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Chapter Thirteen

ARABELLA

A rabella watched the zaol weave shadows and ashes together, reforming its body.

A sudden conviction filled her.

“Greater demons can’t die here,” she said, ignoring the faint trembling in her arms and legs. “The underrealms are their homeland… I think it will just reform.”

All around her and Hadeon were the charred stumps of the trees. One-quarter of the trees in the oasis had been felled in a single blast of the zaol’s magic. Now, they had no coverage, nothing to hide behind.

They had to face the demon head-on.

Hadeon’s gaze swiveled between Arabella and the zaol, his sword in his fist. “Do you have a suggestion, Enchantress?”

She sifted through their options.

“I don’t suppose you could fly while carrying us? Even if you bring us one at a time, we could flee and get ahead of the zaol—” she began, but he interrupted.

“Absolutely not.”

She blinked, surprised by the vehemence in his voice. “Why?”

“Not an option,” he said, his voice cold.

She ran a hand over her face. That was off the table, then.

Sheathing her sword, she raised an arm outward and unfurled her fingers. Then shadows exploded from her. It blasted through the zaol’s abdomen, which dissipated in an instant. The legs wobbled before turning into a muddy pile of darkness on the ground.

“That should give us a head start,” she said before turning in the direction the others had fled—back toward the desert. “Let’s go.”

She wove between the tree trunks with the fae prince at her side. He moved far lighter on his feet than he should for someone his size, hardly making any noises at all.

She held on to the shadows, letting them fill her with power. It was so much power that, for a moment, it felt like she held the amplifier. Her entire body vibrated with sheer energy. Beside her, Hadeon’s magic seemed far less significant than it once had.

But she knew the moment she let go of her magic, she’d crumble. It was the only thing keeping the strange exhaustion at bay.

As they neared the edge of the oasis, there was a rumbling in the distance behind them.

It had taken the zaol mere minutes to regenerate.

If they had to stop every few minutes in the open desert to kill the zaol, they weren’t going to last long. Even if they had a chance of reaching the next oasis, they’d be too fatigued and dehydrated if they had to battle a greater demon the whole way.

We’re going to die .

Somehow, that thought broke through to her, and fear touched the edge of her senses.

But it wasn’t fear for herself. It was for Jessamine and Breckett, and perhaps even Hadeon.

She felt responsible for their safety. They were relying on her to find the shadow fae, and she needed to ensure they made it.

Grabbing the map from her jacket, she opened it.

There was a line that went across the Abyss from east to west, and there were only a few oases in this endless desert. To the north, there was a series of jagged mountains.

She studied that line of mountains.

Based on the distance they’d traveled before to the first oasis, the mountains had to be about ten miles north of here. It was the next closest thing to them. While it didn’t follow the path toward the west, there was a chance they could find cover there or maybe lose the zaol.

A sudden thought occurred to her as the now familiar shadowy presence settled atop her shoulders.

What if the line across the Abyss on the map didn’t lead to the shadow fae? What if the spot that was marked was the exit gateway or another place? If that was the case, the shadow fae could be anywhere.

Suddenly, a trace of shadows appeared at the top of the parchment. It was so faint she nearly missed it. It hovered in a single location.

The mountains to the north.

Then the shadows disappeared, though the presence lingered.

Should she trust whatever this was? Did she have another choice? It had directed her toward the oasis. Perhaps it could lead her to the shadow fae, too.

She rolled up the map and stashed it in her jacket pocket as she ran.

Just ahead, Jessamine and Breckett lingered at the edge of what remained of the trees.

When she and Hadeon caught up, the four of them hurried into the desert, kicking up sand as they ran.

She came to a decision.

“The shadow fae found a way to avoid the zaol and survive,” she said. “So, we kill it as often as we can and slow it down until we find the shadow fae—or a way to lose it.”

Or until we’re too exhausted to fight any longer .

“There are mountains north of here,” she continued. “It’s closer than the next oasis. Let’s aim for those and hope we lose the zaol.”

“I thought the map leads west,” Jessamine said, not breaking her stride.

“It does,” Arabella agreed. “But we won’t make it to the next oasis on one waterskin each. Especially not if that thing is pursuing us the whole way.”

There wasn’t time to explain the strange presence, not as the zaol slowly took shape in the distance behind them. She hoped there’d be a chance later.

There was a long silence, and when no one objected, Arabella turned to Hadeon. “Take to the skies. Keep an eye on the zaol as it draws near.”

There was a glimmer of something dangerous in his gaze. “Be careful you don’t get used to giving orders, Enchantress.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

The prince shot into the sky, his black wings flapping as he ascended.

“Your neck…” Jessamine began, her voice tinged with a note of caution. “Are you okay?”

Arabella nodded.

She was well enough to do what needed to be done, and that’s what mattered. Whatever these black veins were could wait.

A roar sounded behind them.

The zaol cleared the trees and lumbered across the sand toward them. As it moved, it made a hissing sound like the fracturing of dreams.

Hadeon hovered in the sky behind them, his blade held aloft. There wasn’t an ounce of fear in his posture. It was the confidence of a male who’d been in countless battles, faced death, and come out on the other side.

As she ran, sweat beaded on her brows, and her limbs grew fatigued far too quickly.

Whatever had happened to her in the dream had somehow affected her here.

Exhaustion so thick, so penetrating filled her thoughts even with the borrowed energy from the shadows.

She tried to shake it off, but bone-deep weariness remained.

She felt it in the way her feet pushed one in front of the other as the sand shifted beneath her boots.

Ignoring it, she reached for the shadows.

In this place, there was neither sun nor stars. Darkness permeated the sands, lacing through the sky and the horizon.

The shadows purred as she pulled even more of them into her, humming happily as they twirled around her.

Borrowing even more strength, she spun around and skidded to a stop as she aimed her arm at the zaol.

It moved over the desert like a ghost—the grains of sand shifting only the slightest where it passed.

When she couldn’t take even one more drop of power, she released it.

A torrent of darkness flew over the sandy hills, which parted like waves. A moment later, her shadows struck the zaol in the chest. As before, it exploded into a swirl of ash. But this time, she didn’t wait to watch it reform. Instead, she turned and ran after Jessamine and Breckett.

In the skies above them, Hadeon soared, his watchful eye on where the greater demon had just been.

They ran for what felt like days. But without a sun to measure the passing of time, it could have been mere hours.

Between her shadow magic and Hadeon’s blade, they’d killed the zaol countless times, but it persisted—reforming minutes later and barreling through the sands after them.

Sweat poured down her face. The crossing sheaths pulled at her back, making the skin beneath it raw.

There hadn’t even been time to touch her rations.

She’d only managed a few small sips of water while they ran.

All of them were dragging. Even Jessamine’s movements slowed, and Breckett’s breaths came in ragged gasps.

But the zaol had come back to life once more, sewing itself back together with whatever dark magic it possessed. It was closing the distance between them—and fast.

As she raised her arm to release another slew of shadows, the world began tilting. Then she was rolling, hurtling down a sandy hill.

“Arabella!” Jessamine shouted, though her voice sounded strangely distant.

The shadows slipped from Arabella’s grasp, slinking into the ground beneath her as she rolled to a stop.

Exhaustion struck her like a physical blow, threatening to consume her and nearly drowning out her fear.

She couldn’t raise her arms, couldn’t call on her magic.

It was all she could do to keep her eyes open.

Distantly, she registered a flash of wings as Hadeon fought against the zaol from the skies.

A face appeared above hers.

Jessamine’s blonde hair was slick with sweat and tied back, but wisps had escaped, which she brushed back.

“Can you walk?” she asked.

Arabella managed to shake her head.

“I’ll carry her.”

It was Breckett.

“If that demon gets too close to us, your fighting skills will be more useful than mine.”

The erox scooped Arabella up into his arms and ran northward. She was too tired to object or even feel surprised. She must have passed out because the next she knew, she felt the rumble of Breckett’s voice where her cheek pressed against his chest. Blinking, she opened her eyes.

“Is that what I think it is?” he asked, his voice breathless.

Turning in the direction Breckett’s gaze was fixed, she spotted a line of mountains on the horizon as though they’d pressed through the desert sands to point jagged peaks at the sky.

Jessamine made a sound of assent before turning and heading in the opposite direction. “Get Arabella to those mountains. We have to find cover and water, or we’re all going to die.”

“Where are you going?” Breckett gasped.

Jessamine sighed. “To help a princeling.”