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He was not going to put that thing on my sister.

Inarus appealed to Ayla. “Do you want to live long enough to unlock your magic? Help me do what is necessary.”

Unlock her magic?

Ayla held her stature, not giving into Inarus for a moment. “That collar is as demented as your Brand. Souls aren’t yours to claim.”

Inarus sighed. “If that’s the case, I have no choice.”

A wind swept through the room; the fireplace snuffed. Gloom’s slowing presence returned. Except for the gentle glow of Ninti’s flame, the room succumbed to darkness.

There was a stench, and I didn’t need the Underworld to sense it—the Shades. They were coming.

35 | Shades and Generals

Zayne

Ninti’s flames brightened in the dark room. She flickered, casting shadows on Eleanor’s sunken form.

Gloom infected the room, the enchanted fireplace no longer keeping it at bay. My mind slowed as my Brand throbbed.

“Clear my path to the throne,” Inarus ordered his dark charges.

Ayla reached for her dual swords. Ninti growled, sharp teeth bared. I braced, sword in one hand and shadows in the other. I lowered myself, finding the lens of the Underworld, superimposing it onto the living.

The Shades came fast. There was no time to plan.

Ayla darted forward, striking for Inarus. She lunged with brute logic: take down the necromancer, remove his influence. She struck—and missed.

Instead of Inarus, she destroyed a Shade.

Preternaturally fast, the Shades stormed into the room. One had leaped before Inarus, blocking Ayla’s blade. They turned to billowing ash.

Inarus vanished through the doorway. More Shades streamed into the room.

Through Ninti’s wavering light, the Shades shifted, stilted and swift. They came for us.

I parried and sliced. Ninti’s teeth gnashed around a limb, snapping as the Shade vanished. Ayla struck two at once. Gloom slowed us, and our focus narrowed.

From the Underworld, I could see a bigger picture. Countless and numerous, the Shades could have been infinite. Elsewhere, on the fringe of my awareness, something else… somethingnewwas waking.

“They already fill the hallway,” I warned the others. “If we can give Eleanor more time… she will rise with the power of a queen.” It was a dire prospect. Facing an army this large, defeat was inevitable.

Only we didn’t have to win. We needed to delay.

Ayla already had a plan. “Push them back to the doorway, make it a chokepoint. They will be forced to enter one at a time.”

We spun into action, facing the Shades already filling the room. Defeating the horde seemed impossible, but destroying a single Shade was easy. We pressed them closer to the door.

I fought with my sword. Inarus’s necromantic threads weaved through the room, informing me. A Shade dashed into Ninti’s blind spot, and I lunged, destroying them.

The Firewolf fought with tooth, claw, and flame. Her bite could destroy, and a swipe did the same. She darted into a cluster of Shades, paused, and magic blasted from her. She became a flaming weapon, and with a single blaze, Ninti toppled countless Shades.

Ayla fought at her side, the two of them falling into sync. With her twin swords, Ayla struck down the Shades twice as fast. She created a pathway for Ninti, giving the Firewolf a platform to launch her stronger attack.

Ninti and Ayla broke through the ranks of Shades, raging toward the doorway. A Shade approached Ayla’s back—

I struck, guided by my preemptive sense. The Shade fell, and Ayla charged forward.