Altham snarled a curse. “That coward.”
Cassiel arced through the air for the courtyard and landed with aboom. A wave of blue flame broke across the sand and incinerated half of Altham’s forces. It was instant. They didn’t even have time to scream.
Lucenna muttered to Eldred, “If you were looking for your chance, now is the time.”
Eldred and Garaea began inserting the Tanzanite crystals into the grooves carved into the stone circle surrounding the Elder tree.
Cassiel walked through the scatters of fire, his eyes molten blue. Embers drifted off him with every flap of his wings. His face didn’t betray a hint of emotion, while his palpable power coated the air.
The three kings faced off.
“High King of Hilos, I assume,” Altham stated tightly. Glass shattered from a high window in the Blood Keep, and elves fell screaming. A flash of green light flickered inside. “That must be your little queen.” He sneered. “Yet I am the oathbreaker?”
Cassiel nodded to Leif. “Do you need further assistance here?”
The King of Greenwood chuckled as he readied his sword. “You have leveled the field, Cassiel. I can take it from here.”
Crouching, he blasted like a flare of flame for the keep.
“Are you almost done?” Lucenna asked Eldred urgently.
He glowered at her and continued the incantation. The center of the Elder Tree began to glow. Leif launched at Altham, and their fight continued. Spells and swords rang out as green clashed into red once more.
“There, look!” Keena pointed at the south end of the keep. Zev came out of the smoke, covered in blood, with Von and Elon on his shoulders.
“Oh, they made it.” Lucenna sighed in relief, and they ran to him.
“We need to go,” Zev said when he caught up to them. “Where is Dyna?”
“She’s still up there.”
“What do you mean?” he exclaimed in alarm. “The explosives are set to blow any minute!”
Her breath caught, and they all looked up at the Blood Keep.
“She must have been delayed,” Klyde said. “Cassiel went after her. He’ll get her out, mate.”
A flash of orange from the corner of Lucenna’s eye had her whipping around. Anon had regained his consciousness, and he was conjuring a spell. His voice rose in an eerie wave as a hexagon of runes flared around his palm.
He pointed it at the Elder Tree.
“Oh, Gods,” Lucenna gasped, and she ran back to Eldred, waving her arms. “Get down!”
The world ripped away with a massive explosion.
A force struck her. Brick, stone, magic. She didn’t know. The world spun, and she slammed into a solid surface. Whatever it was, agony shattered through her entire body.
Lucenna twitched on the sand, gasping for the air that had been torn from her lungs. Someone shouted her name, but she hardly heard it past the ringing in her ears. Something was wrong. She called for Klyde but gagged on the blood coating her mouth. Tears sprang to her eyes. Why couldn’t she move? In her mind, she tried to crawl, but pain invaded her consciousness, and her sight blurred.
She couldn’t feel her legs.
“Lucenna!” Klyde’s voice cleared, and he took her face. “Can you hear me?” He looked her over, and his face crumbled. “Oh, love...”
She whimpered, afraid to ask why she couldn’t move. Blood leaked from her lips. “It hurts.”
“It’s all right,” he said, his voice breaking. “I’ve got you.”
Was she going to die?
