Page 55

T here was sweet silence behind me and nothing but ear splitting wails of wraiths in front of me. Remnant had completed her task and now it was time for me to complete mine.

Avenging flower pissing gnomes.

“It is as you said, they are attacking outside the deadlands…in broad daylight.” Tyr hissed.

I ran my tongue along my extended fangs. “The gateway is weakening and Deirdre’s influence is getting stronger.”

I growled grimly at the way the wraiths moved in a lazy, unhurried manner that held no concern for their own lives. Their blood drenched cloaks dripped upon my beloved valley like a bad omen, killing anything it touched. The ghastly stench accompanying them was an offense to my nostrils.

Tyr’s eyes narrowed. “By my count there are over two hundred wraiths out there. That damned bitch is measuring our strength and showcasing hers. ”

I could feel the restlessness of my warriors at my back as we watched the amassing horde. “So it would seem. Let’s be done with this.” I snarled. “I’d love a good night’s worth of sleep for once.”

We both turned and faced our armies with ferocious roars.

Tyr’s voice rang proudly as he faced them. “Let us make sure none of those abominations live to suffer another fucking day! Show them the might of the shifters, the might of Finlandia, the might of our king, and the might of what it means to live !”

Cheers rose up and dozens of flashes sparked across the valley adding snarls, screeches, hisses, growls, and everything else in between. The sound itself rumbled the valley and shook the very lands. The Red Caps trembled in the wake of the battle cries of my people.

All of my people. Not just the shifters answered the call of battle, elemental and water fae roared along with them. Equipped with their power and steel, we made a fearsome sight.

An enormous yet soft head nudged my side and I smirked down at Tyr’s white bengal tiger who purred against my hand. His long whiskers pulled back over black lips to show off gleaming white razor teeth that were ready to tear into any wraith who dared to approach him. He nudged me harder this time.

I smiled down at him. “I will not be shifting tonight my friend, I’ll keep command for you. Enjoy your hunt.”

My beast snarled. “ My hunting is by far more superior. That tiger has nothing on me. Let me out. ”

“ Not this time, cat. I need to stay in my fae form for Remnant. ”

He scoffed. “ You’re afraid, fairy boy. ” He sauntered to the back of my head. “ It’s not my fault that she will find me more interesting than you. ”

The distinct sound of three snarling leopards made me spin to the east and a sinister smile crossed my face. Eshe, Quinn, and Penina had come. Together we could not fail.

Prowling the lines, I stared down my forces.

“Not a single fucking wraith shall leave these lands alive!” My power was imbued in every word I spoke, loosening slightly the tight leash I held on its raging inferno ever since I was a child.

It seeped into my court, amplifying their power, and bolstering their energies.

Roaring, I charged forward and my court followed. Fae of all races ran alongside me and the rush of our unity spurred me forward, outwardly I challenged the fastest beasts on land and air for win of the first kill .

I scented no fear in my people, just a ferocious need to protect the world we built here, and yet despite our impressive front the wraith's slow advance did not falter.

Their own shrill cries called back to us while the night began to descend on the valley, the sun dropping low below the Red Cap Mountains in the distance, casting a great shadow over the lands.

Beneath my feet the earth shook and all around us great fissures of earth revealed large boulders rising upwards from their sedentary rest. Gusts of forceful winds shot several of the massive boulders forward straight into the front flanks of the ascending wraiths.

The sound of their shrill cries rose higher when the boulders effectively crushed several wraiths at the same time.

“First kill is on me!” I heard behind me.

I grinned. The elemental twins had arrived.

“I don’t think so! That was my earth, my kill!” Xi Chin, the earth elemental, shouted back.

“Throw more pebbles my way Xi and let us see who really is delivering the death blow!” Riley Dragoon hollered back over the wailing wraiths.

My grin widened when the shadows raced beneath my feet, zigzagging through my path, and taunting me to run faster.

“Care to drop in, your majesty!” My soulmate called out to me.

My stride faltered when I looked up to see the raw beauty of Remnant surfing her shadows like it was the high tide waters of the West Isle shores.

Her long black hair had become unbound and it whipped across her face, her sparkling emerald eyes glowing with rejuvenated life.

My breath caught and I knew I would never forget the sight of her in this moment.

Her solid crouched stance, sword raised high over her head, her other hand grasping a shadow dagger at her hip, and the subtle tilt of her head. An invitation for me to join.

I didn’t hesitate again, leaping onto the shadow platform right behind her. The shadows snapped me into place and I was careful of my sharp claws as I gripped onto her hips to steady myself more thoroughly and buried my face in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply her scent.

“I take it the spy crows are no more.” I purred against the pale column of her throat, knowing she could hear me over the stormy winds and the chunks of earth soaring over us like deadly arrows.

“Not a feather left behind.” She snickered .

I chuckled darkly and marveled at the power of her shadows. “Hmmm, I could get used to this.” I purred against the shell of her ear.

“Get down!” She cried and pulled me to her just as hot blue fire blazed over the top of our heads only to stop short by a tornado of rock and wind.

The elemental twins’ power ripped through the wraith’s bodies with ease and showered us with rags, blood, and bone.

Together they were a deadly combination that was a true marvel to behold in battle.

“Fuck!” Remnant cursed, wiping blood from her face and then glared over her shoulder. “I blame you for that one, Xi! I can’t help that your hair is white damnit!”

Crazed laughter responded with more air and earth rushing by us.

Reaching with a singular claw I wiped the blood dripping over her brow. “I think you look good in blood, little umbra.”

“Told you!” Riley roared, sliding by us on a landslide of rock, pulling wraiths to him with gale forces and impaling them on his curved blade.

Remnant snickered and then winked back at me. “Better prepare yourself, your majesty! This is our stop!”

I snarled savagely at the oncoming group of wraiths. “I’m ready!”

The shadows reared, slamming us straight into a cluster of screeching wraiths.

Flying forward my claws sank into the first one that had the unfortunate fate of being directly in my path.

Wrenching my claws from its falling body, I leapt to the side, ripping the head off another that was about to shoot fire at my soulmate who was slashing down wraiths at an accelerated rate.

Shifters, shadows, fire, winds, water, and earth raged across the valley. Wraiths fell only to be replaced by a dozen more. Their blood showered through the air like a hot night rain and I relished in the feeling of satisfaction it brought.

Alongside me, Remnant surfed her shadows through the carnage.

When I spun, she twirled. When I jumped she hit low.

When I slid, she arc’d over me like the avenging goddess of death she was.

Our bodies pulled and pushed, leveraging each of our attacks in tandem.

Every move, every fucking breath, every beat of our thundering hearts was one…

we didn’t just kill. We goddess damn danced while we did it .

A wraith lunged and I swung outward, catching its side shoulder while its blue fire spit at me in desperation to get away.

Swinging my other arm around, my claws stabbed into the back of his neck.

The snap of its spine audible while I flung it to the side where another wraith Remnant was corralling towards me was fleeing.

I roared, slashing in fury, shredding its worthless body in a mess of rags, tissue, and bone.

Remnant brushed against my back, covering my loss of sanity during my killing rage, I could hear the silencing of the shrills as she delivered death stroke after death stroke with shadows and steel.

Snapping my head up, I watched a growling white tiger and three leopards pounce over me pinning wraiths to the ground and mauling them savagely until their screams became silent.

Tyr tossed a decapitated hooded head in my direction with a snarl.

“Didn't your mother tell you not to play with your fucking food!” I teased the tiger and then rolled as more blue fire blasted towards me. The heat of it singeing the back of my head.

Tyr reared, slashing the wraith attacking me down with his deadly claws before turning to hiss at me with bloody fangs.

I snickered. “I know. I know. Be careful. I am the king bullshit.” I patted the tiger’s head affectionately. “Good kitty cat.”

Tyr hissed and a bloody paw, encrusted with tattered cloth and tissue, swiped out for my head. Laughing, I sidestepped him, killing a few more wraiths in my way.

Looking across the valley, I grinned, noticing the numbers were thinning.

“Your highness!” I turned to see Xi pointing in the distance, a few other elementals working with her to control the earth. “They are retreating and we cannot reach them that far!”

My eyes searched for the unruly head of green hair. “Dragoon!” I roared across the battlefield.