Page 96 of Night Meets the Elf Queen (The Elf Queen #4)

Valeen focused on the moon, on the stars in the sky and channeled their energy. The sky began to dim as if the sun was eclipsed, not from clouds but from the goddess of night’s power. Katana’s radiance shined even brighter.

Inside she was buzzing with a ferocity that made her tremble. Her power was the raging seas against a levee, and all she had to do was let go.

“Unleash hell.” Light and darkness erupted, an invisible wave rolled forward across the battlefield knocking everything down, enemy dragons slammed into the ground throwing up chunks of earth. She tried to shield those dragons on their side but some of them fell too.

Behind that blast wave, a blazing yellow light razed one side and beside it a black wall pushed out consuming everything in its path. The center where light and dark met was like oil and water bouncing and swirling together. Heat and fire seared the air blowing her hair back.

In her mind she shielded Hel, Thane, and anyone she loved. The elves and the city were safe behind them.

She screamed as the power rushed through her veins, as all the stars in the heavens fueled her. It was almost too much—a dam against a violent river.

Katana whimpered and wailed, her body shaking—she was still mortal. There was no way she could hold this power. So Valeen channeled her magic too, taking the heat that seared her hand and ripped through her like lightning.

When every cell in her body felt like it was boiling and her limbs felt limp, she shut off the magic.

She dragged in deep breaths, waiting as the aftermath of what they’d done began to clear. Still hand in hand, the sisters lowered to the ground. Katana collapsed to her knees, her chest heaving up and down.

The light and darkness began to fade, and the smoke drifted.

Her legs wobbled but sheer will kept her standing.

She peered across the blackened and scorched battlefield.

Smolder rose off the charred remains of thousands of bodies.

More than half of the enemy army was wiped out in the wake of the sun and the moon.

It was terrible and glorious.

“Katana, are you alright?” Valeen glanced down.

“Yes,” she breathed. “But I might vomit.”

“Everyone does their first battle.”

Well I’ll be damned, Hel said in her mind, maybe in awe for the first time in his life. He dropped to the ground and immediately inspected her. “Are you hurt?”

“No, but that drained me.”

“It may have but I’ve never seen anything more remarkable.”

Thane was curled up on his knees a hundred yards from them. He lifted his head and slowly rose. There was nothing but dead burnt bodies within three hundred yards of him.

He spotted them and started running. On shaky legs Katana rose and he scooped her up. “Holy shit! Holy shit! When I saw you both hovering in the sky, I knew you were going to change the tides of this battle.”

“It’s not over yet,” Hel said.

The voice of Pricilla shouting at what was left of her soldiers, echoed across the field.

With the power of persuasion they couldn’t resist, a few thousand strong surged forward.

Their dragons rose off the ground, fire arcing in great blasts.

Even if they were afraid, even if they didn’t want to, they trampled over the scorched bodies or flew over the burnt landscape.

“Palenor!” Thane bellowed. “Push forward!”

King Drake’s dragons swooped back into battle. Taking off from the ground or flying out from behind where Valeen and Katana had unleashed their power. The fight on the ground was terrible but it was the dragons that frightened her.

Some of them skirted around King Drake’s force and went for the city.

“Stop them!” Thane roared. “Stop those dragons!”

King Drake himself slammed into the first and they smashed into the stone wall, taking out a massive chunk of it.

“Kill Pricilla and the persuasion from her commands will leave their minds,” Thane said. “Find her!”

Deep horns blew from the east. Dread trickled through her. Just when they had a real chance of winning, the hope she’d gain slipped away.

Not more… she couldn’t even muster the strength to turn and see what other army was coming for them.

She’d just given everything she had in her. All Mother, please . We can’t do this alone .

A flock of blackbirds sailed overhead, ravens and crows cawing.

The blackbirds always seemed to come for Thane during battle…

“That’s… Valeen look.” Hel strangely sounded like he was in shock.

She slammed her eyes shut and reached deep down to get the drive to keep fighting. I have to fight. I have to finish this . But even as a full goddess with all her strength, she wouldn’t be able to channel power like that again for days.

Hel grabbed her chin and turned her face. “Open your eyes. That’s Villhara’s flag.”

A tingle ran down her spine. She must not have heard him correctly.

“Val, that’s our flag. And House of Night and House of Magic with it.”

Finally, she dared to look, blinking several times.

The black flag with a silver moon cycle around a starburst, rose high in the air.

Hel’s red flag with a serpent wrapped around a sword and a wreath of runes was beside it, and the purple sign of their combined territory, Villhara, a serpent wrapped around a lily on a vine.

It was a miracle. Nothing else could explain it… “But, it was gone. We saw it. House of Night was destroyed.” And they’d heard that House of Magic had been taken over… and yet there were thousands of warriors marching with their flags. And at least a hundred more dragons in the sky.

In the front, on a white-winged horse, rode a goddess with flowing black hair. Even from this distance she knew that face. The beautiful face they’d left in the underrealm… or so she thought. “Hel, is that your mother?” she whispered in disbelief.

And beside her rode another; her twin, Balneir, Thane’s father. And with them a god she’d known from the very beginning. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing, but it was Era, a fellow primordial and the god of time. He never involved himself in wars.

Another still, a fourth horse carried Elora, the goddess of wisdom, the one who’d guided them through the stone.

“My mother and my grandmother.” Hel’s jaw had yet to close.

Thane stepped in front of them rubbing his eyes. “It can’t be.”

“It is,” Hel breathed.

Hel’s mother raised a gleaming spear and said, “For your King and Queen!”

Tears slipped down her cheeks. She lifted her eyes to the sky and smiled. Thank you.

Starborn and Night soared down just as their people rushed forward.

“Let’s finish this.” Valeen hopped into her chariot, and Hel stepped in with her.

Katana grabbed the edge of her chariot. “Don’t leave Pricilla alive to do this again. Don’t take her as a prisoner.”

“I won’t.”

Katana let go and her legs gave way. Thane caught her before she hit the ground. “Lead them to victory for me,” he said.

“We will.” With a flick of Hel’s fingers, her helmet vanished, and the weight of her crown settled there instead.

“For Villhara and for Palenor!” Valeen shouted.

Starborn and Night lifted into the air and Valeen and Hel raised their fists. The echoing cheers brought goosebumps across her skin.

An army of thousands raced down the valley hill behind them. She rode up beside the group of Ravens. The two forces clashed with the enemy in a fury of valor and vengeance.

The new force of dragons was enough to make the council’s aerial force turn and flee or shift and drop to the ground.

Pricilla screamed, “Fight! Keep fighting!”

But even at her command some turned to run.

Palenor and Villhara overran them like a flood wave crashing down a mountainside.

Hel jumped out of the chariot and vanished before he hit the ground. Valeen pulled the reins and Starborn and Night landed at the back of the fighting.

The council’s army fell like snow in winter. All that was left of the council was Pricilla. Hel had already killed the others. She had a few god allies but even they started to flee and commanded their legions to retreat.

“You cowards!” Pricilla shrieked. “Come back!”

When Hel reappeared, it was before Pricilla. Her usually perfectly sleek brown hair was a halo of frizz. Her pink armor was stained with blood. She squealed and stumbled backward into a soldier and threw him in front of her. “Stay away from me!”

Valeen stepped out of her chariot and slowly followed after him.

Hel cut down the soldier and shoved him aside. She grabbed yet another and another, in her retreat.

“You can’t do this! I am the council!” She fell over a body and hit the ground. Holding up a sword to shield herself, she screamed.

Soulender hit, shattering her blade. Hel shoved his boot to her chest and squatted, putting the tip of Soulender to her throat.

“Remember when I said I would come back and kill you? I always keep my promises. This is for my wife.” He shoved the blade into her windpipe, and blood gurgled up out of her open mouth.

It was a moment she’d been waiting centuries for, and as she watched scarlet bubble out of Pricilla’s mouth, she smiled. The ones who ordered the stripping of their immortality, who cursed them to die and be reborn were gone.

And that’s when she saw him . Synick could have escaped with the wall down but instead he stood fifty yards away, staring at her with Sword of Truth in hand. “It was always supposed to come to this moment, Valeen! You, and me, the possessors of the immortal swords!”

Even if the armies of Villhara would overrun the council’s fleeing fighters, it wasn’t over yet. It wasn’t over until Synick was dead and she had the other immortal sword in hand.