Riders broke from formation instantly, charging towards the flank. Seconds later, a wave of Drakens hit that exact position.
I knew that was going to happen. What the fuck.
He watched the ridge, heart pounding. It held. Sam’s men held it. But if they hadn’t reinforced–
He didn’t have time to think about the flash of Sight he was sure he’d gotten. He had to keep fighting. The sun was high in the sky now, but past its peak, its heat beating down on the field. His father held further down the line, crimson blazing as he carved a path through the tide of enemies. His blade moved almost of its own accord, spinning to take the next before the first had fallen. The speed, the precision – they were brutal, efficient, relentless. Tobias Thorne was still as deadly as the stories had always claimed. But then a Draken slipped through, his blade arcing low. Tobias turned too late. The strike cut through his side, and he staggered, blood spraying across the field. He fell to his knees on the sand, still fighting, but gasping now, dark red pouring through his fingers.
No!
“Father!”
Sebastian threw himself down from the saddle and was at Tobias’s side in an instant. He ended the Draken with a single vicious swing.
“Go,” Tobias rasped. “Leave me–”
“Not a chance,” Sebastian snapped, pressing his hands to the wound. “Hold still.”
“Stubborn boy,” Tobias muttered weakly.
“Learned from the best,” Sebastian said wryly as emerald flared from his palms, healing magic flooding the wound.
Steel clashed all around him – their soldiers had formed a wall, buying him the seconds he needed. Behind them, Hale healers were already there, dragging wounded behind the barricades with grim efficiency. Their shouts mingled with the screams, as they marked those they could save over those already gone. His father’s bleeding slowed under his hands, the muscle knit, the skin sealed. Tobias’s eyes flew open, locking on him with unmistakable pride.
“My son, the Healer,” Tobias smirked.
“Get up, old man. We’re not finished yet,” Sebastian growled.
He hauled his father up and for the second time in recent weeks, Tobias pulled him into a sudden, fierce embrace. Just for a second – whilst the battle raged around them.
“Thank you,” Tobias said gruffly.
The man won’t stop hugging me.
And Sebastian didn’t hate it.
“Stay standing, okay?” Sebastian muttered, already reaching for his sword, and then he was back in the fight.
He hadn’t had time to remount before two Drakens came charging towards him. Sebastian swung his blade viciously, and they fell where they stood. He barely drew breath, wiping blood from his face before searching for Kara – and froze. Her valmare was empty, blood streaking across its flank as it fled across the beach. Too much blood. Panic shot through him. He wrenched his head left, then right, scanning the chaos. Crimson flared, Sorrel arrows hissed, boulders flew – but no Kara. Smoke from burning barricades billowed across the line, turning the air heavy with ash. His throat stung. Eyes watered. He could hardly see. The bond pulsed inside him, but not enough, not clear enough to show him where she was. His heart hammered so violently he couldn’t hear the sounds of battle. His vision narrowed as he ran, searching, tunnelling on empty saddles, bloodied sand, anything that might be her. If she needed him and he wasn’t there, if he lost her–
“Kara! KARA!”
Nothing.
He shouted her name over the thunder of clashing steel as he shoved his way down the line. Henry on valmareback caught his eye.
“Henry! Where is she?”
Henry’s ice-white hand jerked to the right, gesturing along the line. “There!”
Sebastian followed the direction and his blood ran cold. Kara was on foot, alive, not too far away, but several Drakens were between them. Her sword was flashing as she fought side by side with Sienna. Some Lyrans had descended from the ridges to keep the shadow magic at bay – countering the fear tearing through his men’s minds – their courage magic more urgently needed on the ground. Violet magic flared again and again, joining the sea of Caldris ice-white in the battle against the darkness. Sienna’s violet poured from her hands, but she was using it to drag fear through the Draken ranks, slowing their advance. Kara was filling the gaps with shields, and roots, golden and crimson flaring wildly as she tore down anyone that slipped through. She was holding her own, and the bond thrummed with her focus, her determination, but also exhaustion. Her shield was struggling... one wrong blade could shatter it.
Sebastian ran.
He didn’t slow for any that got in his path. The first got a blade through the stomach. The second he suffocated with roots. When a third and fourth charged at him, amber light burst from his hand and a boulder from the nearest barricade crushed them where they stood. But their lines were being pushed back by the sheer number of them. The mind magic attack had cost them ground they couldn’t afford to lose – some of his men were already behind the barricades. Drakens poured across the sand, several now climbing the timber walls, unstoppable, heedless of the stones and axes that smashed them down, trampling their own dead to break the Vallennan line. The Durent men were starting to be forced backwards, but they fought like demons, making the Drakens pay for every step. Sebastian’s chest burned, his sword felt heavier, but he forced himself forward. He called for his emerald magic, and it flared on command. His muscles healed as he moved, and the tightness in his lungs eased. He had to get to her.
Thank the Gods for healing magic.
He heard his father shouting orders somewhere down the line as he reached Kara’s side. A moment later, a familiar voice sounded behind him, ragged but fierce.
