She heard the rhythmic beats of the wyvern’s wings, and, as agreed, Pegasus’ calls fell fartherbehind.
Angelique held her fire higher as she squinted into the inky blacksky.
There!The light of Angelique’s bright flames reflected on the sicky yellow of the wyvern’s leathery skin. The wyvern chortled as it circled above her, its red eyes glowing in the darkness ofnight.
Her heart pounded in her throat, but she played out her assigned role, gasping and staggering backwards as iffrightened.
It spit at her—which Angelique ran to avoid. The green gunk hissed when it hit the ground, and each labored flap of the wyvern’s wings spread the acidic scent of itsspit.
Angelique fell back a few more steps, acting feeble when it really was just a feint to get out from under the wyvernbecause—
Pegasus—the flames of his mane and tail burning bright, and the velvet black feathers of his wings shining in the moonlight—trumpeted as he emerged in the sky. Just above the wyvern, he folded his wings and extended his front legs, smashing between the wyvern’s shoulder blades in a blindingcollision.
The wyvern screeched and was tossed to the ground like a rag doll, Pegasus standing on the much largercreature.
The constellation snorted as he leaped off the wyvern, disappearing over its farside.
Angelique threw her arms wide, releasing the two spells she had prepped inadvance.
The ground swallowed the wyvern’s feet, anchoring it to the ground while fire exploded aroundit.
Angelique channeled raw power through her hands, then threw it at the wyvern, hitting it directly in thewound.
The wyvern shrieked in pain but thrashed its wings, breaking through the earth’s crust and pulling its clawed feetfree.
It took a few fumbling steps, hobbling when it stepped on a wooden shield and the talons of its hind feet pierced straight through. It flexed its claws, shattering the shield, and its belly brushed a tree sapling as it took another staggeringstep.
Angelique funneled her magic into the sapling, which grew—its trunk rapidly thickening as it shot upwards. It almost impaled the wyvern, but the monster drew back just in time, so instead the tree scraped its chest and slapped its face with its newbranches.
The wyvern snapped its jaws and flung itself at the tree, grasping it with its talons. It yanked on the tree trunk, ripping it from the ground roots and all, then flung it atAngelique.
She dropped to the ground and threw up a shield, yipping when the tree bounced down directly on the shield and rolledoff.
While she struggled to her feet, the wyvern stretched out its wings and gave an experimentalflap.
No! It’s going to get away—again!
A stabbing pain ripped through her ribs as she threw more magic—this time a monsoon-level wind that yanked on the wyvern’s wings, ripping painfully through the holes she and the Black Swan Smugglers had putthere.
The wyvern lunged at her, spittle dripping from itsteeth.
Angelique scurried backwards to avoid it, but she reopened the cut that sliced through her eyebrow. Blood dripped down her eye, blinding her on that side. She took a staggering step, barely avoiding the wyvern when it once again stretched its wingswide.
Every muscle in her body screamed with pain, and Angelique felt the edge of exhaustion loom behind her. With her good eye, Angelique glanced at the shards of shattered spears and broken arrows that littered the ground aroundher.
And her magic churned—powerful and withoutreserve.
It’s warmagic.
The wyvern screamed and flapped its wings, tensing its legs underneath it as it prepared to pushoff.
But it will flee again, and I don’t have the strength to follow it any farther.It might get thatvillage.
She felt pulled in two directions. The allure of her magic pulled on her, but it didn’t quite manage to cover up the worried whisper that using it was giving in. But the weight of duty and the knowledge that if she didn’t take the wyvern down now, she’d need a day to recover—which left the monster a day to kill and destroy—made hersick.
I shouldn’t use my magic. The Conclave wouldn’t want me to—my life isn’t even in danger this time.But…
There was a long moment where the world was eerilyquiet.
