My knee slams into the sand, and I counter with a wave of frost that locks its feet in place. Finnick flies away from Evangeline, following up from behind, jabbing his sword straight into the creature’s eye socket. It screams in pain as a dragon flies by, spraying fire to finish the job.
We barely have time to acknowledge each other. Finnick meets my gaze before returning to Evangeline.He’s been instructed to stay with her. Finnick is small, but far from weak. He’s clever and cunning, which will serve both of them well during this battle.
“Protect the girl!” Rip roars, tearing through another creature with the weight of his massive body. His people heed his order, caging her in by making a wall around her.
I twist, heart stuttering, when I spot Evangeline moving through the battlefield like a woman on a mission. She’s not a trained warrior, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at her now. Her body trembles, but she keeps her head held high, not backing down. In her hands, she still holds the vial of tonic, pressed tight to her chest. Blood pools at her feet from the fallen, staining the bottom of her pants. She’s flanked by a few wolves, one already limping, but her focus is unwavering. Her eyes are locked on the well.
She’s so close, just a little closer now, and she’ll be able to throw the tonic into the well.
The cursed mist tries to reach for her. I can see it. The tendrils of magic from the well writhe like snakes, hungry for a soul to devour. I send a surge of frost into the mist’s path, freezing it mid-lash. Lady Thalia didn’t warn us that the well would be just as ravenous as the Nephilim. Fucking perfect, another enemy to fight. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy, and yet I still underestimated the difficulties we’d face.
“Keep going!” I shout, voice raw, hoping she can hear me above the commotion.
We’re gaining ground, pushing the Nephilim back one brutal foot at a time. The progress is slow, but it’sprogress nonetheless. The dragons fly low, spewing fire and wind. My body heats as sweat beads on my forehead. Wolves leap from creature to creature, tearing flesh from bone. Finnick takes a hit to the side and rolls with it, dragging a dagger across a Nephilim’s throat on his way down. It does little more than irritate the creature.
But the creatures just keep coming, and it feels like there’s no end in sight. They don’t feel pain like we do—that much is evident—and they will fight until their very last breath.
We’re barely holding on.
The smell of burning magic clogs my lungs. It’s so thick, nearly suffocating me. I can taste the edge of the Veil here. This place sits on the boundary between life and death, and it’s trying to drag us all into the latter. The well’s magic hums, calling out to anyone who will listen. The power is unimaginable, and seems to answer to no one, though the Nephilim have been able to use some of its power.
Another Nephilim crashes into our ranks, bowling over two wolves with a sickening crunch. I aim and channel everything I have into my ice. Frost climbs its limbs, spreading like wildfire in reverse. The beast thrashes, howling, but it’s too late. I freeze it solid. The fae near me help me kick the block of ice to shatter it.
But the toll is growing. My breath comes in ragged gasps. My magic strains, flickering at the edges. I’m losing momentum, and I didn’t have enough in reserve at the start of this. All the fae are fading fast since we’ve eaten virtually nothing. The wolves and dragons have more steam, but even they are growing sluggish in theirmovements and attacks. It takes everything in us to hold our own against these creatures. I’ve been in battles before, but never one like this. One that can cost me and the fae everything.
And then I catch sight of her again.
Evangeline breaks into a run, darting past a fallen dragon’s wing, her boots slipping in blood-soaked sand. She’s almost there—so close to the well, I can feel its magic buzzing against my skin. She raises the vial, prepared to pour the tonic into the well. I don’t see Finnick, but I know he has to be nearby.
Then, right before Evangeline can pour the tonic into the well, a Nephilim bursts from the mist behind her.
“NO!”
I run, but I’m too far away. I scream for anyone to hear, but the rage of war silences me. I’m helpless to do anything other than watch this play out like a horrifying nightmare.
The creature swipes with a clawed hand, catching two wolves and her shoulder, spinning her around. She fallshard, the vial tumbling from her grasp. I watch it arc through the air in slow motion, glass catching the firelight like a star.
And then it drops, shattering into a hundred tiny pieces. The tonic that took five days to brew is gone in mere seconds.
The world goes silent, and I lose the ability to stand, falling to my knees in the sand. The vial’s glowing contents hiss as they mix with sand and magic. Useless. Broken. That was our one chance to buy more time forNiko, to buy more time for our entire kingdom, and it’s gone.
I can’t breathe, but in the midst of our world shattering, I catch Evangeline’s eye. For the first time in my life, I know true and complete terror.
She looks at me from across the battlefield. Her lip is bleeding, and one arm hangs limp at her side from being thrown back. But her eyes are steady. Fierce. Wet with tears she refuses to wipe away. She looks and moves like a queen. This fragile human transforms into an ethereal goddess in front of my eyes.
She straightens, newfound determination strengthening her. And at that moment, I know what she has planned. What she might have had planned this entire time because Evangeline wants to save us. Even at the cost of her own life.
My blood runs cold, and it has nothing to do with the ice in my veins. I shake my head violently, my mouth already forming the worddon’t.I want to scream it, but I’m frozen in place, rendered speechless.
She takes a step back toward the well. The Nephilim hesitate around her, as if sensing what’s coming and planning their next moves. She presses a hand to her heart, trembling, yet the picture of strength. Then she mouths the words I’ll never forget.
“Tell Niko I love him.”
No. No no no?—
“And Zephyr?”
Her voice breaks across the distance. I force myself up, flailing in the sand. My body doesn’t want to cooperate, but I manage to stand and force my legs to push meforward as fast as they’ll take me. I run hard, faster than I’ve ever run in my life. But it’s not fast enough. She seems farther and farther away from me, out of grasp.
