I aim for the most heavily besieged Ember Tower. The fact that the vampyrs have made it this far indicates that the opposing Iron Tower has already been overrun—or soon will be. The darkness makes it hard to see, only the bursts of Ember fire lighting my way.
Undoubtedly, many of the vampyrs have already fed.
They’ll be stronger for it. Harder to kill.
I’ve never seen a vampyr before today.
Nobody who ever set foot in the bloodlands has survived to speak of it.
Well, I’m about to find out if my power can end them.
Across the horizon, plumes of fire break through the darkness, lighting up the battle and revealing multiple smaller swarms of vampyrs trying to take down the serpents. But it appears their fangs can’t easily pierce the serpents’ scales. As my people fight back with their fire, the vampyrs’ burning bodies fall to the ground…
Only to get up again.
Fuck. Ordinary Ember fire doesn’t kill them.
I’m still fifty paces away from the main fight when I spot the serpent that belongs to my cousin Kaiba. The golden snake’s scales gleam as it crashes through a group of vampyrs who were trying to take down an eagle.
Kaiba’s serpent rams the group, gnashing his strong jaws, giving the eagle and its rider the chance to flee.
Before this moment, I never would have imagined an Ember Fae defending an Iron Fae.
I guess we’ll be enemies again soon enough.
Kaiba’s serpent twists in the air, circling to the left.
My heart jolts because Kaiba isn’t riding him.
Where is my cousin?
Praying he hasn’t fallen to his death, I rapidly scan the landscape, my eyes narrowed with effort to see in the dark, able only to make out details when fire lights up the sky.
Finally, I catch sight of Kaiba’s distinctive crimson flames exploding in plumes at the top of the Ember Tower I’m running toward.
My heart surges with relief.
Kaiba has proven himself to be a loyal general to me, as trustworthy as my sister, Zenaida, which is why I’ve given him and Zenaida responsibility for the tasks I can no longer safely carry out. While Zenaida manages the day-to-day of my kingdom, Kaiba leads my army.
I can’t afford to lose either of them. Not from a political point of view, nor from an emotional one.
He and Zenaida are the only Ember Fae who are willing to come near me, even if they face the threat of death by my volatile fire each time.
As I draw closer to the battle, my ears ring with the clash of iron blades, screeching eagles, shrieking vampyrs, shouting Ember Fae, and the rush of fire.
Fucking chaos.
It ignites my power in a dangerous way.
Flames flicker at the edges of my fingertips, catching in the wind as I run, threatening to explode. Making me a danger to everyone. Not only to the vampyrs.
“Kaiba!” I roar, trying to be heard over the din of battle.
I need to tell him to retreat. He needs to get all of the Ember Fae away from me so I can deal with the vampyrs without killing my own people. “Kaiba.”
It’s impossible for him to hear me above the turmoil of battle. Particularly from down here on the ground. But there’s no way I can get to the top of the tower without my serpent.
Even so, I don’t regret sending my serpent away. He already risks too much flying me around.
