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CHAPTER FORTY NINE

T he wind whipped against my face as I stood on the edge of Ironwraith, watching the battle unfold below us. Prince Dragor stood next to me with a host of Skyforgers at his back, occasionally turning to speak to them within a silencing shield.

We’d moved out of the relative comfort of Echo Fort, the squat building now standing at our backs while we exposed ourselves to the elements to gain a better view of the ongoing battle.

I was growing frustrated. The pompous prince clearly thought he was better than me, and I was tired of his dismissive comments and the way he was acting as if I was just my father’s pawn.

Dispensable to my own flesh and blood. It was bullshit.

I was Father’s greatest warrior. Born and bred for battle.

The Cascadians were still spilling from our ships below us onto the expanse of volcanic rock, meeting with the Flamebringers who had assembled to fight them.

It wouldn’t be a long battle. They weren’t prepared for our arrival and they had nowhere near the numbers we did when combined with the forces from Stormfell.

Soon, Cinder Vale would be ours.

Dragor cast me a withering look. “Are you not eager for battle since your graduation? You look like you are yet to get your hands dirty.”

“I’ve got my hands plenty dirty,” I growled, though the truth was a little different. “I may not have fought in a battle yet but I’m well made for it. I’ll gut more Flamebringers this day than you will, sky prince.”

“Is that so?” he mused as a line of Skyforgers hurled themselves off of the island with whoops of excitement, sailing down into battle using air magic, windriders, or shifting into winged Orders.

“Yes it’s so.” I took a subtle step back from the edge. The height of this thing was starting to knot my stomach.

“You look nervous, Raincarver,” Dragor goaded. “Why not take a better look?” He grabbed the back of my armour, shoving me right to the edge of the island so rubble crumbled away into the abyss beneath my boots.

“What are you doing?” I barked, trying to push my way back onto the island but his grip was iron and I couldn’t make him retreat.

“You want to fight, don’t you? Well you’re not much use up here anymore. So go fight.” He shoved me so suddenly that I didn’t even have time to attempt to resist and I went tumbling off of Ironwraith in a split second.

My arms cartwheeled uselessly, a scream hitching in my throat at the speed I was descending toward the black rocks of the volcanic plain.

I was going to die, I was going to hit that ground so hard I would be splattered all across it in an unrecognisable smear and no one would even be able to tell who I had been.

I slammed into a Skyforger on a windrider, the air slamming from my lungs as pain splintered through me and I was knocked aside again, pinwheeling off of it and shrieking in terror.

I raised my hands to cast water, not knowing which way was up while I spun like a cork in a whirlpool.

Wings flurried in my face and I collided with a Pegasus, bouncing along its back toward its head. I grabbed onto its mane, crying out in fear but it bucked its head and I lost my grip, the spiral horn on its head pricking me in the ass as I began falling again.

I could see the ground this time, raising my hands and blasting water out erratically as I tried to remember how to cast a tower to catch me. But under the pressure and in the panic, I couldn’t manage it.

I was going to die. I was going to hit the ground and fucking die!

A Manticore slammed into me, fire spewing from its open lion’s mouth and setting me alight like a star-damned marshmallow.

I opened my mouth to scream in panic but instantly fell through a blast of water being shot from the Cascadians below, my scream turning into a chocking cough as my mouth was filled with it.

I couldn’t languish in the relief from the flames though because within moments I tumbled from the jet of water too, only to find myself falling again.

My legs kicked and my arms thrashed as I fought to gather my wits and cast the magic I needed to save me. I had to catch myself or I was going to hit those rocks so hard my whole body would probably explode.

That image made me retch and lose focus, and in the next harrowing second of my descent a Harpy was thrown into me, a flash of wild hair and black and white wings ringing a bell of recognition in my head.

I wrapped my whole body around her, looking up to find The Matriarch herself glaring at me in surprise.

I tried to clamber up her body, my face slamming into her tits and she cursed in anger, blasting me with fire. I had no choice but to let go to avoid the flames, crying out in terror again as the world came rushing up to meet me.

“Ahhhh!” I yelled, seeing my death calling for me in the face of the rocky ground below but at the very last second water coiled around me tightly, yanking me up by my ass before depositing me gently on the ground.

I was shaken, my whole body trembling as I met the eyes of my saviour.

“Oh boy, I do not like you. But I did not wish to see you go splat.” Galomp nodded to me, patting my head then lumbering off to join the warriors fighting against the Flamebringers.

I righted myself, straightening my armour as I cleared my throat, but then a rising sickness burned up from my stomach and I reared over, vomiting on someone’s boots.

I looked up guiltily, finding Father there with a furious look on his face. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

I straightened, trying to compose myself and come up with an answer that didn’t involve admitting that I had just been hurled off of Ironwraith and almost killed by the sky prince without even putting up a fight.

“Everest is out here,” I said quickly. “I was gathering intelligence, er, from the sky. I saw her from, um, above. Er – that way.” I pointed across the hardened lava field and Father raised an eyebrow.

“Oh. Well good work, my boy.” He clapped me bracingly on the shoulder then scowled. “But when this is done, you will scrub my boots until they shine, understood?”

“Yes Father,” I said quickly and he marched off, letting his Merrow Order form take over his body, the navy spines peeking out beneath the plates of his armour.

I let my own Order form come out too, gilding myself in the thicker skin of my Merrow and following after Father.

We were two beasts of the ocean, the firm scales against my skin glinting with iridescence and the spikes between my knuckles promising violence.

“Everest, you’d better fucking be out here,” I muttered, raising my sword and preparing to face true battle.

Father swung his blade at a group of Flamebringers who were cutting through our ranks, gutting two of them, but one got past him, heading straight for me.

I gasped, raising my sword but hesitating a beat too long.

A Cascadian Centaur mowed him down before I got close to doing so myself, saving my ass and leaving the Flamebringer twitching on the ground in front of me.

Father glanced back and I jabbed the man quickly with my sword to make it seem like I’d done it and he nodded his approval.

I released a sigh, my shoulders drooping.

I was exhausted already. I’d always thought more about the after-parties of war.

Coming home from battle to be greeted by merriment, ale and my pick of men to bed.

But the actual battle part was not quite as simple as I’d initially thought.

I could die out here. Like, actually die.

But I was far too young and handsome to die yet.

I swiped the sweat from my brow and prepared to face the toils of war. But if these Cascadians wanted to go ahead of me, then that was fine. Because I would be in charge of the area back here. Directing people. Yes, that would suit me just fine.

“Onward,” I called confidently, ushering some more Fae ahead of me. “That’s it. Good man. On you go.” I pointed a few others past me then kept in their shadows. “Bolster your courage! We fight for Cascada!”