But Adara was holding her own, using a fire whip to knock the birds out of the air before they could reach her. I couldn’t help but be impressed by the level of control she’d mastered—rather than blasting them with raw energy, since her magic reserves were low, she’d chosen to concentrate her fire magic into a weaponized form instead. Pride swelled in my chest as she valiantly fought the shadow creatures off, sweat dripping down her face, hair whipping in the wind, feet planted like the roots of a strong, stubborn oak.
I’d never seen anything more beautiful in my life.
One of the harpies let out a blood-curdling shriek, and I turned just in time to see one of the birds sink sharp talons into her exposed bicep. Black magic bled from the tips of its claws, spreading across her skin, and my insides froze with horror as I realized she was being corrupted, being turned into a shadow creature herself.
“Nooooooo!” The air fae boy cried, hurtling toward her. He called more lightning down from the sky, channeling it into the tip of his finger and aiming it toward the shadow creatures. The lightning shot through the air like a javelin, striking the birds dead in the sky.
But it also struck the harpy, too.
“Aria!” Eleerie wailed as the infected harpy’s back arched, body vibrating as the electricity seared her from the inside out. She sped through the air faster than any arrow bolt, catching her fatally struck comrade before she could fall.
“No,” the other harpy, Wynna, choked out. The rest of the birds were dead, the remnants of their bodies littering the otherwise pristine snowy landscape, like streaks of soot on a maiden’s gown. She and Eleerie gently brought Aria to the ground, and Leap and I followed somberly behind her.
We might have been enemies, but I knew these harpies’ pain all too well.
Adara let her fire whip disappear and came running over as the harpies laid their comrade down. “Is she still breathing?” Adara demanded, skidding to her knees at the harpy’s side.
“Yes, but it doesn’t matter,” Eleerie said in a harsh voice. She pointed a shaking finger at Aria’s arm, where the blackness was spreading down to her fingers. “Aria’s already infected. We have to kill her now, or she’ll end up like…like…” her voice broke.
“Like a shadow creature,” Leap said in a small voice. He’d hopped off his cloud and came to stand next to us, his storm grey eyes filled with tears. “This is my fault, Eleerie. I shouldn’t have gotten so distracted.”
Wynna put her arm around Leap’s shoulder, pulling him in close. “It’s not your fault. Aria is a capable warrior, just like the rest of us. She fought well.”
Sympathy welled inside me as I looked at the harpies and the air fae child. The four of them seemed like a family, like many families I’d witnessed who’d been torn apart by war and strife. Even though they’d tried to capture me and kill Adara, and I would have gladly killed them in self-defense, I didn’t want to see one of their own die at the hands of shadow magic.
I glanced at Adara, who was also looking at Leap and the harpies. She seemed to be having an internal debate, her body poised as if she were on the brink of a major decision, and after a minute, she puffed out a sharp sigh.
“Your friend doesn’t have to die today. I can save her.”
The harpies’ heads snapped in Adara’s direction as she pulled something out of her boot. My eyes widened at the sight of the golden apple resting in her palm—one of the apples I’d seen in Lady Mossi’s arboretum.
Leap’s eyes nearly bugged out of his skull. “Is that an Ithir apple?” he asked, his voice echoing with disbelief.
“Yes,” Adara said, holding out her free hand impatiently. “Someone, please, give me a knife.”
Wynna pulled one of her throwing knives out of her pouch, but hesitated. “How do we know you won’t—”
“Try to kill her?” Adara asked sarcastically. “Isn’t that what you guys were already planning on doing anyway?”
Wynna’s cheeks flushed angrily, but she handed Adara the knife.
“I need one of you to hold her down, and the other to pry her mouth open,” Adara instructed the harpies. “Hurry, we don’t have much time. You there, keep a look out, make sure nothing else tries to attack.” She jabbed a finger at Leap.
Leap nodded and hopped back onto his cloud, which whisked him off to a spot about thirty feet in the air. Close enough to see what was going on while giving him a bird's-eye view of their surroundings. Not wanting to stand by uselessly, I grabbed Aria’s legs while Eleerie gripped her shoulders and Wynna pulled her mouth open.
Adara used the knife to slice off a piece of the apple. Immediately, a thick, golden syrup began to drip from the fruit, and Adara held it over Aria’s skin while she shoved the first piece of apple into the harpy’s mouth. The harpy’s hips bucked immediately, but Wynna worked her jaw open and closed as Eleerie held her down, forcing Aria to chew and swallow.
Black steam began to rise from Aria’s body, and she twisted and sobbed as Adara force fed her the apple piece by piece. The corruption stained the ground, spreading through the snow like a bottle of spilled ink on parchment. My skin crawled as the stench of shadow magic filled the air, but I held fast to Aria’s legs, holding her tight as Adara and Wynna made sure she consumed the entire apple.
When it was done, we lifted her from the tainted patch of snow and carefully set her down in a clean spot, free of bird carcasses and magical corruption.
At first, nothing happened as the last bits of black steam curled away from her skin. But a few seconds later, Aria sucked in a full breath and bolted upright, her yellow eyes flying wide as she clutched her arm.
“Wha—what happened?” she sputtered, looking around. “I—I was in the sky, fighting the shadow creatures and then…”
“You were infected,” Eleerie said gently, placing a soothing hand on Aria’s shoulder. She pointed at Aria’s bicep, which was now pristine, as if the taint had never touched her. “This fae fed you a magic apple, and it cured you. It’s a miracle.”
“It’s not a miracle.” Leap hopped down from his cloud, landing lightly in a crouch despite the thirty-foot jump. He stared at Adara in open fascination. “Though it might as well be, considering how difficult it is to get hold of Ithir apples. How did you get one?”
