Page 89 of Once the Skies Fade (Immortal Reveries #2)

Chapter 89

Calla

B ehind the man, a dozen people—men and women of varying heights, brandishing blades and bows—stepped out of the mist. A warning growl rumbled in Asher’s chest as he brought his front leg protectively in front of me.

“You know why I’m here,” I guessed, watching to see how the man reacted. He didn’t move, but there, a tiny shift in his chin, a slight tightening at the corners of his eyes. “Why protect a fae?”

“The chained one means nothing to us.”

“No, the one who brought him. Why?—”

The man lifted a single brow. “Graham?” My lips pressed together at the name, and Asher snarled again quietly. A single, hollow laugh echoed off the walls, and the man waved a flippant hand in the air. “He’s only half-fae.”

Graham? Half-human? How?

My mind swirled with questions.

“With all due respect, you can’t win this fight,” the tall man continued. “You’ve seen on the mainland what our weapons can do to your kind, yes? How do you think that beast of yours will fare after we hit him?”

I scoffed. “With all due respect to you , you don’t know what we’re capable of.”

The man laughed softly. He opened his mouth to say something, but another voice shouted in the distance, muffled by thick rock, but still clear enough to pierce my heart.

“Calla!”

Matthias.

Asher’s head shot up, his snout pointing beyond the group of people barring our way. Desperate hope bloomed in my chest, and I couldn’t tell if it was coming from me or Matthias, possibly both. Either way, he needed me. Keeping my hands hidden, I stretched my fingers wide, and with the silent order to spare the tall guard in front, I let loose the reins on my power and propelled my shadows away from me and toward the humans.

Chaos unfolded before us as darkness engulfed the entire force. Screams escaped the dark cloud, choked off by shadow. Men spun around in futile attempts to fend off their phantom attackers. Blades clattered to the ground, followed by the satisfying thumps of bodies dropping. The tall man hadn’t turned but continued to stare at us, seemingly unfazed by the slaughter occurring behind him. Dropping his head to one side, he studied me curiously, and I could have sworn a smirk was attempting to pull through his stern expression.

An arrow escaped my shadows, whirring over the tall man’s shoulder, narrowly missing his ear as it arced straight toward me. Asher shifted his body to protect me, and the steel tip skidded off his scales and careened off to the side. I pulled my shadows back to give Asher a clear view, and more arrows and blades came flying at us. He swung his tail forward and wrapped it in front of us. He didn’t waste any time, immediately redirecting the spikes that lined the tip of his tail back toward our assailants.

The man stepped over the thrashing limb as if he were taking a leisurely stroll, a move so smooth and effortless—so inhuman—it distracted me long enough I didn’t notice another attacker rushing forward, dropping to the ground, and barely avoiding having his head lopped off by Asher’s tail. But it didn’t stop him from sending a blade whirling end over end toward my friend’s head.

I threw my hands forward, directing my shadows at this new target. Reacting instantly, the dark tendrils wound around the attacker’s head and yanked it from his body. Asher groaned painfully, but thankfully the dagger had merely grazed his eye, leaving a bloody gash from cheek to brow. Despite the blood pouring from his wound, he released a deafening roar and charged forward at the last remaining humans. Crushing the fallen humans under his taloned feet, he attacked those still standing. One man attempted to flee, but my shadows caught him, holding him still while Asher’s spiked tail sank deep into his chest. A pair of women lowered themselves into a crouch, their swords and spears readied as if they stood any chance against a dragon—injured or not. Asher lowered his head toward them. When he came within range, one threw her spear toward his good eye, but they had underestimated how quickly he could move despite his size.

The shaft had barely left her hand when Asher lashed out, his horned head darting forward and snatching both women up in his jaws. Their screams echoed through the canyon as he clamped his teeth down on them—crushing bones and severing limbs—before flinging them into the far wall.

I pulled my shadows back in just enough to see if any humans still breathed, but scanning the canyon—both in front and behind—I found no one, not even the man who had initially greeted us. Where had he gone? To call in reinforcements? To help Graham escape?

“Cal—” Matthias’s strained scream was cut short.

Without a second thought, I took off toward the sound, leaping over the dead, but my heart jolted as if I’d just been kicked hard in the sternum. Skidding to a stop, I doubled over, my hand clutched to my chest. Where there had been a spark of hope in my veins, now lay a disheartened misery, an empty resignation.

Lifting my head, I peered ahead into the mist, to where my mate waited for me, dying.

He couldn’t die, not when I was this close.

With tears pricking my eyes, I pulled in a steadying breath and charged forward.