“For the Wolf Kingdom!” Rysden roars, and all the people echo.
Redara moves underneath me, and I can feel her muscles tense.Tell them that they’re coming. They’re a little more than two miles out.Redara lifts her head and shoots fire into the air, successfully getting everyone’s attention.
"They’re two miles out!” I yell to Rysden and Kaldar.
I hear the shouts of orders being given as Redara takes to the skies.It’s going to be a different fight,I remind Redara.They’ll be able to see us now.
Yes. You've told me. Repeatedly.I don’t let her words bother me.You need to focus on keeping your seat and taking care of the ones that get too close to my flanks or my back.
So, you’ve told me. Repeatedly.I send back with a half-smile.We’ll do this. Together.
Yes, we will.
Redara hovers over the ground, and I feel my stomach tense with nerves. I keep reminding myself that this is what we’ve prepared for the last five days. Honestly, even longer than that. We’re ready. Today will be the end of the guivres. I tap my fingers against my leg as we wait.
Incoming,Redara warns me. I can’t see anything right away.
And then when I finally do, my breath stalls in my lungs. Honestly, for as much preparing as we’ve done, nothing couldhave prepared me for the hoard of guivres approaching. I realize in that moment that they’ve either never come together before, or they never let themselves be seen in bigger groups because we severely underestimated how many guivres are still alive. The sky is nearly black with their approach.
Redara,I begin, feeling sick. I can’t even form the words. I look below at the men and women of the Jaguar Kingdom and the Wolf Kingdom and all those beautiful spirit wolves and jags and feel like I’m going to throw up. How many of them will be standing after this?
Focus!Redara demands.
There are so many,I send back.
Then you’d better get busy.
I can’t breathe as crushing panic and terror simultaneously beat down on me.It’s not enough; we don’t have nearly enough.There’s a kind of ringing in my ears.This can’t be happening.
Harper!Redara snaps at me.Pull yourself together!
The first of the guivres get close, and Redara’s fire shoots out of her mouth as she jerks forward. Muscle memory makes me clamp my thighs together tight, so I can hold my seat. I watch as three guivres disappear in black ash. And my adrenaline kicks into overdrive as every thought in my head goes quiet except for right here, right now, and survival.
Chapter 44
Guivres surround us on all sides. Redara sends out her fire again, but they evade it and her. I try to keep track of them, but there are so many. Several of them spit fire at us, but they don’t get too close to Redara, afraid of her fire. A dragon’s fire is still worse than a guivre’s fire. Some of them fly right past us, though. I jerk my head around and watch as they fly low over the hundreds of soldiers and spray fire. Screaming follows their flight, and my stomach churns.We have to protect them,I yell to Redara through our bond. She jerks around, and we fly back towards the soldiers. Knowing she can’t just breathe fire and risk hurting those on the ground, she barrels into the guivres, sending them crashing to the ground. I snap my head down and see the soldiers converging on the fallen guivres.Watch out!Redara drops her shoulder and dive bombs. The soldiers below us duck as we fly over them. She plows into three guivres, sending them to the ground, before turning back around. We’re playing more defense than offense, trying to keep the guivres away from the soldiers. But it’s notenough. There’s only one of us, and there are too many of them. I hear screaming and jerk my head up to see an entire group of soldiers decimated by a few guivres. Redara barrels that way, but it’s already too late for that group. My heartbeat thunders in my chest as I try to scan the area for Farrah. I nearly miss the guivre that comes at us from Redara’s blind spot.
Drop!She obeys the command immediately, but I can still feel the heat of the guivre fire as it passes over us. That was too close. Before I’m ready, she shoots upward, and I nearly lose my seat. She spits fire at a couple of guivres, and they burst into flame. A guivre flies over us, and I reach upward, thrusting my knife into its heart as it passes over. Redara dives low, and I duck down close to her neck. She slams into a guivre and shoots up again. My eyes scan the field. It’s not going well. There are guivres on the ground, guivres in the sky; there are just too many. The spirit animals are attacking anything that gets close, but they don’t have wings. There’s only so much they can do. And if Redara and I take to the skies, we leave everyone unprotected from flyovers of the guivres. There are screams of pain all around, but I don’t dare look down. I stay focused on our task. We’re simply playing defense. One dragon, trying to keep hundreds of guivres away from our people. We fly low on one turn, and I happen to catch Rysden’s eye as we fly past. His face is grim, even as he fights. I see Farrah right behind him, sending arrow after arrow into the guivres. But it’s just not enough. Redara plows into every guivre in her path, but there are too many we can’t get to in time. Entire groups of people are missing on the battle field, consumed by guivre fire. Others scream in pain; I can only imaginethey’ve lost body parts to the guivre fire.
Even as we fly, something hits me.Why aren’t they targeting you?I send to Redara.You’re obviously the biggest threat out here.
I think they don’t think clearly in this form. I think when they’re in this form, they simply think like a beast. Kill and destroy. I think that’s why some of them stay in human form.
I take in her words even as she sends a few more guivres to the ground. She soars upward and blasts two incoming guivres with her fire. She suddenly drops a moment, and I pitch forward.Redara?
Sorry.She sends back.
What was that?I ask as worry for her fills me.
Just a drop in energy. Nothing to worry about.
Her words slam through me. A terrifying thought hits me.Can you run out of fire? Or energy?
She toasts another guivre before dropping back and racing towards the guivre opening its mouth over a group of soldiers. She slams into him, sending him to the ground where the soldiers immediately converge on him.Probably a good question to askbeforewe went into battle.
Alarm spears through me.Red.
I'm fine.
