Vada growls lowly and tips further down until the end of her snout is parallel to the ground. My legs, in a last-ditch effort to not plummet to my death, wrap poorly around the spike, fusing my body to the hard surface. She pulls up at the last second, the breath abandoning my lungs.
With a harshTHUD!she lands, dirt billowing up around us, and I dismount as gracefully as I can on two legs that feel like gelatin.
“That.”I gasp, leaning over on the top of my thighs. “Was a really fucking mean thing to do."
"I disagree. There are many things on my list I could count as 'really fucking mean', human.”She mocks,“getting you here safely is not one of them."
"Safe? Ha, you—"
She drops her head down in front of me, her piercing gold eye flashing,"you are alive, yes?"
"Yes."
"You are in one piece, yes?"
My eyes roll backwards at the patronizing tone she uses."Yes."I grit.
A roll of blistering hot steam coasts from her nostrils as she lifts her chin, looking down on me."Then cease your insufferable whining and get to work. Make them rise."
"E-excuse me?"
"You have no control. You are weak because you are afraid."
I scoff, my head shaking back and forth."I am not."
Vada's large skull swings closer to me, placing her teeth uncomfortably close to my face."No? Your dreams affectmore than the little princeling."My stomach bottoms out — I should’ve known that our bond would have her experiencing the same things that I was."You never could have saved the guard you claimed as brother…"Axel…"And you were capable of ruining the one who took you. But you ran."
"You don't understand."I snarl, pushing back the series of images accosting my mind’s eye, my blood heating.
"It's my fault that he wasn't able to rest — neither he nor Max. This curse—"
She stomps her foot,"this is no curse. It ispower.” Her tail wraps around the back of my legs, urging me closer to her open maw. “Where is the girl I once knew. Whose rage drove her passion? The girl who shielded her kingdom from being touched by war?"
"That is because I gave my people an entirely different war on the inside."I bark, cutting her off.
She huffs, whipping her head around, and I lean into her tail as much as I can to avoid being impaled by one of the bony spikes decorating her cheeks.
"Who is this simpering, frightenedchildbefore me? Where is your fire?! Or must I burn you myself to get it started?"
The sound emanating through her chest is so deep, so low, that it shakes the earth and trees surrounding us. I feel the heat before even seeing the ball of fire glowing in the back of her throat, and my heart pounds loudly beneath my ribs.
Scared she might not stop this time, that she’ll actuallyburnme… or worse, a wretched scream tears from my throat. A sea of shadows spills out around us, flooding into the woods. In response to the wave of power, dozens of red eyes appear.
In each of their faces, I watch as my mind morphs them into a reflection of Axel and Max — my heart pangs the longer I look, while hot tears stain my cheeks."I can't hold this many."I croak.
"I did not choose someone weak!"She roars again, and I flinch.
“They're not us, E…"Axel’s voice echoes in my head.
From the corner of my eye, one of the creatures advances, and I dig my nails into my palms. I suck in a sharp breath through my nose, allowing my Wield to overwhelm my senses.
You are their maker… You are in control…
"Kneel."
One by one, the creatures heed my command. Their decrepit bodies drop to a mangled knee, waiting for my next order.
“There you are, little demon."
