Matthias, sword still gripped in his hands, turned in a slow circle.
‘Yes, Asmar. As you can see, you’re surrounded.’
Romero flicked his hand up, and Enfys was dragged back. Pablo snarled. Romero ran his hand over his beard, a wide grin on his face.
‘But, I intend to be benevolent, so those of you who throw down your weapons and join us will be rewarded once the sun rises on the new Empire of Great Drufaera. But not you, Asmar. I’ll slaughter you in a moment, and all those who fail to kneel to your new emperor.’
The rising sun struck the side of his face, and Romero closed his eyes, tilting towards the gilded rays.
‘See?’ He spread his arms out, the wind whipping up his coat, and my legs buckled. ‘Even Evella blesses me. Blesses my new dawn. So who refuses to stand with the traitor and his bastard wife? Who will step into the new light, stand as one and destroy the empress?’
Matthias lowered his sword as the dull thud of weapons hitting the sand was followed by the tread of boots. With my heart racing, I watched as a few guards, heads low, strode past us to join Drufaera. One slipped on the sand dune, falling and letting out a sob.
‘I understand,’ Matthias shouted, his voice breaking as the wind stole his words. ‘Evella bless your wife and child.’
The guard halted, his shoulders rising and falling, before he climbed up the dune, sand spraying in his wake.
The remaining guards closed in as ice grasped my chest and I looked up to the man who should have taken the place of my dead father. The gulls swooped low. I placed my hand over my eyes, gasping as I squinted into a sky almost black not with clouds, but birds. Hundreds and hundreds of sea birds.
‘Is it worth my while asking you all to leave?’ Matthias swallowed deeply, his eyes burning into Romero’s. ‘As unhappy as I am to die here, I’ll go to Evella content knowing you all live.’
We remained silent, drawing closer to our king. My heart stuttered. Matthias had always been impulsive, self-sacrificing. Would he hand himself to Romero in order to save us?
‘Thought not. I’d best make my last words slightly more impressive than theouchit’s highly likely to be.’ He raised his chin. ‘It is a true honour to lead this final fight with you. If we die, if the sand runs with our blood, then let’s make sure for each of us that falls, ten Drufaeran souls end with ours.’
‘Or,’ Glesni shuffled forward, sparks igniting at the ends of her fingers, ‘we could try killing him and not fucking dying.’
Romero laughed, before disappearing behind the dunes, leaving the slaughter to others.
At the sight of theiremperorleaving, a piercing cry came from the guards, and they tore down the dunes, a blur of yellow and black.
‘Ready!’ Asher cried, his sword raised, guards forming a circle around their king.
Matthias’s fingers brushed mine. My chest heaved as I turned to him.
‘I’ll meet you once more on the other side,’ he said, before shoving through his guards to reach the front.
Pablo barked and padded after him. He looked back and, whimpering, returned to my side.
‘Go,’ I begged him. ‘Fuck off and go.’
He turned his amber eyes to mine, and I fought back a sob. ‘Why do you never do as I ask?’
As they tore towards us, screaming, swords raised, some tumbled, crashing into others. My heart pounded. Pablo paced before me, snarling and snapping as they came into focus, when a wall of flames exploded.
They were running too hard, too fast down the sandy slope. Some tried to fall to the ground to avoid the flames toweringover us, a fortress of fire, but those behind kicked them, tripped over them and, screaming, they fell to the flames.
The wind buffeted the smoke towards us and we stood, coughing, shielding arms and faces. Agony tore through Glesni’s face as she forced oil into her fire, the one thing keeping us safe. Skye bent over, tugging her top over her mouth, eyes watering; it could kill us too.
The flames stuttered and flickered. A guard broke through, quickly hacked down by Matthias.
‘I’m weak,’ Glesni cried, falling to one knee. ‘I can’t hold it?—’
Thunder crackled above. A grey cloud rumbled over with horrifying speed. Rain burst through, forcing us to our knees as the torrent soaked us, extinguishing Glesni’s flames. Asher screamed Skye’s name as I swept the hair from my face. The sand sank beneath me as I stood against the first crashing of steel upon steel. Grunts and death cries rent the air.
I spun around, blinking water from my eyes. I shivered, a mix of cold and terror as my hazy gaze swept across the figures slicing into us. Then I spotted her. The rain-bearing Anomaly who’d smothered our fire. Featureless through my hazy gaze, her pale face turned to the sky, hands twisting as another heavy cloud darkened above.
I called them. The dark mass, swooping and swirling. I couldn’t see her expression as the birds fell from the sky, their beaks piercing her eyes, her throat, but I did smile at the sound of her gurgling screams.
