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He isn’t moving. At all.

My heart hammers against my ribs when understanding sinks in.

The same trance that gripped Leesa the day Jasper died now holds Sterling hostage. It’s as if the drachen’s tendrils slithered into his mind and are weaving a web of shadows to cloud his senses. He stands like a statue, awaiting certain death.

Desperation colors my shout. “Use your magic!”

But Sterling remains motionless, unresponsive to my plea, lost somewhere in the dark maze of his mind. Even from farther away, intense dread fills me.

Dread morphs into fear. The temperature drops, and cold pours into my bones.

“Run! Get out of their way!” Blair’s warning falls on deaf ears.

Sterling remains rooted.

He’s so still, the antithesis of the soldier I know. Terror like I’ve never experienced before seeps into my marrow.

No. Not Sterling.

I won’t let him die today.

Agnar yells, but I hear nothing beyond the roaring in my ears.

The air thickens with dread as I reach for the spark that slumbers inside me. An answering rush of power scalds my veins, exploding through me like a flooding river. Flames ignite in my palms, blazing defiance against the creeping darkness.

With a flap of my wings, I launch into the air until I reach a good vantage point. Without hesitating, I lash out at the drachen with dual whips of fire.

Leaves in the strike wither into crispy ash.

Grass shrivels.

The drachen, however, remain unfazed.

They’re getting stronger, more resilient. More resistant to flame.

A grotesque shadow beast with oozing wings that eat up the distance swoops for Leesa.

I scream a warning. “Run!”

Leesa glances up, freezes for two unbearable heartbeats, and then dashes off. I fly toward her as she races to escape the monster trailing her.

I’m still too far away to do anything but watch when she stumbles and falls.

Blair throws out his hands, and an enormous gust of wind cuts through the clearing like a scythe. The wind slams into the drachen, slowing their momentum and twisting them in the air.

The darkness continues pushing forward, but the maneuver grants Leesa just enough time to regain her feet and resume running.

Meanwhile, Sterling stands immobile, gazing straight at the monsters with a slackened jaw.

I yell his name again. Still no response.

“I can’t hold them off much longer!” Panic laces Blair’s voice as he targets the drachen with another gust of wind.

His shouts spur me into action.

My power erupts once more, this time into a wall of flames. Blair and I work together with our elements to thwart the destruction headed our way, but I already know our combined power won’t be enough.

The ground rumbles, and hundreds—maybe thousands—of rocks and roots shoot from the earth. Agnar grunts, and debris begins to swirl, forming a spinning vortex. “Blair!”