“I’m close to perfecting a new toy for you,” Ivenrail said slyly. “I used some of the power you’re reluctant to share, but perhaps this will make you reconsider your generosity in the future.”
Dragons and riders continued to swoop through the sky. They plunged across the dregs, the riders swiping down the beasts with their swords and the dragons breathing fire while the villagers attacked the dregs on foot.
It was a rout. Soon, the dregs would be dead and the Lieges either lying on the ground or fleeing back across the border to regroup.
Then something new appeared in the sky.
Pointing, the Liege chittered but I sensed it was with dismay, not excitement, because . . .
. . . this was shocking.
Terrifying.
Even the Liege must be horrified about this potential future. Was this why he’d set me on this path?
Once this was unleashed, it would change the course of every battle from now on.
There’s still time.
Tell me what to do,I gasped out.
Wield the blade.
Raw desperation gouged its way through me.I need more information than that. Help me.
Silence spread its tendrils around me, and I jolted when Ivenrail tipped back his head and cackled. His eyes gleamed with feral joy.
Thousands of winged dregs flung themselves from the sky, toppling riders from dragons, slicing through the mighty beasts before swooping down to snatch up women, men, and children alike. They flew to new, open-top cages and dropped the Nullens inside.
With winged dregs, Ivenrail was going to invade the Nullen realm and capture and drain every single living person. He was incredibly powerful. How could anyone stop him?
I dropped to my knees and smacked my palms against my face. Who cared if they heard me now? My shriek of dismay bellowed out, echoing around me.
With a jolt, I was yanked backward. I didn’t hit the wall. No, I was sucked into . . . nothing and spit out on the other side.
As I traveled, I swore I heard Drask’s caw.
I landed hard on the floor of the suite I shared with Vexxion and let myself lay there, my cheek pressed against the cool tile, my palms splayed wide open, my fingers twitching.
Drask flew off his perch and landed beside my face. He leaned over and cocked his head this way and that, studyingme, before he pranced around and flew up to perch on the bedrail.
I panted as if I’d trained for hours. Shivers kept clenching my spine and shaking me. My heart thundered, terror rooting deeper with each thudding beat.
Rising, I stumbled toward the bathing area, where I turned on the water to a steaming gush. I peeled off my leathers and tossed them into the basket. When the tub was full, I sunk down in the water, drawing my legs up to wrap my arms around them. My chin found its place on my knees.
What’s wrong?Vexxion asked.
I stilled myself as best I could, locking down my emotions. Locking down my brain and my heart and my memories and my . . . everything.Nothing. I tripped. Fell on my knees. They’re sore.
Be careful.
I couldn’t tell if he believed me or not. The connection didn’t allow for anything like that. But he must’ve been busy because he didn’t flit to me. For once, I was alright with that.
I had too much to absorb. Too much to process. And a fate-load of crap to deal with before I saw him again.
I flashed through the idea of Vexxion and Brenna being fated mates, but while the thought of such a thing was shredding something deep inside me, it had been shoved aside by an even greater, more devastating horror.
The dregs would soon have wings, and they would attack. They would roar across the villages. All the riders and dragons in the fortresses combined wouldn’t be able to hold them back. They’d descend on the closest village. Then the next. Marchingand flying onward until they reached the eastern border, where they’d stop.
