Joy and love and awe vibrate through me.
I feel safe in the soaring beauty of his song, transported to the sacred forest of his youth, before it was burned to ash.
Before his family, friends, and kingdom became nothing but feathers and bones.
Before he became the masked Dove.
Until the sergeant storms toward Daire and slaps him hard across his naked thigh, which is revealed by the slit in his robe.
“Stop that fucking noise, you feathered son of a bitch,” the sergeant snarls. “It’s worse than a donkey braying.”
I stiffen with rage.
“Always nice to meet a fan,” Daire replies, coolly. “I do take requests.”
The sergeant raises his black claws, threateningly. “I am going to fucking rip off your…”
Shadow raises her head and roars.
The sound echoes through the dunes. The horses that are pulling the chariot dance away in fear.
For the first time on the journey, Lanlin turns around.
His eyes flash with rage.
Instantly, he wheels around on Devil, his demonic lion. With a speed that I would have called impossible, Devil’s powerful body coils and then lunges forward in a gallop.
Shadows trail behind Devil like scorched fur.
The sergeant pales and stumbles backward, but before he can run, Lanlin waves his hand.
Instantly, Devil opens her mouth. Thick black tendrils wind out, snatching the sergeant up around the middle and pinning his arms to his sides.
The sergeant struggles but he can’t escape. His legs dangle helplessly in the air. His chest rises and falls, as he quakes.
The entire army stops, as if at an unspoken order.
Stunned, I sit on Shadow’s back, frozen.
My pulse is roaring in my ears.
“Bloody brilliant,” Daire breathes.
Lanlin’s piercing stare sweeps over Daire and me, assessing us for injuries, before settling on the pink handprint that stands out starkly on Daire’s leg.
Instantly, Lanlin’s expression darkens. The shadowed tendrils squeeze the sergeant tighter.
Shit, is Lanlin going to kill the Eternal?
Devil drags the solider closer in front of Lanlin.
“Do you want to live?” Lanlin asks in a deceptively quiet voice.
“I’m sorry, Supreme Commander,” the sergeant manages to rasp.
“Are you?” Lanlin cocks his head. “But you laid your hands on my Blood Lover. Your actions threatened a peace deal that I have just brokered. What apology can make up for that?”
“Have mercy!” The sergeant begs.
