Page 83 of Night Meets the Elf Queen (The Elf Queen #4)

KATANA

A stream of powerful energy flowed through Katana’s palms, heat and fire and light. She gritted her teeth, aiming all her anger at Synick. The window’s glass shattered. Synick crashed through the door and was thrown across the wide cobblestone street and smacked into the opposite wall.

He didn’t move.

Smoke rolled off the charred circle in the center of his chest armor. She couldn’t tell if it burned a hole through to his flesh or not. Maybe he was dead. She never wanted to take a life, and hated violence, but this was necessary.

In two steps she was at Valeen’s side and with radiant heat pulsing from her hands, she melted the rest of the ice encasing her. She lifted her chin to see her sister staring at her, jaw slack.

“Katana, that was… amazing.”

She hugged Lightbringer closer to her chest and finally smiled. She’d done it.

A massive weight seemed to float off her shoulders.

For a moment, she’d frozen up, just like she always had, but as soon as he leaned in to kiss Valeen and then struck her, something in her snapped. “Thank you.”

“I knew you had that in you!” Valeen stepped over broken glass and hurried toward the front door.

“Where are you going? We need to get Lightbringer to the cliff.”

“We need that sword. That is the sword he used to kill you before.”

But Synick began to move, and his creatures circled around him.

“We can take him, you and I.” With her goddess blade in hand and shadows flowing out behind her like a cloak, Valeen started across the street. With a steadying breath, Katana steeled herself and followed.

A swirling tornado of water appeared directly in their path and panic froze her body. The water spilled to the ground and Atlanta stood with his trident in hand, battle armor on. Shock rooted her feet to the ground.

Now both her tormentors were here. She was ready to face one… but both?

“Get out of the way,” Valeen snapped.

“You will leave him be.” Atlanta puffed out his chest. “He is a primordial and with all of us alive again, the balance has finally been restored. Your husband made a deal to get your immortality back, and I will find a way to make Katana a full goddess once again as well.” He turned to Katana and held out his hand.

“It’s time to come home. I’ve allowed you to have your time here, to have your fun with the god of war, but that ends now. ”

She shook her head. Her body recoiled on instinct, and she stepped back and curled her hands tighter around Lightbringer.

“Allowed?” Valeen balked. “She is not one of your slaves, Atlanta. She is a goddess and a primordial. She’s free to do what she wishes, the same as you are.”

Synick rose up, half leaning on the wall. His armor still smoked, and even pieces of the hair around his face were singed. Brushing the debris from his chest, he strode through his creatures and stood beside Atlanta. Apparently, the blast hadn’t penetrated deep enough.

Valeen wrapped her hand around Katana’s wrist and suddenly the world shifted. Her body became weightless and formless. She was shadow being pulled through space.

Their forms snapped back into place further down the street, and with Valeen pulling on her, they ran. They weaved through the streets. Rushing around crowds and cutting through back alleys when they could.

Somewhere behind them Atlanta roared, “KATANA!”

Her skin crawled and panic pushed her legs faster. She was thankful for the days she spent running with Thane and Leif to train for a moment like this.

“We place the shield as planned then we can force Atlanta out,” Valeen said. “Once he’s outside the wall he can’t get back in, not unless one of us allows it. But we kill Synick and take that sword.”

People behind them started screaming. “Monsters!” someone shouted. They’d encountered Synick’s creatures.

“Watch it!” an elf spun out of the way to avoid being plowed over by Valeen and Katana.

Kids near a water fountain laughed and ran with them. As cute as they were, now wasn’t the time. “Go! Run to your mothers!” Katana scolded. There was no telling what Synick would allow his undead creatures to do.

She glanced back to find water crept over the cobblestone street, it always preceded Atlanta.

Tears burned. Tears of anger, fear, hatred. Part of her didn’t want to run, but to turn and put her power of the sun against his magic of the sea, proving exactly as Valeen said, she wasn’t his slave. She was free. And sometimes freedom required a fight.

Valeen sang, half tuneless because of her heavy breathing but the words in the primordial language were clear. “On wings of shadow, fly as you might, come to me, Night take flight.” It didn’t matter where he was in the realm of Adalon, he’d hear the song and the magic in the words.

The last she’d seen him was behind the smithy grazing in a field, so he wasn’t far. Her legs and lungs burned but it only fueled her to push harder. Wind ripped her hair free of the bun and sweat dripped down her temple.

They reached the end of the city, leaving behind buildings and crowds and sprinted over a grassy knoll toward Castle Dredwich. A winged shadow cast from above. With a whoosh , Night glided down and trotted to a stop. Valeen jumped onto his back then reached for her.

“KATANA!” Atlanta shouted again. “VALEEN! Stay where you are!”

Katana took her sister’s waiting hand and she pulled her up. Once she had a grip on her, Valeen said, “Go Night. Fly high!”

He took off into a sprint and they lifted. Atlanta and Synick seemed to shrink as they rose. From here she had a perfect view of the city. Black smoke drifted from the center. Screams still echoed from the streets. The city guard rushed toward them.

“Is Synick attacking the city?” Katana whispered.

Valeen glanced back. “He’s probably doing it to draw us there. He knows we’ll want to help the people.”

“Thane is not here to help them.” She frowned. “We have to.”

“Shield first, but we cannot place it near the waterfall anymore. They will see us, and I can’t protect it there. We must place it inside the castle.”

Night soared over the ravine that surrounded Castle Dredwich. Sprays of mist wrapped around them as they passed the waterfall. With a quick tug on the reins, Night dropped down at the base of the entrance steps.

“Where in the castle?” Katana hopped off first and dashed up the stairs.

“My room. It’s protected by wards.” Valeen was on her heels. The guards at the doors quickly pulled them open. They bounded up the next set of stairs and flew down the corridor to Valeen’s room.

Once inside, Katana searched frantically for a place to hold it. There was nothing that looked stable enough. The bed wouldn’t do, neither would a chair. It had to be something solid and near unmovable. “What do we use as an anchor?”

Valeen slammed her fist into the floor at the foot of her bed and cracked the stone. She hit it again and it opened enough to slide the blade into. “This will have to do.”

Katana shoved it in until it wouldn’t move further. “Now what?”

“Grab hold. We must give it our intention. Let your magic flow into it,” her sister said.

Katana wrapped her hands around the pommel and pushed her magic into the sword .

Light and shadow mixed as both of their powers circled around them.

Be a shield and protection for this city, for the elves.

Draw from the sun, Lightbringer. I give you my power to do so.

You are Lightbringer, give us your light.

Valeen whispered, “Connect to the moon, shield and protect the Valley of the Sun. Save us from our enemies, let no one in or out unless I or the goddess of day wills it.” A beam of white light shot straight into the ceiling.

The sword began to shake, then the ground they stood on.

A potted plant fell off the shelf and shattered on the floor, spilling soil.

Valeen looked terrified. “I don’t know if this floor will hold. ”

“It has to!” Katana kept her grip on the sword. “Finish it, Val!”

Valeen let go and ran to the windows, throwing a set of them open then raised her arms above her head.

In one swift motion she dropped to her knee and touched the stone.

The beam of light inside disappeared, but outside, it spread into a dome and began to shimmer into a thin veil dripping down around the city until it touched the grass below.

The sword stopped shaking, giving off a subtle glow.

“We did it!” Katana clapped and jumped up and down. “It worked!”

Valeen sagged against the window’s ledge and breathed out a long sigh. “We did it.”

“Katana!” Atlanta’s voice came from outside. He had to be just below the window.

Valeen slammed the windows shut and backed away. “He can’t get in. No enemy of ours can pass the threshold.”

“I will start killing your elven friends one by one until you come out.” His voice was muffled through the glass, but she heard the threat loud and clear.

Katana peeked through the window. Atlanta held a guard by the throat, feet dangling off the ground.

“I have to go to him.”

“No!” Valeen grabbed her. “No, you can’t.”

“I won’t let him kill people for me.”

“Then I will kill him. Stay here.” Valeen was already running for the door before Katana could stop her.

“Valeen, no! You are not immortal yet. He could kill you.” Panic made her chest heavy.

She would not watch her sister die because she wanted to be free.

She bolted after her but once she got to the hallway, Valeen vanished in a wisp of shadow.

This couldn’t be happening. She dashed back into the room and shoved open the window. “I’m coming out. Don’t hurt him.”

Atlanta tossed the guard aside. The poor elf hit the ground, coughing and sputtering for breath. Using her power, she became weightless and floated to the ground. Atlanta snatched her wrist and jerked her to his side.

Shadows preceded Valeen, swirling along the ground like a sea of her own as she appeared from around the bend of thick bushes.

Black vines curled out of the ground a few feet from her and Atlanta, like serpents poised to strike.

Soulender was in her grasp and murder filled her eyes. “Let her go, Atlanta.”

Pain ripped across her scalp as he suddenly gripped her hair and jerked her in front of him. Then cold metal pressed to her throat. She went utterly still.

“Atlanta, no!” Valeen’s eyes blew wide.

“Let us go or I’ll kill her before you can take me down.”

With a swipe of her hand over the blade, it vanished, and she raised her palms in surrender. “Don’t hurt her, please.”

“That sword,” Atlanta growled. “Soulender is supposed to be with Hel right now and given to Pricilla.”

There is a time to be the soft petals of a rose and a time to be its thorns.

“It’s alright, Val. I’ll go and Atlanta will say nothing to Pricilla about Soulender.

And there will be no fight here today. Do we have a deal?

” With a blade to her throat, she had to be soft and bide her time until she could become the thorns.

Valeen’s eyes glittered with tears.

Atlanta lowered the knife from her throat. “We do.” Water swirled around their feet. Valeen stayed still, she threw no magic at Atlanta, no daggers, only watched helplessly as Atlanta’s waters rose up and swallowed them.