Page 203 of The Queen’s Shadow

“CLOSE YUH EYES!” I screamed, somehow knowing that the explosion would be so bright it might blind us. Even with my eyes closed, I knew the equivalent to an atomic bomb had just been released. The sound was like nothing I had ever heard before, and the force of the shock wave was so powerful, even Raven’s powers nearly buckled beneath the might of it.

We huddled together against the blast beneath Raven’s shadow dome, which was surrounded by my water shield. I wasn’t sure if Dossidian’s blast, similar to an atomic bomb, would be radioactive. If it was, I hoped that the water would be enough to protect Jeremy from the consequences.

When the dust finally cleared, Dossidian stood over the two forms, who seemed to be doubled over. I was shocked there was anything left of them at all. The sand around us for as far as my eyes could see had been fused into solid glass from the heat of the explosion. The sun had been completely blocked out from the smoke of the blast.

Meredith was shaking, Jeremy looked absolutely shell shocked, and Raven looked furious.

I saw the thought cross her mind before she even moved, and I held out a hand to stop her.

“No. Stay here gyaal. Wi need di shield. Who knows what dem a guh send next.”

She wanted to fly over there and obliterate the two daemons. I knew she did, and I did want her to maintain the shield around us, but it was more than that. She had just been about to snap before we had been attacked. If she engaged in battle right now, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to bring her back.

And mi know, if Rayven lose it, der’s no coming back fah any of us.

She would destroy the planet and everyone on it if we couldn’t get her back to Amon soon. Mi knew it in mi soul.

As we watched from afar, Dossidian grabbed one of the burly male daemons by the throat and threw him down. He was on top of him in an instant, brutally smashing his fists into the daemon’s face, over and over again. The second male was still crouched over, and at first, I thought he was hurt, but the closer I looked, the sooner I realized he was laughing.

I frowned.

“Yuh stay here.” I said to Raven. She glared at me, but I just gave her one of my easiest smiles. “Soon come back.” I winked at her. She was my friend, and I was happy to fight with her in this war, but she was not my queen. I was not a daemon and I didn’t feel I needed to bow to her, or refrain from making demands. Especially when it concerned both her safety, and the safety of the rest of us. “Keep di shield up.”

I said before calling my water to me and making my way against the cloudy glass surface of the desert toward the fighting daemons.

The male Dossidian had been pummeling had managed to get the upper hand, and the two of them were engaged in a full blown fist fight, while the third male watched, openly laughing at the altercation.

I frowned, finding it strange that after such a brutal assault, our attackers seemed to be distracted and happy to engage in a simple one on one brawl.

“Dossidian!” I called as I approached, and he hesitated before throwing his next punch, earning himself a swift shot to the face from his opponent.

My water curled around me as I assessed the situation. I suddenly wasn’t sure I needed to get involved, as the onlooker turned away from the fight, shooting me a dazzling smile.

He and Dossidian were clearly related.

“Wha really a gwaan here?” I asked cautiously, and Dossidian looked over at me, his own eyes had gone nearly as dark as Raven’s did when she lost control. The second he took me in, they bled back to normal, and his jaw went slack.

“Meredith!” He shouted, whipping around to look back at the team. The second he took in the shadow dome that Raven had maintained around Mer and Jeremy, his shoulders relaxed, but I didn’t miss the intense look of guilt that flickered across his face.

“She alright, man, Rayven got a shield up quick.” I reassured him, eyeing him warily. I remembered how he had flattened Meredith to the ground beneath him, and wondered if that was why he had lost control.

Dem threaten’ Mer’s life.

Dossidian didn’t like that.

“Hey, sorry about that, we didn’t realize you were travelling with mortals.” The grinning daemon said, before extending his hand to me.

He was just as large as Dossidian, bare chested with shoulder length brown hair and kind brown eyes. His white linen pants tented then bunched at his ankles and he had a large, curved saber strapped to his waist.

“I am Balthion, Dossidian’s brother.”

I frowned at the offered hand and glanced at the much more hostile daemon who seemed to still be attempting to square up with Dossidian. Balthion chuckled.

“That is Darianth, he’s the eldest.”

“You could have killed her!” Dossidian snarled at Darianth, who looked very similar to both Dossidian and Balthion. The biggest difference was the way he wore his hair. Darianth’s hair was cut short and close to his head, and his jaw was much more square than both Balthion’s or Dossidian’s.

“Would have served you right.” Darianth snarled, and Dossidian’s eyes grew dark again.