Rion’s mouth opened, revealing rows of jagged white teeth.
Then a roar shattered the very foundations of the land.
Those not in combat dropped to one knee. The harpies who had been previously hovering above dove for the ground, kneeling just as the Fae knelt, their weapons held before them in offering.
Still, Rion didn't look at them.
Some of the Dark Fae fled, scrambling over their brethren as if some animalistic instinct warned them this fight was no longer worth it.
Talon slowly knelt, too. The whole world at Rion’s feet.
Rion, who wasn't an animal at all, but something else entirely. Nearly a deity himself.
Talon had grown up seeing the statues in Levea. He'd read books, fables, bedtime stories for younglings. The name had been bounced around in their history for ages. Hidden in plain sight. A name more myth-like than even the Dark Fae.
Dragon.
A dragon.
The King of Alastríona was—
Another ear-splitting cry had Talon clamping his hand over his ears and ducking his head. Rion's neck rose higher and a silhouette of feathered wings extended from the corners of the light in one great burst of movement. Then the light flew. A hundred, no, a thousand strands shot in all directions at once, arching across the entire battlefield. The entire land.
Some dropped directly below, colliding with the chests of Fae sprawled across the ground. Talon watched Fae whose hearts had barely been beating moments ago take a deep breath and sit up. They flexed their hands in confusion, searching for their wounds only to find them sealed with a bluish light.
A ray hit Aiden and Talon watched the male's eyes fly open wide before he sat up, breathing hard.
And before Talon could stop it. Before he could move, a ray hit him, filled him, blanketing his entire body and soul, stealing not only the pain but the doubt and fear with it.
Talon's exhausted body pulsed with an invigorating rush. He flexed his fingers, the joints no longer stiff. He prodded his ribs, only to find them unbruised, then he turned to Raevina.The female held out her palm and fire roared to life just as it'd done when they'd first walked out onto the field.
Talon's own magic surged beneath his skin.
He was rejuvenated. Restored.
Talon looked up again to find the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on hovering above them all, flapping a set of mighty golden wings that shimmered with every color his eyes had ever seen.
The Fairy Folk floated around her, little stars illuminated by the sun's rays.
The dragon stared at the bird with reverence and longing, then that serpent turned one glowing green eye toward him and Talon understood at last why Vairik had tried so hard to destroy him.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Saoirse
A single moment was all it ever took for the entire world to change.
The birth of a youngling.
The death of a king.
The realization that your soul was forever tangled with another’s.
And this—this was one of those moments.
A second ago, Zylah’s body had been covering hers, the female savagely protecting her while simultaneously struggling to heal the gaping wound in Saoirse’s chest. She’d felt the world fading against her will. She hadn’t wanted to leave Zylah alone, but her body had other plans.
Then warmth had pierced straight through Saoirse’s chest, filling her with a renewed sense of hope. Peace. Strength. A definitive certainty that this wasn’t the end after all.
