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The Dark Watch pounded their fists over their chests. Unfettered Folk slammed the ends of their spears against the soil, and a breathless sort of chant from their chests followed.

“We take our places in battle,” Elisabet went on. “I pray we meet off the field today. But if not, speak of our bravery and honor to those in Salur.”

The queen raised her sword.

We did the same, a wave of steel cutting over leather sheaths. Spears, bearded axes, and swords, all pointed toward the somber morning sky.

The next move divided archers and foot warriors for their first marks. Roark pushed through the bustle and gripped my arm, pulling me against his chest. One palm trapped my face. His scorching red eyes were encircled with dark veins from the poison, but he looked down at me like he wanted to burn my features into his thoughts.

“I will see you soon.” My voice croaked.

Roark opened his palm over my heart and tapped my chest three times. Yours, body and soul.

“Stay alive, Ashwood.”

He kissed me quickly. Then he tore away, like he had to break it or he never would.

“Ready to have some fun, Ly?” Thane shouldered a bow and covered his head with a thick wool hood.

I did the same and fell in next to the prince. The archers were led by Kaysar and another man with a shorn head inked with a wolf skull that looked as though it was devouring him. We took the back road up the knolls at a slow run, crouching in our positions.

“We send the signal,” Kaysar insisted. “Lyra Bien.”

I jolted from the brisk tone.

He grinned. “This has been your battle since before you were born. Will you begin it, so you might finally end it?”

I blinked, a little stunned, but Thane winked from beneath his hood and handed me one of his arrows. A Dark Watch dipped the point in a pungent oil, then sparked a flame.

I blew out a breath, drawing my bowstring taut against my cheek. Straight ahead, dark rows of Stav Guard awaited their own fates. Was Edvin there? Was Gisli, Hilda’s kindhearted husband, forced to fight for Stonegate?

I could not think of it now.

Today, I fought for the whole of the realms. I waited for craft to summon the bone to me. A glitter of dainty ribbons unfurled from the arrow shaft, reaching for the nearest shoulder, thigh, or skull.

Golden threads rippled over the knolls, the mists, until they danced around the neck of a Berserkir on the front line. An opening between his hardened soul bones. In one small spot on the side of his throat, there was room for more.

The moment the threads of craft found their first mark, I let the arrow fly.

A guttural shout of pain echoed over the field when the Berserkir jolted back, the flaming arrow lodged into his neck. Fire licked around his shoulders and chest, devouring him as he fell.

He landed backward, causing the front line to scramble to avoid being set aflame. Stav Guard rumbled and repositioned. Some lifted shields. Others crouched a little deeper.

Fadey looked up to the top knoll. The burn of his rage dug beneath the skin. He pointed his sword toward the place where I’d fired.

When his blade fell, a battle ignited.

The flood of the Dark Watch shuddered across the damp soil. At the castle, horns blared from behind the Shield Riders, warning of our approach. Stav formed tight units. The Dark Watch struck swifter.

“Set those shields ablaze like the molten hell!” Kaysar shouted.

I stood and fired with the archers. Another wave of burning arrows assaulted the flanks where Shield Riders took comfort. Myrdan warriors cried out when burning arrows caught the wood of their shields. Men scrambled to be free of the shields tied to their arms. Some fell from their steeds, the horses fleeing from the inferno.

Screams mingled with the falling warriors. The Dark Watch, led by the queen and by Roark, collided with the front row of Berserkirs. A collision of steel and blood burst between the two sides.

Thane was ruthless with his shots, calculated, merciless. He killed a man who went for Yrsa before the Stav could even finish lifting his blade. Another breath and the prince had a Shield Rider pinned to a tree, an arrow through his skull.

I hunted for Fadey.