Into the village. Toward the defenseless people who remained.
Was Ferris' theory right? Had the scáde wrested control of their minds with but a song, directing them to ignore the flames that would otherwise draw their gaze?
The giant black dragon leading the assault shrugged off the flames—they licked his scales, but left no mark. With great, powerful strides, it cleared the walls and stalked across the burning field toward Reese.
Yellow eyes piercing the shadows like beacons, the dragon reared back its head. Every muscle in my body tensed as its jaw opened and snapped down at Reese.
He spun his rapier and thrust it upward as the dragon bit down. Fire erupted in its mouth as a spear of molten lava tore through its maw. Black blood poured from the wound.
Thundering steps dragged my attention away from the Paragon. One of those black-vined creatures was lumbering toward me, vertical mouth opening as it saw me.
I flinched, but it passed me by. A second followed, pausing only long enough to glance in my direction.
Galasvar had not been a fluke. They would not attack me.
A shrill hum rose over the crackling flames and roars. The scáde—that was its song.
It was coming from somewhere just beyond the wall.
If nothing would touch me . . .
I could reach the scáde and kill it.
Adrenaline burst through my lungs. Tightening my grip on Cierthine's hilt, I sprinted toward the hole in the wall.
A pack of shardwolves dashed past me, streaks of icy mist following in their wake. One clipped my side, sending frigid shivers through my body. Stumbling, I slipped between a pair of vined horrors and felt one's thorned appendage slide across my cheek, drawing blood.
Searing light illuminated the darkness. Radiant arrows shot from Reese and rose into the sky, where they elongated into golden blades. Whirling through the sky like birds in flight, they sought out enemies and ran them through.
Two thudded through the maws of the horrors behind me and ripped out the back of their mouths.
I flinched and instinctively raised my hands as blood showered across my back. But the radiant blades avoided me, soaring past my sides to seek a wyvern above my head. The beast spun, trying to escape the swords' path.
Radiant beams clipped its wings. Losing balance, it tumbled from the sky. Throwing myself forward, I landed face down in the mud. I heard—and felt—the wyvern crash behind me.
The great black dragon stumbled back as one of Reese's blades found a chink in its neck scales. It shifted, enormous claws lifting from the muddy wetlands.
Scrambling to my feet, I ducked out of the way as its massive leg landed nearby, gouging the earth and sending tremors through the world.
Amidst the chaos, I found a brief respite. The tide of monsters surging through the wall stopped.
Nothing blocked me from reaching it now.
I sprinted toward the wall and threw myself into the gap.
I landed on chunks of broken stone and scrambled over the rubble.
Into the world of shadow beyond.
Darkness engulfed my vision, turning all to black.
Then, shapes and outlines appeared in the dark—a ground beneath my feet, a sky above.
Water poured from above and plunged into an endless chasm. The faint outlines of jagged rock flanked it.
Another blink, and the haze cleared. I stood in another world.
The waterfall gleamed electric blue and tumbled from a floating island. Jagged rocks hung in the air, frozen and unmoving. A field of swaying flowers covered in a fine powder of snow stretched before me. Each petal shone with silver light.
