A little conceited, are we?I sent back down the tether, and Noctis’s laugh rattled me. I worked so hard to hide the pleasure I found in what he showed me, but my racing heart was surely giving me away.
Confidence is not the same as conceit. I’m just aware of my charm.
A sharp gasp from Zahara drew our attention back to the opening in the trees.
The village lay in shambles. Stone pillars crumbled to dust in the destruction before us. Jagged pieces of wood were strewn about at random, embers glowing faintly as ashes and smoke choked the air. Blood pooled along the ground in an irregular circle, an opening carved deep into the ruined land falling away at the center. Faint light cut through the smokey haze, dust particles catching in the light like sparks that swirled through the wind. The entire expanse was a ghost town, silent in entirety.
The ground convulsed beneath us, violent enough to throw loose stones dancing across the realm. What little trees survived the recent attack cracked and splintered as massive bodies tore through the forest, each impact echoing like thunder through the island. Deep fault split open at our feet, jagged fractures racing through the soil. The Oricaan beasts emerged from the tree line, four towing shapes pushing through the hazeof crushed leaves and drifting dust, their heavy strides shaking the air with every step toward us.
The puppeteered creatures awaited our arrival, and I knew that they sought revenge after we destroyed their entire facility.
Noctis shifted his weight so he shielded me, facing the beasts head on. The Oricaans marched forward in sync, each step covering ground that would take me twenty strides.
“I’ll distract them. You all run,” Noctis demanded, but I would be damned if I chose to run at that point. Nor would I leave him to fight off the Oricaans alone.
He threw his hands forward and pelted the gilded beasts with gusts of wind harnessing the strength of tornados. The air rotated in spirals, pulling up what little debris wasn’t destroyed in their attack. The beasts tilted back slightly, struggling to get traction again, but Noctis couldn’t hold them long enough. He kept rushing his powers into their front sides, but they only staggered and kept marching forward.
Zahara and Calvin stood together behind the god, swords in hand, but they would do no good. Jun looked between the Oricaans as if contemplating his next move.
Then, he sprinted straight for them.
“Jun!” Calvin’s voice cracked. He reached for him, but Zahara snatched him back by the wrist. He fought in her grip, frantically trying to be set free, but she held firm with her remaining arm. Devastation wracked her face as she watched the young man she considered a son run straight for the creatures.
Jun cut through the air, his feet barely touching the ground. The hood that normally hid his scarred head fell, Noctis’s billowing powers blowing it back against his will. He jumped onto a jagged tree stump and propelled himself over the golden joint of the closest beast. Landing in a flip along the ground, he aimed for the back leg, clutching to the metal appendage and climbing up inch by inch.
I watched in horror, regardless of the irate Calvin at my back. My feet reached to step, but Noctis targeted the other three Oricaans. The beasts weren’t giving in. Each one resisted his godly powers, even at his strongest.
Jun topped the closest Oricaan, reached the Terraguard soldier behind a shield of gold and set it all on fire. His flame ricocheted off the glinting metal at first, but the gilded shield wept liquid as it melted under his power. When it engulfed the man, the shrill scream that followed was pure agony to listen to.
The closest golden Oricaan fell to the ground in a crash that I was sure shook the entire Bound. Jun tumbled down with it, slowing with each jump off the falling limbered creature. He was sluggish already, as if the use of power drained him quickly, but then I remembered. He had been pouring his all into Evelyn. He wouldn’t be able to take down the other three. We needed to act fast.
I took off in the same direction, kicking up dust in my wake.
“Run!” Noctis screamed behind to the others, but I never slowed. I spun around a crashing leg of a beast as it attempted to crush me under its weight.
I sprinted past the three towering creatures, and in unison, they turned their attention to me.The trident scraped painfully against my calf and along my back with each rushing step, but I purged forward. I stripped the weapon from my back and focused on pulling from it. Heat simmered against my fingertips, and I released it through the trident, piercing through two legs of the nearest beast. They stumbled in their haste to reach me. I knew carrying the trident myself would be beneficial—not that I wanted to let anyone else hold it, selfishly relishing in the power it gave me.
I couldn’t hesitate. Couldn’t contemplate the decision or second guess my choice. I just had to take the leap.
So, I did. Right into the gaping hole the Oricaans guarded at their backs.
I fell for what felt like an eternity. Seconds stretched and warped, then dissolved into something closer to minutes as the world above me receded into a distant blur. Light did not penetrate the tunnel, a constant void although I jumped through the opening in broad daylight.
Frantic beats hit against the brick wall I built in my mind. If this would mean my death, I didn’t want Noctis to witness it. Regret overwhelmed the terror as I dropped further and further.
Massive arms closed around me in the darkness, the sudden grip jolting me still. They held me tight—almost desperately—as if letting go wasn’t an option they were willing to consider.
Noctis.
Then, we crashed intoa body of water.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
My legs instantly shifted into my mer tail, working to propel us both to the surface to ensure Noctis could breathe. My eyes slowly began to adjust to the dark, only to see that we had landed in a cave opening. Arched stone surrounded us as if crafted and carved out by fingernails. Scratches littered the walls, and decaying human bones floated atop the water.
A human skull drifted toward me, skin like oxidized leather crusting the ivory bone in patches. My stomach turned, remembering the helm that ripped into my own skin made of the same material. Noctis must have noticed the feeling, because he shoved the carcass away.
“The titan’s not in here,” I whispered, searching around the dark tunnel. The only inhabitants in the cave were the fleshless bodies, and they were not going to be helpful at all against the approaching armies.
