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CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

TZAIN

S HOUTS ECHO AS I charge through the forest. All at once, the air stills. Something dark passes over the barren soil.

The black trees begin to twist.

All around me, slain Skulls rise. Their bones crack as they reset. They look at me with lopsided heads. One Skull unhooks his axe, raising it to strike.

Nothing stops me as I dive into the battle. I roll under the first Skull’s blade. I slice my axe through his neck before he has a chance to turn around. His head rolls across the ground.

Two more risen Skulls charge at me from behind. With a roar, I cut through both of them at once. Their glowing hammers fall from their hands. Their blood coats the twisting trees.

As the Skulls swarm, I feel all the time spent sparring with Koa and the Laminas in their training squares. The scars along my arms ripple with newfound strength. My body moves with deadly precision.

But memories of the ship reawaken as I fight through the risen Skulls. They crawl out of me from the void. I see every severed limb.

I feel the blood that fell like rain.

I don’t want to draw on the enemy’s power again. I’m not ready to lose control. But more Skulls emerge from the forest. Too many for me to fight alone.

“No!”

I hear my sister’s scream. I whip my head toward the cave.

“Zélie?” I call. My heart lurches as her screams grow. I look to the axe, and I don’t see another way. I slice my hand along the blade and grab on to the hilt.

Blóeseier.

A shiver runs through me as the foreign words ring between my ears. The hilt of the axe heats, feeding on my blood. A new power surges from within. A red glow surrounds my axe as it comes back to life.

The monster I became on the ship rears its ugly head again.

“ Hargh! ” I barrel forward. I open my heart to wrath. I feel the axe’s power like a fire in my blood. I cut through every risen Skull in my path.

The strength of my swing throws their colossal bodies into the trees. Their bronze masks fly as they fall. With the awakened axe, I’m unstoppable.

Nothing can cut me down.

But as I fly down the forest trail, my vision starts to blur. I struggle to keep my mind clear. The frenzy I can’t control builds. The axe’s bloodlust overpowers my will.

When I make it into the cave, Zélie is nowhere to be found. Koa, Jorah, and a masked Lamina fight with all they have. More than two dozen risen Skulls wreak havoc. They move like rabid beasts, almost leaping across the cave.

Jorah fights in the back. Blood leaks from the wounded emperor’s teeth as he wields his shark-tooth blade.

Ahead of him, Koa swipes his ivory barong across a risen Skull’s throat. He pivots to attack another, but the risen Skull sends an axe through the side of his thigh. Koa bares his teeth as he crashes to the ground. The masked Lamina rushes to Koa’s defense.

“ Dem?nio! ” the masked Lamina calls. He raises his ivory club. But when he goes to attack, he takes a hammer to the head. Crimson flies as it obliterates his skull.

Though everything in me wants to run after Zélie, I rush into the fight, axe raised. One risen Skull jumps at me and I swing, catching the abomination in midair. I pin him down to the ground before chopping off his head.

Another risen Skull swings at me with his hammer. I meet the weapon straight on. With a powerful arc, I slice through the risen Skull’s arms before cutting through his gut.

As I take down every Skull, foreign chants fill my head. My vision blurs once more. I blink, and I see red.

I lose myself in the frenzy. I can’t tell friend from foe.

When the final Skull falls, I lose all control.

“ Hah! ” I swing at Koa with the power of twelve men. The leader of the Laminas throws himself across the ground. A fracture splits through the hard rock as my blade collides with the stone.

“ Parada! ” Koa shouts. “No more!”

My hands shake, but I can’t stop. The axe swings beyond my command. Koa barely has a chance to dive before my axe cuts through the wall.

Emperor Jorah runs at me. With a cry, our weapons clash. The shark-tooth blade falls from his hands as he flies into the back of the cave. The emperor falls to a crumpled heap, hand wrapped around his ribs.

Koa drags his wounded body across the cave. He positions himself between me and the emperor, and raises his ivory blade. Though something inside me screams to stop, my feet charge at both of them.

The axe compels me forward. Its crimson metal screams for more blood. More death. More carnage. Its red glow expands as I raise it over my head—

“Tzain, no!” Amari’s shout rings at my back.

Blue light flies from her hand, freezing me in place. Every single muscle stiffens at once. A sharp pain racks my brain.

With a lurch, I stumble to the ground. The axe falls to the ground as my hands fly to my temples. The red light leaves my eyes. My vision focuses again.

Horror dawns as I take in the scene. Countless bodies surround me. Across the cave, Koa stares, his green gaze wide. Jorah’s hand is still wrapped around his gut. He struggles to help Koa up.

“We have to go!” Amari comes to my side. Her magic releases, and sensation returns. She helps me as I stumble to my feet. Koa’s nostrils flare when I strap the axe to my back.

Guilt weighs on me like an anchor as the four of us flee the cave.