“Aster and Brielle, you’re with me.”
Aster nodded as he pulled up on the other side of Daimon, lowering his black gaze to the scene of destruction below.
“Heard,” affirmed Brielle.
The trio nose-dived off the cliff, soaring above the waves toward the beach. He glanced at Aster. The usually steady Undine was wide-eyed—frantic. The rebels making it past the border shook them all, but these were his people. Daimon felt for him, but he couldn’t afford any of his Riders going into battle unprepared.
“Focus!” he yelled. “We don’t save anyone if we’re distracted.”
Aster and Brielle closed in tighter, prepared to follow Daimon into any terror. Daimon cataloged everything he could see in the blur of motion happening beneath him, trying to look for an opening.
The rebels had docked several cannons on land while the rest were protected in small cutouts on the sides of their ships. Their weapons were not to be underestimated, but their position wasn’t great. With the Valon fleet to the west and the ground troops of Drogheda coming from the east, they were caged in, both by sea and sand.
Still, they needed to be taken out quickly if they wanted to win this. The Valon soldiers were far more skilled than the rebels, but they were no match against the might of their cannons, which wiped out the fae in large clusters, forcing the wounded to retreat and give up their position. If they could just remove the cannons from the battle, they could force the rebels to retreat.
He focused his attention on the cannon closest to him, currently being loaded. His pulse increased as he realized it was covered in dark runes. There was no way of knowing the power it was capable of if it was cursed. Daimon raced for it, praying Zephyr would be quick enough.
A loud crack split the air, and the side of one of their ships was quickly blown to bits. It groaned loudly as it collapsed against the shore. More screams followed; a few Undine manipulating the water at the stern were caught in the blast, their bodies torn apart from the impact. Wood splintered into a thousand pieces as those aboard scrambled to abandon it.
Zephyr swooped down, closing her talons over the barrel of the cannon and dragging it off the ground. Rebels attempting to protect it were forced back, diving and covering their heads as wood splintered off in all directions. Daimon steered his wyvernback over the sea, relieved to hear the heavy splash of the weapon sinking into the depths of the Andronicus.
A line of rebel archers stepped forward, sending a flurry of arrows into the skies. Zephyr flew higher, her wings beating rapidly against the air as the weapons soared beneath them. Many of the arrows found their targets if Daimon counted by screams alone, but it did little to slow the cannonfire. The second a rebel ship docked, they flocked to the cannons.
Aster and Brielle spread out beside him. “At least fifteen more cannons left!” Aster shouted.
“They’re all marked with dark runes, Daimon,” Brielle added.
He ground his teeth together. “It’s starting,” he growled.
Whatever curses the humans tied to their weapons were affecting everyone’s magic, likely drawing on any Essence it could find to fuel itself. These were the times Daimon worried most about the outcome of a battle—when their magic felt dampened, weaker. It wasn’t just the curses maximizing the weapons’ damage; it also severely weakened any fae’s magic in the vicinity. Between that and the rebels’ overwhelming numbers, it made the battles longer—more deadly.
“Use your Essence sparingly and keep close to our soldiers. Most of them will be relying on their blades until this is over.”
If Daimon didn’t hate the traitors so much, he could almost admire the idea. All they had to do was set the curse. Then, once they got around fae, it would latch onto their magic like a leech draining them dry—their own Essence became their enemy.
But they paid a hefty price. The humans among the rebel forces couldn’t withstand using Essence; they had to martyr themselves with each weapon they bound in darkness. Even with the fae on their side, it wouldn’t be enough for the constant stream of dark objects they used in combat. Moros tricked the humans into believing in his power, and many died in the glory of his mission. But not all who fought were his followers. With the fae magic depleted, the lands south had grown fallow.Joining the rebellion was for some the only way to get rations for themselves and their families.
Daimon could feel it now, like a chain was wrapped around his chest, squeezing him—choking him. He glanced over his shoulder at Brielle, noting the way the fire in her hand flickered against the wind.
They needed to find a way to end this. Quickly. Or they were going to lose.
Three
Daimon
The trio circled backaround to the beach just as the naval forces made it to land. They were already drawing their swords, reserving their Essence for various shields instead of using it for offense.
Aegis formed walls of flames around themselves, while Undine pulled from the sea to keep a torrent of water circling them. They were outnumbered three to one, leaving the battle a race against time as their magic waned.
Zephyr dove, her talons aimed at another cannon resting on the edge of the rebels’ lines.
“On your left!” Brielle shouted from behind.
Zephyr flanked right, narrowly missing. Aster grunted in frustration, swooping down to the beach below. Brielle immediately followed him, the pair skimming along the surface of the sand. Even with their magic weakened, they still had their wyverns.
Brielle let Vero eat everything in his path. His jaws were brutal, mouth open as he tore apart three rebels at once. Aster and his wyvern did the same, careful to avoid the iron spears being thrown at them from the ground.
The rebels had reacted quickly to the wyverns, forming a lineof archers around each cannon. They only had small windows for attack now with the number of arrows being shot at them, rotating between swooping down and then shooting high into the air to avoid getting hit. The rebels’ numbers were beginning to thin, but the Valon soldiers were slowing with their dampened Essence.
