One last stand.
Ellie took in the chaos surrounding them. She couldn’t comprehend how the numbers had increased. She didn’t particularly care.
One last stand.
She could do that beside Rion.
She could do that for Kirian.
Ellie stepped around Gavin. His face was already turning ashen. Rion’s attention shifted to the male.
“He’s dying,” Ellie said simply. Then her magic whispered beneath her skin, greeting her like an old friend. She’d been ignoring it, begging it to just leave her alone. But she would use it now. Even if it were all in vain, she’d use it and make these bastards suffer.
Ice crackled across the surface of her skin. It coated the air surrounding her, shifting the droplets to specks of ice. She stared at the creatures snapping their jaws, clawing against therapidly swirling earth only to have their limbs torn from their bodies.
Ellie spread her arms wide. Her magic followed. She counted the bodies. Her magic stretched further. Then in one giant wave, Ellie let ice and water consume the world before her. Everything became a sea of white and blues, the very particles in the air freezing to become tiny, jagged weapons.
Everything sped faster and faster until she matched Rion’s tempo … then exceeded it. Spears of ice pieced her enemy’s flesh one second, then tore through it the next. Huge chunks hurled through the air, hitting the ground, crushing the monsters, then they broke apart and joined the frenzy.
The Dark Fae fell one at a time in her sea of chaos. But Ellie didn’t feel like chaos. She felt … free.
One last stand.
Ellie let the magic rush through her body. She let it consume and overtake her. Calm settled throughout her mind as she pushed and pushed and pushed, becoming an unstoppable force that rivaled—no—surpassed even the High Lord of Storms.
She was a Lady of Móirín and it was time the world knew exactly what she was capable of.
Chapter Forty-Four
Saoirse
Saoirse felt the creatures before anyone ever saw them. All the warriors from Brónach did. She paused mid-movement, glancing toward her brother from across the field. Alec buried his blade into the chest of a Dark Fae, then kicked it aside before turning to meet her gaze. Her heart pounded. The ground trembled beneath their feet, then the earth bubbled up directly in front of her, blotting out her elder sibling, rising, rising, rising until creatures burst from the mound like animals rushing to escape a fire.
She took a single step back before leaping into the fray, magic and steel tearing down enemy after enemy. Saoirse couldn’t let their line falter. The dark creatures had already successfully scattered their defenses a handful of times, but between her, Alec, her mother, and several other seasoned warriors, they’d always managed to recoup. But this—seven hells, what was she supposed to do with this?
Trees rose up, caging in the surging beasts and funneling them through a single narrow opening. She summoned those same poisonous plants that had surrounded her mother in the forest and let them sprout in the center of the chaos, wrapping around the creatures in the hopes that it would slow their movements.
A group of warriors to her left were blasted back when one of the Dark Fae loosed a spray of molten fire. The acrid stench of burning flesh permeated the air. One female clutched a blackened arm while her comrade yanked her back, sword out and magic flailing. Saoirse buried a tree trunk through the beast’s chest and smirked when that same fire leaked from itsside. The beast writhed and fell, consumed by its own foul abilities. Served it right.
“Hold steady,” Saoirse roared above the madness. Her second was at her side moments later, his subordinates layering their magic with her own, battling the monsters back with the hope of keeping them contained.
Large creatures with worm-like bodies exploded on impact, leaving a nasty greenish fluid behind that nearly had Saoirse gagging. She hated bugs. Hated worms even more.
Terrified screams echoed across the field. Commanders bellowed orders. She spun again, ready to intervene, then gaped. The mound of monsters she’d barely managed to contain wasn’t the only one. Dozens upon dozens had sprouted up, breaking through their defenses all across the area.
They were being overrun. Their warriors were scrambling. She swallowed hard. Saoirse had thought they might stand a chance. The battle had been going well. Difficult, but manageable.
But now—now, holy gods.
Half delirious, Saoirse threw herself into the frenzy, slashing at anything within her blade’s reach. She pivoted. Fire spun toward her. With a roar, Saoirse tore a thick tree from the ground to block. It shattered on impact, embers flying in all directions.
Saoirse yanked vines up from the bowels of the earth and wrapped their thick woody stems around all four legs of the creature that had set its eyes on her. She honestly wasn’t sure which enemy she preferred to face. These beasts with their hulking bodies and spitting fire, or the ice wielders that froze everything with a single touch.
The creature roared and opened its gaping maw, but Saoirse sent another thick trunk straight down the Dark Fae’s throat. It gagged and whimpered, trying to step back and clawat the protruding object. She left it to suffer and spun to confront another worm. Saoirse grimaced at the rows of razor-sharp fangs lining the inside of its mouth. They’d sever a limb in seconds.
Saoirse adjusted her slickened grip on her weapon. The creature’s towering gray body swayed, then it lunged. She jumped to one side and hacked the vile thing in half. Green fluid splattered against her shirt, mixing with the rest of the blood and gore soaking her clothes. Disgusting. She’d always hoped to meet her end after a warm bath and a luxurious bottle of wine. She’d never given much thought to exactly how it would come about, only that she wanted to be warm and comfortable. To hell with a glorious end on the battlefield. Everyone else could have it if they wanted.
But glory was the Fae’s way, she supposed. Stupid ancestors. She sighed and hacked through another creature, watching in disgust as another with short, scaly legs lapped up the contents of its comrade’s stomach. Saoirse glanced up, searching for Alec amidst the chaos. Two mounds had formed around him. He was spinning, fighting with so much strength that she briefly wondered how he’d fare against their father now. She smirked. If she had to go out fighting, then her pride certainly wouldn’t allow her brother to outmatch her.
