The gush of blood spraying on my face only made me smile. The thrill of battle beat in my heart. It was even more incredible than normal. Amplified, thanks to Asteria feeling the same rush.
Their charge was destroyed, thanks to our work, so we left the other men to finish them. They cheered us on as we flew around to the other side of the palace where the next battle awaited.
Fuck.This was not good.
Arien’s forces were severely outnumbered here. It put us at too much risk of losing this battle. That would leave Arien, and more importantly, Asteria, down hundreds of valuable fighting men for the war to come.
Arien had clearly already charred who he could with his flames, but the fighting was too messy to do much more in our dragon forms. I hated this setup. This would never happen in Night. Our cities were built to defend, while Avalon was built in this ridiculous circle, meaning everyone was in a weird position and spread out too thin to be in any way helpful.
All we could do was join the fight, so that’s what we did. I let my shadows bleed out as a group of soldiers made the mistake of targeting me. The men, a group of maybe ten to twelve of them, began trying to surround me. They clearly had no idea what they were dealing with. I let a smirk creep up my lips as I sent my shadows out, circling around their necks as they tried to fruitlessly pull at the black, snaking shadows that formed their noose.
My shadows were mine to command, and my will made manifest. I used that will, yanking hard on the shadows and snapping their necks in a moment. Their lifeless bodies fell to the ground with a thump of satisfaction.
I spun my blade, moving into the crowded fighting quarter and shoving it into the back of a Fae attacking a smaller Day Kingdom soldier. As his friend rushed me, yelling his vengeance, my shadows surrounded him. I let them have some fun, choking the life from the soldier as he suffocated on my darkness.
All the while, my black blade kept moving. I stabbed and slashed, blocked, and parried. It had been too long since we’d gone into a battle like this. I needed the rush of fire in my veins it provided me. Maybe it was twisted, the need I felt for bloodshed, but I knew no better way to exercise my demons. It gave me a clarity of mind I could find nowhere else.
Well, maybe one other place.
I kept a close eye on her. Ensuring my mate was well the entire time. While she was a bit tired, understandably, she was still going strong. Thank Nox.
I spotted Lord Freyr across the field, and the thought came to me that his men might abandon him if he fell. It happened often enough. Take the leader down, and the rest will follow. If we could get Freyr, we might be able to get a surrender out of them.
I turned to Asteria and explained my plan, holding off the soldiers barreling down on us with a wall of shadow so we could talk. She agreed quickly, and I let the wall drop. Their surprise, as shadows, starlight, and steel were suddenly on them, was gratifying.
Asteria and I got into a rhythm as we fought our way through the mass of fighting soldiers. We fought back-to-back, and it felt like the bond between us was a living, breathing thing in that moment.
I knew every move she was about to make, and she could clearly sense mine. We moved so fluidly; it was almost eerie. I swung high; she ducked low. She twirled right; I shifted left. We were able to swing around each other’s blades with ease, never once tripping up and getting in the way.
Usually, the rage and bloodlust kept me going during a fight. But right now… wonder and a sense of rightness, of balance, took me over. A feeling of peace so strong it rattled me to my bones.
I watched Asteria as she found the strength inside herself to continue despite her fatigue, pushing herself through it. And I wasn’t the only one watching her in wonder. The Fae soldiers and humans around us were doing the same. Whenever they weren’t actively engaged against an enemy, the ones near us cut their wide eyes over to her.
It was like watching a goddess touch down on Adamah.
We were halfway through the mass of people when it happened. A horn blew, and my head whipped around to find Lord Kem’s forces approaching. The blue and white banners and surcoats made it clear whose army it was.
“Fuck!” I snarled, that familiar rage rising once more. If they engaged, we were done for without a huge show of magic, and I couldn’t be everywhere at once. It was easy to form a wall, but it was more difficult and needed more concentration to attack while holding it. Already, our forces were being pushed back. I sent out an enormous wall of shadow, despite the risk of attack from the soldiers around us, and blocked Kem’s men from approaching.
Asteria lifted her hand with a smirk, and a blast of starlight shot out. It seemed like the entire world paused as everyone stopped to watch. This power that shouldn’t exist in our world, but somehow, now did. It arced straight over our soldiers and blasted into Lord Freyr and the men around him.
They flew back, and I watched in amazement as they flewfar. The soldiers fighting us a moment ago stopped and dropped their swords as Asteria held up her glowing hand, starlight consuming it entirely, like I remembered from our shared dreams. They fell to their knees, bowing their heads in surrender.
I let the darkness drop from in front of Lord Kem’s army, letting them see what had happened. Kem snarled and called for them to charge, but Asteria brought her arm down from above her head to aim straight at him.
Kem charged, and I brought my arm up to match Asteria’s. I nodded at her with a smirk, and she matched the movement. Our magic erupted from our fingertips, and began to weave around the other’s until a mass of starry darkness hovered before us. Together, we sent it forward, a swirling cyclone of starlight and darkness that barreled down on them.
It sent them flying backward, too, their entire force now in complete chaos. I laughed in delight, picking Asteria up and spinning her around. Her giggle was an amazing thing to hear, and I wanted nothing more than to bury myself in her right now. To feel all that tight heat surrounding me with the thrill of battle and blood still racing through my veins.
The look in her eye told me she wouldn’t mind that one bit.
“They’re retreating!” someone shouted. And sure enough, the armies were scrambling up and away. I knew there was no chance Cyrus wouldn’t hear about Asteria’s power now, but we’d managed to at least save Day from Aelius and his goons.
And as the men around us all hit their knees, calling out praise to Queen Asteria…
I’d say it was definitely worth it.
Chapter Thirty-nine
