The cat growled and shook his head, as if saying no.
“I can’t understand everything. But I think he’s trying to tell us they’re not there.”
“How would he know that? He just got here,” Raine said, and the cat snarled at him again. “Why doesn’t he like me?” Raine whispered harshly.
“Maybe he can sense your silliness,” Maeryn teased. A reassuring chirp from the leopard. “See? An accurate guess.”
“If the weapons aren’t there, where are they?” Ava asked. “Do you know?”
The animal nodded.
“Can you show us?”
The leopard glanced toward the battle—where the fae were now making headway against the daemons and their monsters with the help of their feline assistants—then let out an echoing snarl. Three fyreleopards broke from the others and returned, landing next to their friend.
The cat padded up to Ava and lowered itself. She climbed on its back and gestured to the other leopards. “Well, get on.”
“What?” Raine balked. “I swear to the Mother, if this thing eats me…”
“Hurry up,” Casimir barked at Raine, already mounted.
Raine grumbled, approaching his steed. “Please be nice, kitty cat.”
It growled, but lowered itself just the same.
“Stop calling them that,” Ava said. “They don’t like it.”
Raine climbed on, settling himself in between the creature’s wings. Ava’s stomach lurched when they took off into the sky, Raine’s curses echoing as they flew over the castle toward the back of the city.
“Where are they taking us?” Ava yelled at Maeryn.
“I’m not sure. I believe the forges are back here!”
“Look!” Casimir shouted, pointing at the edge of the city.
Lava flowed from the nearest volcano outside the city wall, splitting into small rivers, a massive building sitting over them. But that wasn’t what he was pointing to.
It was a caravan of three wagons filled with obsidian weapons and arrows, guarded by a group of daemon soldiers. Their enemies were attempting to escape with the very weapons they’d been searching for.
“We must stop them!” Maeryn shouted.
The leopards flew on, upping their speed. As they closed in, Ava’s eyes caught on someone familiar. A woman with long white hair.
Deidamia.
“What’s she doing here?” Raine exclaimed, but the rest of their conversation was cut short as a ball of purple flames shot toward them from Deidamia’s hand.
Ava’s leopard dove out of the way. The heat of the daemon queen’s fire was so intense Ava would have thought it had grazed her arm had she not seen with her own eyes that her skin was intact.
“Burn them all!” Ava commanded the creatures.
The group swooped low as flames spouted from the cats’ mouths, catching most of the soldiers on fire. They circled back, avoiding another burst of purple flame, and dove again for the remaining daemons. It wasn’t long before they were smoldering corpses crumpled on the ground.
But despite Deidamia being hit with fire multiple times, she was still standing. Untouched.
The fyreleopards snarled and dove for the daemon queen, sending her running toward the building.
They landed near the wagons with a shudder and Avadismounted. Before she had a chance to thank them, the animals returned to the sky, rejoining the battle.
