Page 285 of The Gods Order

The command erupts from my lungs before I even realize I’m shouting. A pair of Defenders glance toward me, fucking dumbfounded.

“Down!”

They drop instantly.

Black essence bursts from my free hand.

Not enough to consume the battlefield. Just enough that the Oblirians charging behind them dissolve into drifting ribbons of gray before they ever reach striking distance.

I don’t wait to watch them disappear.

Yemi.

Where was—

There.

Her long black braid and glowing golden irises flash between a wall of armor before vanishing again.

Still too damn far.

I shove forward.

Every step costs another Dark God or Oblirian their life. Every yard gained demands two more.

A shriek spills from my lips as an undead creature barrels past me, jaws snapping around an Oblirian’s shoulder before hurling him into another. My neck tilts up and a thankful laugh leaves me as I spot Otiero atop a Veilatara with his hands stretched out.

The battlefield is full of the dead and the living.

It throbs like a heartbeat.

Roaring. Bleeding. Shifting with every breath.

The front lines no longer exist.

I duck beneath another blade, roll between two Dark Gods, and jump to my feet. My sword cuts through an abdomen before I kick the corpse away, while my other hand sends a rope of black straight through the other’s chest.

A familiar giggle carries over the clash of steel somewhere to my left and my heart skips a beat.

Riven.

The sound disappears beneath a fucking explosion.

For the stars.

“Thayla!”

Yemi.

I snap toward her voice.

Thirty yards. Maybe less.

“Thay.”

Everything stops for a fleeting second as the whisper steals my attention. My sword comes up on instinct and I spin.

Green eyes collide with mine as warm fingers clamp around my raised wrist.