Oh, great. That meant me. I somehow grew ovaries of steel as I looked Droga straight in the eye and said, “You need me if you want to find them.”
Torture is not one of my favorite methods, though I am not afraid of using it, Droga replied.I will convince you to tell me where the Crystals are willingly, with enough time. All fae eventually fall for me. It is a talent of mine.
No way was I gonna let Droga take me prisoner so I could develop Stockholm Syndrome. But at least I’d bought myself some time. Korva’s eyes burned violently, furious she’d missed her chance to take my life.
Droga strode away from me and turned in place, gesturing to the cultists.I thank all of you for your patronage, but the time has come for you to serve your purpose. Know that each of you shall be rewarded in the Underworld.
All of the cultists collapsed at once, including Acolyte Vesper. They writhed on the ground, clutching at their throats as foam spewed out of their mouths. In seconds, they died. I watched as Vesper clawed at the earth, eyes popping out of his head as his body seized, then suddenly went still.
My body shook. Droga had drained their magic without blinking an eye. I’d never seen such an incredible display of power.
Droga inhaled deeply.Ah. It feels so good to feed again.
Gabby strode forward. “My lord. Sosna is yours.”
She pointed at me, and gods, I wanted to slap her. But Droga paid her no mind.The Worldweaver is a special treat. Her power is to be saved for a greater time, Droga said shortly.Besides… I want those Crystals.
Droga reached out and put a hand on me. I screamed, thinking this was it, but my cries died in my throat as I recognized tall buildings and street lamps. Droga had transported us from the grave to the middle of Dolinska’s square. We were in front of Milonna’s cathedral. He’d brought Gabby with us, but left Antonia, Korva, and Lucien behind, as if he’d found them too unimportant to bother with.
At least my dad would be far away from this. Droga’s eyes glimmered with greed as he took in the sights of the city... the theater, the cathedral, the palace in the distance.My, my. Things certainly look different.
He morphed once again into the monstrous black stag.Time for me to gain my vengeance. These inferior mortals will pay for failing to worship me.
Droga charged forward. He took to the skies, hooves galloping on starlight and leaving behind a trail of fire and shadow. He put his antlers down and crashed into the nearest building. It smashed to pebbles in an instant, collapsing to the street. The people inside called out as they were crushed alive.
Droga did that with the entire block. He flattened every building in the area before moving onward, galloping in the direction of the palace. Once he arrived, he rammed his antlers into it full speed. A sob of grief died in my throat as I watched Droga turn the palace to ruin, flattening the place with no more effort than the wind redirecting a floating leaf. The palace crumbled underneath his weight, towers falling inward and smashing the outer walls. A massive cloud of dust rose over the place where the palace had once been, and Droga charged on.
I had friends in there. Ozzie, Jasper, Amantha… Vara. Could they be gone?
I couldn’t imagine anyone had survived the collapse of the palace, servant, noble or otherwise. Anyone who was inside that building when Droga hit it had been flattened in seconds. If my friends had been inside the palace when Droga struck it, they were certainly no more.
A thought crossed through my mind, and my heart was crushed.Tygrys. I’d left my faekin behind at the palace.
My poor littlemalyludwy.He was dead, along with all the others. Tears began running down my face, and I put a hand over my mouth to keep from crying out.
Gabby looked elated at all the destruction. She turned in place with a joyful smile as she watched Droga stomp the theater underfoot, turning the shopping districts to rubble.
I wanted to do something, but I was frozen in time as I watched Droga’s hooves and antlers smash each building to pieces. Fae ran out of their houses, grabbing children and screaming to the gods to save them.
The streets became packed by the thousands, but for some strange reason, everyone avoided Gabby and I. It was as if they did not see us. I took a few steps forward, but was unable to go any farther. I raised a hand, and found some sort of invisible shield keeping me in.
Droga must’ve put a ward around us, to keep us protected from the falling rubble… or rather, keep me contained. We could not leave the area, nor could anyone see us.
Hope gave a dying breath inside of me. Even if my friends arrived, they wouldn’t be able to find me. Droga’s shield made me invisible. I really was his prisoner.
Fae took flight to the skies, escaping to the countryside, while carriages crashed into each other in a mad dash to leave the area. Anyone left standing in the streets was crushed by falling buildings.
When I could see clear across the city to the mountain range beyond, the realization hit me. There was no more city. Donlinska was gone. It’d been flattened in seconds. All that remained of Malovia’s capital was a pile of concrete, and all the bodies that lay underneath it.
There was a massivecrashabove me. I looked up, and let out an aching cry. Droga had smashed into the ceiling of the cathedral, breaking its beautiful feature window and setting the building on fire. The dark fire licked at the sides of the cathedral eagerly. They were unlike normal flames, burning at a speed that was supernatural, turning wood and stone to dust in seconds.
I fell to my knees as I watched theKatedra da du Boyinaburn. The greatest moments of my life had been in that cathedral, within Milonna’s sacred embrace. Now it was becoming embers and ash, hundreds of years of history going up in smoke.
Priestesses fled from the inside of the cathedral, screaming like mad and weeping that it was on fire. The high priestess emerged from the cathedral, holding her headdress and appearing furious.
“Who has dared to set the cathedral ablaze?” the high priestess raged. “I will not tolerate this assault on the house of the gods!”
She ceased to speak as she saw Droga. Her mouth dropped open. Droga emitted a low laugh, and the high priestess collapsed on the ground. He absorbed her power with a deep rumble in his throat. The high priestess gave a dying sigh, her fingernails still clawing at the cobblestone as she perished.
