Ice and fire and magic from the Seelie and Unseelie fae flash through the red-streaked sky as dragons clash and roar and tear through each other. A torrent of ice flames crashes into a Seelie fae seated atop a blue dragon. She screams for only one second before she is knocked off the dragon’s back, completely encased by ice. The blue dragon drops out of the sky, falling lifelessly tothe ground below as the still open union bond claims the shifter’s life as well.
Dredging up what remains of my magic, I shove it towards the violet sparks of pain I hope to find in the attacking dragons’ chests as they hurtle towards us to protect their empress.
I gasp as my magic connects.
With a shove, I yank up their pain until half of the dragons shriek and fall out of the sky.
Dragging in desperate breaths, I cling to Draven’s spikes while the world slides in and out of focus around me. I don’t have much left now.
Fire and ice magic shoot through the heavens as Isera and Alistair try to take out the horde that’s about to collide with us. Draven and Diana don’t even hesitate. They trust our friends to protect them. With single-minded focus they lunge and claw and snap at Jessina while thousands of birds flap around her, cawing madly and tearing at every inch of her body. She screams and sends a massive wall of ice shooting towards us.
Red and white dragons screech in fear as Orion blinds them with his nightmares while Isera throws spears at their wings and Alistair hurls a torrent of flames at Jessina’s ice wall. It smacks into it, barely stopping it from crushing Draven.
But exhaustion lines our friends’ faces, and they all sway dangerously atop Galen, Lyra, and the other black dragon.
I try to summon more magic, but there is nothing left to give.
The remaining enemies who survived our friends’ attacks speed towards us. Jessina roars and then suddenly charges forward.
I scream in desperation as massive jaws open from all sides.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Trees shoot up from the ground.
Jessina and half of her army roar in panic as vines and branches and entire trees explode up from the forest we’ve been pushing them towards all this time.
Tilting my head back, I bellow out a cry of relief.
Sheer terror flashes across Jessina’s face as the trees and vines twist like snakes around her legs and wings, trapping her in the air. The entire forest below us thrums with a feral hiss as the might of the entire dryad realm ensnares our enemies. Dragons scream and breathe fire desperately as the vines tighten around them, strangling their throats and trapping their wings.
In the chaos, the cloud of birds surges forward, churning furiously around Jessina.
Then a magical hawk shoots out of the fray, carrying a small object shaped like an hourglass.
“It worked!”I scream into Draven’s mind.
Jessina, distracted by the mindless barrage of birds, didn’t notice that Fenriel sent his highly intelligent hawk into the chaos to steal the shield device that was stuck to one of her spikes. Itmust have taken all of Talon’s strength and cunning to finally get it free.
He lets out a victorious screech as he swoops back towards Fenriel.
Jessina roars in utter panic and terror. Ice flames shoot through the air, heading straight for Talon. Fenriel screams.
But right before the hawk is engulfed, Diana sends her entire cloud of birds straight in front of the flames instead. A cry of agony rips from her throat as her birds are engulfed by the ice flames. But their sacrifice buys Talon enough time to shoot through the air and out of the way.
Draven speeds forward.
Jessina thrashes furiously, trapped by the dryads and exposed without her shield. Pure terror shines in her eyes for a second before fury and insanity take over. She roars.
And black smoke explodes through the air.
Flying right into it, Draven shoots towards her while slamming a blast of wind magic into the smoke from the side. Leaves tremble below us as the winds sweep through the landscape, clearing the sky.
I whip my head from side to side, looking for Jessina.
Alarm cracks through my chest as I spot her.
By transforming into her half-shift form, she has managed to free herself from the dryads. Her silver wings flap hard on either side of her, and her glittering silver dress flutters behind her as she flies away from the forest. Branches and vines shoot up after her as the dryads try to catch her again. But she slashes her arms through the air, sending sheets of ice cutting through them before they can reach her. The dryads in the woods hiss in pain and fury.
