy off after they fall onto the rocky surface. Indira’s flung dagger finds the heart of another rider as he attempts to cut Erit from the sky. On the third cliff, Llion, Liliana, Welsian, and Arlo are a blur of movement, protecting the position in front of Talia, taking out any elves who try to get past, flinging the bodies down onto the waiting forces below.
I return to the fight and after that, it’s fast and bloody.
The gargoyles fight with everything they’ve got and the elves are at a disadvantage because they can’t leave their rides. What’s more, the gargoyles use their wings as shields, avoiding every attempt to stab or maim them. They have every advantage in the air.
What feels like moments later, a cry of triumph goes up from the gargoyles as the last airborne elf falls. Winged creatures flee as fast as they can from the battle now that they’re free from their riders. The only airborne elves now are the Elven Commanders, coasting in the distance, glaring and red-faced, while their griffins gnash the air like angry beasts.
Something tells me that the danger isn’t over.
A horn blows from a distant location and Priscilla is the first to tip her stallion, urging it down toward the ground in a rush of wind. The other Elven Commanders are quick to join her as they drive their griffins toward the earth.
As I float in the air in front of the cliffs, Baelen returns to my side, frowning like I am. His voice is a low growl: a rumbling tone I’m hearing a lot today. “Where are they going?”
Also responding to the horn, the elves on the ground drop, crouch, and ball up their bodies, slipping their shields across their backs. The Elven Commanders dismount and join them, hunkering down, disappearing in the mass of bodies.
“Something’s coming. But… what? Shadow panthers?” I search the ground but the cage is still closed.
Below and to our right, Grayson finally makes a move.
So far he has stayed out of the aerial fight, remaining beside Talia and Elise’s shield at ground level, studying it. Now it seems he’s ready to fight back.
He flies up into the air, hovering halfway between the ground and the cliff top, one palm pressed flat against the protective barrier, his other arm outspread toward the crouching elven army. His power washes over them, a glistening barrier just like ours growing and spreading a few feet above them, sealing over the back of the last elf, covering the entire army.
I soon see why.
A black cloud tears toward us.
It’s talon crows. Hundreds of them.
They will kill indiscriminately. Even the elves are in danger, which is why Grayson has protected his army. At the same time, he is putting enormous pressure on our shield. He wants to break it to allow the talon crows through. On the other side of our barrier, Talia and Elise scream with the effort to maintain their power, their voices muffled through the shield. Their arms shake. Their heads are thrown back. Grayson is hurting them, sending torturous pain through the shield right into their bodies.
My heart wrenches because there’s nothing I can do to help them. Tears burn at the back of my eyes.Don’t give up, Talia. Hold on, Elise.Our shieldmusthold. The talon crows can’t get through. It’s bad enough that the gargoyles on this side of the shield will face the vicious black birds. We can’t expose our entire army to them.
On the cliff tops, my gargoyle friends rally and prepare. My elven friends, including Elyria, are most vulnerable because they can’t fly away. Gratitude floods my heart when Jordan orders the Storm Command to form a defensive shape, urging Elyria into the middle and asking Jasper and Sebastian to join her. Sebastian gives his wife an admiring grin before he knuckles down—he’s secure enough in himself to listen to her. In fact, I’m pretty sure he thinks she’s damn sexy taking charge of this situation. He lifts and links his shield with the others to create a box around themselves, swords resting against the arc cut out of the top of each shield, ready to spear any crows that fly into them.
Senturi joins Baelen and me in the air, along with the other Outliers, lining up in defensive formation as we wait for the horde to arrive. He is covered in blood, a gruesome sight that sends shivers down my spine.
He asks Baelen, “Do you still remember how to kill a crow, Wrathful One?”
A scary grin breaks across Baelen’s face. “We will make new chains today.”
Senturi jiggles the chain around his neck and for the first time, I realize it’s actually two, not one. “I wasn’t sure if I should give yours back.”
One of them is Baelen’s?
Baelen continues to smile. Just like a wolf before it bites. “No need, brother.”
The black birds soar toward us, only three hundred feet away and closing. They are a large black mass of razor-sharp feathers, brutal tusks, and giant claws. Fighting them one by one will take a lot of time. Time that Elise and Talia don’t have. They won’t hold out that long.
