But she was cut off by Raine’s pained yelp. She and Casimir turned around. Raine was in the middle of fighting off a helwraith, sword in hand, and his arm covered in blood. Pax lunged, slicing off its head.
Ava rushed over, Casimir on her heels. “Were you bitten?”
“Yes!” Raine shouted. “Fuck!”
“Shit,” Casimir murmured. “If too many of us lose access to our magic…”
“We must fall back, general,” Pax said.
Casimir’s jaw ticked. “How are we supposed to fall back if we’re surrounded?”
Jorrar joined, panting. “We must retreat.” Bite marks marred his leather armor, blood seeping down his thigh.
“Magic?” Ava asked, but she already knew the answer.
He shook his head.
Ava took a moment to scan the battle. Their men were dropping left and right, almost completely overwhelmed by the monsters as they were cut off from their magic. With only their weapons to rely on, the enemy army was advancing with little difficulty.
“What do we do?” Ava asked, trying not to give in to panic.
“Luna, has anyone seen Andras? This needs to end.”
Not yet.
But there was no time to ponder it any further.
Screeches reverberated above them. Ava’s stomach dropped. Something approached from the sky, blotting out the light of the moon. A flock of winged monsters. Hundreds.
“Oh, gods…” Raine whispered.
“To the trees!” Casimir yelled, other leaders parroting his directions. “Fall back to the trees!”
Ava took off, dodging enemy soldiers as they tried to get to cover. Lungs burning, she leaped over bodies, trying not to look at their faces and hoping they weren’t her loved ones.
They passed Aelerion, having just killed a daemon hound.
“Fall back!” Casimir shouted at him.
Aelerion spun around, sprinting to join them. A winged monster dove, landing on him with a thud. With giant claws, it tore through his armor, eviscerating the boisterous lava king in seconds.
Ava screamed. Without thinking, she ran to Aelerion. Shehad to help. Had to do something. Casimir grabbed her arm, yanking her back.
“He’s gone, Ava,” he said. “We must keep going.”
Swallowing her sobs and blinking back tears, she forced herself to turn away, resuming her race to cover.
Raine jogged beside her. “Remember what I said on the ship! Keep it together now. Fall apart later!”
Shoving away the horror, she focused on the task at hand. Get to the tree line. Escape the monsters. Reassess.
Her feet flew. Almost there.
With a shudder, one of the monsters landed on the ground in front of them, blocking the way forward. The group dispersed, drawing their weapons and surrounding it.
“Burn it, Cas!” yelled Raine, attempting to distract it with his sword so Casimir could sneak up from behind.
Casimir charged. It turned, knocking him over with its bat-like wing. This one was bigger than the others…and different…more human. Moving with fluidity and grace, it avoided their weapons with ease. Jorrar lunged with his sword, Raine drew his bow, but their efforts were fruitless.
