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I ducked and kicked the Barbarian hard in the chest before I raised my sword and blocked the blade from the man in the center. I could process movements now quicker than I could before, blocking hits and then doing damage within the same second.

“Your left.”

I ducked then slammed my boot down on my opponent’s left foot. I hit the spot perfectly because he stumbled back and screamed.

“Quick.” Wrath came forward. “Slay him.”

I ducked the blade coming for my head and kicked him in the chest until he landed on his back. Then I stabbed the tip of my blade right down the center of his neck.

“Behind.”

I left the blade there and rolled out of the way.

The blade meant for me went down on his ally, and he grunted and died with a loud gurgle as more blood poured from the mortal wound in his neck.

I got back to my feet and grabbed the blade before I dodged the next attack.

The one in the center grabbed the other by the arm and tugged him back.

I flicked my sword around my wrist and then did an elaborate routine similar to the one he had done, only able to perform it because I had the strength of a powerful man inside me coupled with my own strength.

I wished I could see their expressions, wished I could see the fear in their eyes that they must feel. “Who’s the little girl now, asshole?”

They must have said something to one another because the leader released his hold and stepped back. They seemed to be retreating. One made a hand gesture to someone in the crowd, and then a horn was blown—a white flag.

I moved forward with my blade at the ready. “And you think I’m just going to let you leave?” I asked with a maniacal laugh. “You think I’m going to let you walk out of here after what you did to my father? I’m going to cut you down, and then I’m going to burn you alive.”

The battle fell apart. The enemy began to flee, escaping through any opening they could find in the forest. Some of the elves tried to pursue them, but most of the survivors were too tired and relieved to do anything.

But I wasn’t letting these brutes leave with their heads on their shoulders. They turned to the edge of the trees and began to run.

Wrath suddenly appeared before me, both hands on my shoulders. “Let them go.”

I shoved him in the chest. “I will not?—”

“Your father.” He grabbed me again and held me back, his eyes showing concern rather than anger.

So lost in my fury, I’d forgotten the reason I was so livid in the first place.

“He needs you.”

It was the only thing that could snap me out of my rage—the thought that this might be the last time I ever got to speak to him. I didn’t know his condition, didn’t know if he was still alive.

The look in Wrath’s eyes told me the situation wasn’t good.

I turned away from him and sheathed my blade.

Queen Eldinar had removed the blade from his body, and she applied pressure with the cloth she’d ripped from her own clothing. She secured it in multiple places to stanch the flow of blood. Uncle Ezra ran over, bloody himself but not nearly as bad.

I hurried over and kneeled at my father’s side.

His eyes were already glazed over, but when he looked at me, they sharpened just a bit.

His hand took a moment to rise from his heart, weak and barely able to move, but he found mine and gave it the faintest squeeze.

“You promised me…” His breaths were deep and labored, breathing through the pain and the weakness.

The guilt that flowed over me pounded harder than a waterfall. When he’d seen the army of the dead, he’d known it could only come from one place—a deal with an evil god. “It’s not what it seems…”

His breathing lessened like he was slipping away. “Lead our people, Queen Lily Rothschild.”

“Dad, you’re going to be okay.” Tears spilled over my eyes and splashed onto his face. “You’re going to be okay.” I looked at Aunt Eldinar. “He’s going to be okay, right? He’s going to be okay…”

Blood was smeared all over her face, but it wasn’t hers. “The bleeding won’t stop, and I do not know why.”

Uncle Ezra examined the golden blade that had pierced my father before he tossed it aside. “It’s something to do with the blade.”

I turned back to my father, the tears suddenly more potent.

“ Zunieth , it’s okay…” His voice was weaker now. “We protected the Great Tree…and you’re safe…and that’s all I care about.”

“Dad…no.”

His eyes took me in for a long moment, studying my face like he wanted to treasure it in his last moments. “I’m so proud of you…”

“No…” I started to sob.

“Not because you saved this forest…not because you protected our people…but because you’re my daughter.”

“Dad…” I gripped his hand and sobbed, splashing tears all over him.

He suddenly went weak and closed his eyes, and he grew still.

“No!” I felt his hand go limp in mine, felt the life leave his body. “No. No, this can’t be happening.”

Queen Eldinar closed her eyes and bowed her head, as if saying a prayer.

I dropped his hand and got to my feet, my eyes frantically searching for Wrath and finding him a moment later.

He gave me a look of sympathy so deep it was as if he’d lost his own father.

“Please help me.”

“There’s nothing I can do?—”

“Spare him, and you can take my soul.”

After a long stare, he gave a slight shake of his head.

“My soul is unworthy to you.”

“Your soul is too worthy,” he whispered.

“Please—”

“No.”

“I will be in the underworld with you.”

“Your father would never want that. I won’t do it, Lily.”

I didn’t care that I was talking to someone no one could see. I didn’t care if everyone thought I was a lunatic. “Help me. Please .” The tears were so heavy that my vision blurred.

His eyes dropped to the ground like he didn’t want to watch me suffer anymore.

“Please.” I dropped to my knees in front of him and sobbed.

Wrath let me cry.

My face moved into my palms, and my body shook from the despair.

My father was invincible, but I’d watched him die before my eyes.

It was too much. He’d come here to save someone else and lost his life in the process.

If I’d been quicker, if Wrath had given me this power sooner, everything could have been different.

“I have an idea.”

“What?” I sucked in a harsh breath then dropped my palms from my face. “What—what do you mean?” I left my knees and rose to my feet, stumbling forward because I was weak with sorrow.

“We need to move quickly.”

“Okay—okay. What do I do?” Was there hope that I could stop this? “I’ll do anything.”

“Your father defeated Bahamut with the power of the dragons. A single fuse that had the power to defeat a god. That same power might be enough to save him long enough to heal. Tell Khazmuda. He’ll know what to do.”

My heart raced at the chance to save my father’s life, at the chance to reverse this horrible fate. I stepped away and pushed my mind out to Khazmuda, but by the time I felt his mind, he was already overhead, knowing what had happened to his best friend.

“ Roooooaaaaarrrr !” He landed with a thud, and his nostrils flared with flames.

“I know how we can save him.” I rushed up to Khazmuda and blocked his path. “Listen to me. We don’t have time.”

He sucked in a harsh breath, and he started to shake, making noises so strange I couldn’t figure out what they were. A tremble and then a grunt. What is your idea, Zunieth ?

“The power of all dragons given to him. An immense strength that could keep him alive long enough to heal. A fuse of all dragons, like you did when he defeated Bahamut. Do it. Quickly. Now .”

Khazmuda closed his eyes, focusing on conversing with all the dragons outside the forest, somehow organizing the effort with just his mind.

I stepped aside and watched him, feeling Wrath’s arm when he appeared close to me. “Please work… Come on… Please work.”

His hand snaked around mine, and he grabbed it, interlocking our fingers.

Khazmuda opened his eyes and moved forward, Queen Eldinar and Uncle Ezra stepping out of the way so he could reach my father. Everyone else stood by and watched, waited to see if their king would rise once more.

Khazmuda lowered his snout to my father’s chest and rested it there.

Seconds turned into minutes. And those minutes started to feel like hours. There was nothing but the sound of burning trees, the aftermath and destruction of war. Khazmuda kept his snout in place, his eyes closed.

My tears had run dry because I couldn’t even breathe right now. I just waited, clung to hope.

And then Khazmuda pulled away, and my father took a breath.

My hand left Wrath’s, and I ran forward and immediately fell to my knees at my father’s side. “Dad…” My hand reached for his, and I felt his pulse, weak and distant. He was cold to the touch.

It is not what it seems.

I looked to Khazmuda.

With the power of the dragons, I’m able to keep him alive. But I can’t get him to heal.

“What—what does that mean?”

Their blades are either cursed or the properties of the gold prevent the human body from healing. Or it slows it so dramatically that the body doesn’t have a chance to recuperate before it loses blood.

I knew there had to be a reason my father was unable to rise again. Because a single stab wasn’t enough to mortally wound someone of such immense strength. “What does that mean, Khazmuda?”

It means we can keep him stable, but if he doesn’t heal, then he’ll be in this state forever.

“Can you talk to him?”

Not right now. But I can feel his mind. It’s weak.

But at least he’s alive…

We will wait and see. And if he doesn’t heal on his own, we’ll need to find a way to make him heal. An antidote to the gold. A medicine we don’t have in these lands.

I relayed Khazmuda’s words to everyone else. “Aunt Eldinar, do you know of anything that can counteract the gold or the curse or whatever properties this metal contains?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never heard of such magic. But I assure you we will figure it out. King Talon of the Southern Isles will rise again.” She came to my side and placed her hand upon my shoulder. “I promise.”

My hand went to hers on my shoulder, and I squeezed it, on the verge of tears again. “Thank you.”