Page 153

Someone—she didn’t see who—gave the Fontes canteens, and Nina poured a bit into Alessa’s mouth so she wouldn’t have to let go of Kaleb and Josef.

Not enough, but it would do. There’d be time for water and food when the war was won.

She switched hands again, gathering the power they gave so freely, and hurled it forth to take down yet another wave of demons.

Breathe. Switch. Adjust to the new source of magic. Gather. Throw.

Over and over. Switch. Again.

The mantra inside her head drowned out the sound of battle.

Gather. Throw. Breathe.

With every passing hour, the cold fear in Alessa’s gut grew.

The scarabeo kept coming, wave after wave.

The army was drowning. Her Fontes were fading.

No more jokes or flashes of bravado to raise their spirits. No one had the strength to do anything but survive.

They couldn’t keep this up forever.

Then, through the demon-choked sky, a flash of white broke through in the distance.

“A ship!” Nina cried.

Hope on the horizon.

Fifty-One

A mali estremi, estremi rimedi.

Desperate evils need desperate remedies.

“Thank the gods,” Kaleb wheezed.

“Will they make it in time?” Nina asked.

“That depends”—Kamaria tried to pry Kaleb’s clenched hand free to take his spot, but he was too out of it to let go—“on how much time we give them.”

Josef waved for her to take his spot and bent, hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

A scarabeo buzzed above them, and Kamaria ducked, throwing her hands over her head reflexively.

Kaleb gasped, momentarily left with the full brunt of Alessa’s strength. She pulled away before it took him down.

Gathering what leftover power she still possessed, she threw it at the sky. Dozens of creatures lit up, bolts of lightning fracturing around them. Twitching, they lost altitude.

Kaleb was on his knees, face ashen.

“Hold on,” Alessa said. “Just hold on.”

Dante stepped in front of Kaleb, sword at the ready. A scarabeo swooped past, taunting, just out of reach, and he planted his feet to wait. The next time it dove, Dante’s sword sliced a wing free. The creature spun, and he slashed again, rendering the other wing useless and lopping off a limb for good measure.

Kamaria cried out as a disembodied claw sliced her arm to the bone.

Nina crouched, trying to stanch Kamaria’s wound.