The fire above her hand faltered. Serenna opened her mouth to protest, but Fenn quickly provided a reassuring squeeze before slipping off his pack and abandoning it on the ground.
Then he vanished, warping to the far side of the valley, a distant speck against the backdrop of broken cliffs and endless snow. He released a burst of Essence, the pulse shooting outward like a signal flare, immediately drawing the behemoth’s attention.
As it spun, a deafening bellow tore through the valley, the sound reverberating through Serenna’s chest as the frozen earth trembled beneath her feet.
With the force of an avalanche, the beast hurled itself forward. Claws screeched and skittered over the ice, carving deep gouges as it closed the distance to Fenn.
He didn’t move, holding his ground until the monster was nearly on top of him, jaws splitting open to consume him. At the last possible moment, Fenn’s arm whipped out, tearing open a portal just large enough to slip through. He warped through the void, leaving the rift open behind him.
Sliding to a stop, the creature loomed over the portal. The air around the Starshard rippled, dark distortions pulsing with a ravenous energy. Yet the crystal remained inert, seemingly unable to siphon the magic from the rift itself.
Maybe Essence needs to be aimed directly at it,Serenna thought.
Slowly, the beast extended a foreleg. Its talons plunged into the portal, probing the unseen space beyond, fishing for Fenn in the void.
“I don’t know what that oaf thinks he’s doing,” Lykor growled as another torch roared to life, “but we have two options. We either throw everything we’ve got at that thing in some grand,pathetic attempt to subdue it—and join the prince in its gullet for our trouble.” Hair spilling across his eyes, Lykor scowled first at the golem shadowing Fenn’s portal and then at the fire above Jassyn’s palm. “Or—mypreferredoption—we get the fuck out of here.”
“We’re not leaving Vesryn!” Serenna snapped, her flames blazing brighter.
She still sensed the prince’s life force—it wasn’t flickering yet, but every passing moment only teetered him closer to the brink. She refused to let the creature claim him without a fight, clinging to the hope that whatever Fenn had planned would turn the tide. His presence grew fainter, leaping eastward, leaving her with no guesses why.
“Of course we’re not leaving him,” Lykor muttered, rolling his eyes skyward. “Aesar would never allow it.”
Heart racing, Serenna studied the globe of fire whirling around her fingers. “What if we melt the ice around the Starshard? If we can dislodge it—”
Lykor’s sharp, humorless laugh cut through her forming idea. He surged to his feet and flung the last torch aside, the smoldering cloth hissing as it hit the snow.
“What else do you think the fire’s for, you shaman scourge?” He shrugged off his cloak. “Ripping that crystal loose might be our only chance.” Reaching over his shoulders, he yanked Aesar’s glaives free from their sheaths on his spine.
“You can’t seriously be considering taking Vesryn’s place,” Jassyn said, his gaze drilling into Lykor. “We all saw that colossusswallowhim.” His eyes drifted toward the creature prowling around Fenn’s portal, circling like a shark scenting blood. “He’s still lodged in its throat, barely holding on with his blades.”
“That leviathan is going to charge the second you two start throwing fire at it.” Lykor cracked his neck, a ripple rolling downhis arms. “Aesar and I will hold its attention. If you can rip that gem off, I’ll obliterate it with rending to free the prince.” The wind howled, carrying the distant groan of shifting ice. “Let’s hope the fucking stars are on our side for once. Burn it,” he ordered.
Without another word, Lykor warped.
He reappeared behind the beast and unleashed a punch of force. The detonation slammed into its icy hide, blasting a flurry of snow outward. Attention wrenched from Fenn’s portal, the colossus spun to face him with a thunderous roar.
Lykor flowed like a shadow, glaives a blur as he warped one jump after another, hacking at icy limbs. One moment, he drove a blade into the monster’s flank. The next, he vanished, only to strike its opposite side.
Serenna twisted her wrist, coiling the fire into a searing stream before lashing it toward the Starshard. In a blinding arc, the flaming whip raced over the lake and snapped across the creature’s eyeless face, sparks scattering like falling stars.
But it didn’t respond—didn’t even act like it felt it. The golem’s focus remained locked onto Lykor, tracking him as he warped between its legs in a blur of motion.
Redoubling her efforts, Serenna clenched her fist and gathered the flames into another blazing thread. She cracked it through the air, hurling fire at the crystal again.
But then came the dreaded sound. The one she should have been prepared for since the Starshard had gone dark, absorbing Lykor’s power.
A metallic whine rose, screeching across the valley, scraping against her nerves like a blade drawn across glass. Knees locking, Serenna’s heart stuttered against her ribs as she braced herself.
The crystal shard ignited, blazing with the fury of an exploding star. A concussive blast of force erupted toward Lykor.
Like smoke on the wind, he vanished an instant before the wave of magic struck. The impact ruptured the frozen lake, exploding a ring of ice outward. Shockwaves rippled across the valley, crumbling into the abyss below.
Serenna staggered as the earth heaved, the tremor rattling through her bones.
“Take my fire,” Jassyn said, voice taut. He flicked a hand, sending flames toward her.
He crouched, bracing his palms against the frosty ground, a pressure shuddering outward from his fingertips. The ice groaned in protest but the fractures began to shift, the splintered surface slowly knitting back together. “If that creature crashes through, it’ll just crawl back out again. But if we fall? I don’t think Lykor can warp us both out.”
