Only moments ago, as I ran along the ground ahead of her, I paid quiet homage to her bravery.
Her sudden, rapid blinking tells me she’s shocked she isn’t already on fire.
Then she focuses ahead, eyes narrowed, speed increasing.
Soaring upward, she hurtles toward the top of the Ember Tower, where my cousin Kaiba fights. He stands with four other fae, three of them Ember Fae and one, unexpectedly, an Iron Fae.
The stone tower is smeared with blood, ash, and enough gore that other fae have clearly fallen prey to the vampyrs, but Kaiba stands his ground, and now there’s a lull in the attacking creatures.
The serpent approaches at breakneck speed, but I time my jump so I drop to the tower top right beside Kaiba.
The female serpent carves a sharp turn in the air, lifting above the path of Kaiba’s crimson fire and soaring back into battle.
My cousin’s eyes meet mine while his flames continue to wash across the space in front of me, keeping the vampyrs at bay.
His clothing is burned in places, torn in others, his hood and mask completely ripped off. But he carries the horn at his waist that will communicate my orders to our warriors across the battle.
“Cousin!” His fire continues to blaze, but it’s clear to me that his energy is nearly expended. I can tell by the slight sputter in his flames, and the gaps in the continuity of the stream of fire.
He’s powerful. One of the strongest Ember Fae, but he’s been fighting for too long.
“Retreat!” I roar at him. “Get everyone back.Everyone. Even the Iron Fae. I’ll deal with the vampyrs.”
He doesn’t question me. Doesn’t hesitate. My people may fear me, and for good reason, but Kaiba has always trusted me.
He doesn’t waste breath on further acknowledgements. Dousing his fire, his arms visibly shaking, he lifts the horn to his lips and blows.
The command to retreat booms out around me. A series of short, sharp blasts signaling our warriors to fall back.
Kaiba’s serpent answers the call, soaring toward the tower top.
The Iron Fae fighting on the other side of the tower top doesn’t stop fighting. He won’t understand the signal and, even if he sees our retreat, he can’t follow it, for the vampyrs keep coming at him.
No doubt, without power over fire, the Iron Fae are their preferred targets. It’s not lost on me that the vampyrs were part of the Iron Fae’s curse.
As my people fall back, I run toward the lone Iron Fae as he cuts through a vampyr, creating a brief gap in the onslaught. If I thought I could control my fire well enough, I’d use it now to target the next stream of vampyrs, but I can’t risk it.
The Iron Fae jolts at my approach and backpedals away from me. Then his eyes widen as he seems to finally register what I’m shouting as I run toward him.
“Jump onto that small serpent,” I roar, gesturing to the female who soars along beside Kaiba’s beast. “Jump! Jump now!”
The Iron Fae’s face is pale. I register a scar across his clean-shaven chin, unusual for a highborn, but more than that, in that brief moment, I’m astonished at how young he looks.
Fuck, he can’t be more than seventeen, but he held his own next to an Ember General. This young Iron Fae, his sword covered in black ooze, his arms shaking, and his face smudged with sootand blood.
His eagle must be dead, but he should be adept at leaping onto a flying creature, so he should be able to safely make the jump.
He hesitates, his shoulders hunched and forehead puckered, but only for a moment. He must be weighing up death by vampyr—or, if he realizes who I am, death by fire—against the reality of becoming a prisoner in my kingdom. If he’s aware of my father’s misdeeds, he’ll have cause for concern.
But I’m not my father. For one, I look my enemies in the eye when I end them.
Just as I could end this fae right now.
He chooses life, running the short distance to the edge of the tower and leaping out into space, landing neatly moments later on the small serpent’s back.
Kaiba jumps from the tower top at the same time, leaping from the far side onto his serpent’s back. Once seated, he continues to sound the horn, calling our warriors away from the fight.
Within moments, all of our warriors soar past me on their golden serpents.
