I would have to spend a great many years training and breaking her before she could ever be trusted again.If she ever could be.But one didn’t need trust to have a relationship. If they did, I wouldn’t ever have any. I just needed her back with me.
Someone who understood. Even if she didn’t agree with my actions, her understanding of who I was… was greater than anything else.
“Asteria, you can end this now,” I attempted, hoping rationalizing with her would force her to see some sense. “There is no hope of winning against me, but you can still save the lives of your people.”
A sinister growl was my only response to my attempted manipulation, as if she knew I would never let them go. Her teeth came at me again, and I flew backward quickly, shifting fully. I was always faster in my Pegasus form. It was built for speed in the air, where her dragon form was much bulkier and, as a result, slower.
I sped through the sky with Asteria on my tail. Dragons might be slower than Pegasus, but they were still by no meansslow. And her fury was clearly fueling her, as I was barely keeping ahead of her. I switched up my direction and veered right, between two tall buildings.
Her roar of frustration sounded behind me. Her dragon form was too broad to maneuver in such tight spaces. Evenfall was added to over the years, with an increasing population meaning we put buildings wherever we could fit them. There was scarcely a bit of space between the buildings now, which fit a Pegasus well enough, but nothing bigger.
It gave me some time, at least. I crossed through the city by flying through the alleyways, keeping Asteria circling above. I tried to lose her by cutting through them in random twists and turns, but frustratingly, she was too fast for me to disappear into the city.
It was the sound of the mind-numbing screeches that saved me from Asteria’s teeth and claws in the end. My wings sagged in relief for a moment. Until I spied the blasted creatures above me. Asteria was right in their line of sight, and they were heading for her, claws out.
Concern struck me immediately as they attacked. Asteria’s roar echoed as she released a steam of fire at them. Most of the sirens dodged it, but I watched as a few burned, leaving the disgusting smell of charred bird in the air. Clearly, she was fine.
I took the opportunity to shift back, and leaned my head back against the brick wall of the alley I found myself in. I never wanted to have to fight Asteria herself, but she was making it very difficult. I may end up forced to fight her just to subdue her.
If only Calix hadn’t corrupted her, we wouldn’t be here now.
But we were, and I might be forced to do something unsavory for the sake of my long-term goals. Already, the battle wasn’t going quite as I hoped. The easy victory with my iron and blood magic and allies was instead met with equal power. Not to mention equal loss on both sides of the fighting, all thanks to the iron. It didn’t distinguish between ally or enemy and just burned whichever Fae it touched, leaving many of my own soldiers down or outright dead.
Calix, however, hadhumansfighting for him, somehow actually giving him an edge number-wise. I’d thought the humans useless, but they were proving more effective than I’d imagined. They attacked in groups or took on one at a time, relying on being underestimated.
Losing this war, thanks toslaves, would be embarrassing on a level I couldn’t even contemplate.
“You need more.”
I nodded absentmindedly as the idea filtered through my consciousness.
“You are so close now.” A voice whispered within me, but with a deep, echoing resonance to it. “You must bring death to your enemies. Take all you have on you, and when the moment is right, summon all the power that blood magic can offer you. Only then will you become what you were meant to be.”
I lifted my head, looking around in suspicion for a moment. Something felt different, but I couldn’t put my finger on what. The idea seemed dangerous, but my subconscious clearly thought otherwise.
I looked up, finding Asteria battling with the sirens. I summoned my wings and made to find Calix, determined to see this over with before it was too late to save my plans.
I had a destiny to fulfill that was greater than any of this petty squabbling. Plans that would impact all of the realms. Plans that would see everything changed.
A new throne.
A new kingdom.
And the worship of millions.
Chapter Fifty-nine
Asteria
Oh,he thought he was so slick, didn’t he?
I watched Cyrus slip away, even while I battled the sirens before me. I refused to take an eye off him, not when I knew he would go after Calix at the first opportunity.
I snarled at the siren taking a swipe at me. Their claws were wickedly sharp, and while they didn’t fully pierce my scales, I thought with some time given to let them sink in, they might be able to do a bit of damage. I used my wing to throw them off, watching the creepy bird lady hit the wall with a crash.
Another flew at my face with a caw of anger, and I opened my mouth, preparing myself for the disgusting task. I grabbed her by the torso with my teeth, biting down hard. Weird, and absolutely disgusting, blue blood spurted as my teeth cut her in half, her wailing and flailing falling silent after a moment. I spit her out, wishing I could wash her taste from my tongue.
The rest of the sirens flew off with a horrifying screech, apparently smart enough to realize that taking on a dragon wasn’t their best bet. I didn’t like the idea of them attacking any Fae who lacked the protection of scales, but I had to believe our people could defend themselves. I had bigger problems to deal with.
