CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
Aelius Soleia, harnesser of suns. Fire and flame bow to his name.
—Lock Scroll, the Arx.
Black clouds rose in the distance like a smudge of coal across gray linens. The winds tore at us, and though my shield held, it did nothing against the heavy, wet snow leaking from the sky. Winter had landed.
We’d flown hard and fast along the coast of Sultira for the better part of two weeks, now nearing Kayj. Flying for the Ramadiel Bone and the dark king. For vengeance.
Enya’s blade pressed against my back, its hard presence like the steady hand of fate pushing me forward. Despite my numb fingers tangled in Tiberius’s mane, my body was hot.
Raging. Ready.
Ready to return to the place of horrors I’d escaped months ago. I left Kayj with a rip in my soul. Broken and bleeding and hating myself for what he’d done. For whatI’ddone. I would return ready to rip through Dark King Daimos and his fragile castle. Ready to shoulder the burden required to save the ashen,to rid the realm of evil. Ready to sacrifice my soul for the damned and fight for the living.
A dark form flew in the distance, followed by a wave of apprehension. Aquila. Ti’s ears flattened against his head.
Lotrennian ships east of Kayj,Ti murmured, relaying the message from Aquila.Most of them were upturned.
Alarm sparked through my system. I squinted against the blur of white and gray that made up the wintery horizon, cursing my human eyes.
“At least two hundred ships,” Vulcan called into the wind. He shifted behind me as he adjusted his grip on Ti’s mane, unstrapping his bow and taking aim at the warriors he could spy from above.
A confident push of determination washed over me as Olienna’s Bellator connection materialized in my mind.
Leave the ships. Head to the fortress,her crystal voice sounded in my and Nerissa’s minds, the shared channel of communication somehow less alarming than the Stone Witch’s forced entry.
Daimos had created a monster with the Transcindiel power that now swirled in my veins. Turning Olienna into something she dreaded, something she hated, and twisting the spell so she couldn’t speak of it to anyone, her words escaping in riddles and rhymes. She couldn’t tell anyone the truth, even if she wanted to. But this bond… Thisconnectionwith those who shared the Bellator powers was as much a part of my soul as my connection with Tiberius.
I glanced back to where seven Sultiran ships flew in a steady pyramid, like an imposing air invasion. Olienna stood in the center of the leading ship, in front of the mast, with her slender arms extended to either side, bits of light sparking off her. She seemed younger since leaving Sultira, her eyes brighter.
Her gray battle gown billowed around her high boots. The black armor lining her chest and arms sharpened her features. Her violet eyes glowed as she sent an unfathomable amount of power and wind into the sails of the small fleet, controlling each and every one of them. Tiberius and Aquila banked left as the clouds parted, and my gut sank.
Hundreds of white and gold Lotrennian ships dotted the gray-blue waters of the Juniper Sea, too many upturned and blazing. We passed into the black clouds of Kayj, where a line of War Slayers engaged with the silver-armored elves of Nivis, blades glinting against the sharp, blood-soaked rocks that bordered the shore. A loudthunkdrummed, followed by the stinging hiss of an arrow… No… a ship’sbolt. Panic ripped through Ti’s bond.
“LEFT!” Vulcan screamed as the six-foot-long ship’s bolt hurtled toward us.
Tiberius flipped, his wings going vertical as he spun midair. I clung to his neck, my shins glued to his side. I stole a glance behind in time to see a dark smudge of ships in the distance, and though I couldn’t see it, I knew theHydra’sflag flapped high above them, less than an hour behind us.
As Tiberius righted himself, the airborne Sultiran ships crashed into the dark bay, rocketing cannonballs into Nivis’s fleet. Three bolts fired from below. Tiberius’s huge body dodged and dipped, avoiding each one as he allowed instincts to take over. Aquila spiraled around them in the distance before narrowing his focus on one and diving.
Nerissa’s arms extended in synchrony with Aquila’s wings, and a beam of white, blazing light ripped from their falling forms, exploding into the Nivis warship below. The blast echoed across the sea, drowning out any screams from the soldiers on board.
Nerissa leaned forward on Aquila’s back as he climbed higher, away from the blazing debris. I pulled my gaze away as another bolt ripped through the sky. My stomach dropped as Tiberius flipped. The whiz of the iron was close enough to feel its heat. My eyes snagged on the massive black device at the prow of the warship below, where soldiers inserted another bolt. Tiberius’s wrath melded with my own, and we narrowed in on the ship below.
Let us out,the Obscura demanded.
Tiberius tucked his wings in tight as he dove, locking onto the ship as they aimed the deadly iron tip at us. His wings ripped open as men hurried to their stations, and we sent pure, unbridled darkness raining down at them. Black shadows of mist and smoke enveloped the ship, and an eerie silence cleaved through the air as the ash sank into the waves, a stark contrast to the thunderous blast from Nerissa and Aquila.
Tiberius banked as we scanned the horizon, searching for our next target, when a massive flash of light ripped through the storm raging at the center of the island.
Brilliant, white light. The light of life and everything good.Bayne.
I whipped my head around, searching for Aquila and Nerissa when a wave of alarm rushed in from behind. Aquila’s massive form swooped down and soared inland.
Tiberius’s wings pumped wildly as we chased after Aquila and Nerissa. The storm of Kayj intensified as we flew over the battle raging on shore. Blasts of magic and clashes of swords rocked the space, and I caught sight of two Lotrennians below, surging through the surf as they raced toward their countrymen. Carina, arms out with a look of pure hatred on the small elf’s face, was flanked by Kresida. Her blades were out and bright with blood.
“Do you want me to drop you down?—”
