“Why should I care that you’re here?” she purred, gaze slicing back to Maris. “What threat are they to me?”
Maris stepped forward again. Sword still raised. Her voice steady. Clear.
“They’re not here to kill you.” She said with a laugh of her own.
The wind roared behind her like a living thing.
“They’re here to clear the path for me to do it.”
And for the first time Eiren’s smile twitched.
The gods behind Maris lifted their hands in perfect, terrifying unison.
The battlefield shook.
The sky split open above them.
And the war truly began.
Chapter seventy-two
The Strike
-Maris-
Magic hummed beneath her boots. The sword in her grip thrummed like a second heartbeat, alive with the fury of the gods. The sigils along her armor gleamed, one for each divine who stood behind her, silent and waiting.
But before the war began…
She stole one last glance.
To her right, Kael.
Rigid. Vast. Cloaked in shadow and silver. The wind tangled in his black hair, his eyes locked not on the enemy but on her. There was something in his gaze that nearly undid her —grief, hunger, love. But no fear.
He’d already died a hundred deaths for her in his mind.
He would do it again before this day ended.
To her left, Alarik.
A fury held behind his ribs. Faelight dancing across his armor, lightning arcing from his fingertips to the hilt of his blade. His expression was unreadable, but his soul? That was thunder. Rage and reverence. He had been her sparring partner, her dream, her danger.
He would tear the world apart before he let it swallow her whole.
Valea, already bleeding from the nails in her palms where she clenched her blades too tightly.
Draeven beside her, lips pale, eyes full of vengeance.
Riven and Corin, nodding once. Ready.
Serenya’s braid whipped over her shoulder as she stepped closer, a whisper of reassurance in her eyes.
Thauren calmed again, but hollow in a way only grief could carve.
Zairon’s hand lifted briefly to his heart. A gesture of honor. Of belief.
Even the human forces from Eryndor stood proud behind her. No glamor. No magic. Just will. Just faith.
