Page 52

Evelina

Evelina willed her breathing to calm. She had to be strong, to be brave and focus on protecting those around her. But if she were being honest, she was terrified. Hundreds—if not a thousand— rebels were nestled into a small valley in the mountains.

“Back above the clouds,” Daimon barked. Zephyr shot into the sky, pulling them back above the clouds and cutting off their view below. Moros was making his final push.

“Daimon, there’s no way we can stop them. There’s too many.” Evelina hated that her voice shook. She twisted her face to his, finding his brows drawn and jaw clenched.

His gaze dropped to hers. The look in his eyes made her stomach sink.

She knew that look. It was the look of a warrior.

“We can’t turn back now,” he whispered. “We have to advance.” He dropped his forehead to hers, and for a heartbeat, nothing around them mattered. “If something goes wrong, Zephyr is going to take you away.”

Evelina opened her mouth to protest, but Daimon kept going. “You are the princess, Eve. You are mine. And I won’t let you die here today. ”

He didn’t give her a chance to respond, quickly strategizing with his unit as they flew above the clouds. Evelina tried to pay attention—she knew she needed to pay attention—but the words went right through her.

The sounds of the rebels drew closer with every beat of Zephyr’s wings.

You’re going to make it out of this. Daimon is going to make it out of this. Everyone is going to make it out of this, she repeated over and over in her head.

She could do this. She could protect everyone from the rebels’ darkness and keep them safe.

“We have two advantages here,” Daimon said, facing his team behind him. “The element of surprise is on our side. We need to attack the second we drop from the clouds. I doubt it’ll take them long to realize what’s happening, but it should give us enough leeway to gain the upper hand.”

“And the other advantage?” Brielle asked.

Daimon turned back to Evelina, a somber smile on his face as he said, “The chance for a miracle.”

The screaming beasts and clanging metal were right below them now. The wyverns were unsettled, huffing through their nostrils as their Riders tried to keep them calm.

“Wings up, Z,” Daimon whispered.

Murmurs of Riders repeating the same to their wyverns sounded from behind them.

Evelina closed her eyes and dug deep within herself as she prayed to Eurydice that she could stay strong long enough. She tugged on her Essence, pulling until the shield covered more than just her and Daimon. She pushed further until it draped over the entire fleet.

Evelina felt weightless as they dropped out of the sky. Daimon gripped her with one hand and commanded his shadows with the others. The moment the clouds cleared from around them, everything changed.

They soared above thousands of rebels, the mass so large they were having to squeeze their way through the valley. Their movements were unnaturally quick, gliding on shadows at twice the speed any human should be capable of.

Brielle and Keir flanked Zephyr, fire blazing in their palms as they raced toward the ground. Evelina didn’t have to turn around to know that Willow and Aster were directly behind them, flying in a formation of five instead of broken into a trio and a pair.

The wyverns barreled down.

Willow moved first, compelling the roots below the rebels’ feet to wind around them. They burst from the ground and grabbed ankles, wrists, necks—anything to get them on the ground. The moment they fell, more roots wrapped around them, tying them up.

A burst of shadows shot from the ground. There were too many Furies to see where it came from, but it was heading toward Willow. Evelina gritted her teeth and pushed her Essence toward Willow, enveloping her in a shimmering shield of light. The shadows bounced off, dissipating as they touched the shield. Willow’s eyes snapped to Evelina, and she smiled. The grin was predatory, a Rider ready for war.

“Now!” Daimon shouted at Brielle and Keir.

Instantly, they released their fire, raining flames onto the ground below to keep them from advancing. Evelina could see the Furies more clearly now; the black veins that lined their bodies like a web of darkness intertwining with their souls.

“Eve.” Daimon pointed to the mass of Furies glowing beneath Aegis flame.

Evelina shuddered and clung to her Essence. Sweat was already collecting on her forehead as she reached deep within herself and tugged on her magic. She pushed the shield of light through the fire and onto the Furies. The light blazed through a large section, turning them to ash.

Keir and Willow broke off, while Brielle and Aster stayed with Daimon .

They repeated the same pattern, Willow using the nature around them while Keir held them back with his fire, and Evelina followed behind with a sweeping wave of light. Even as they took out large portions of soldiers at once, it still felt as if they were attempting to put out a forest fire with one bucket of water.

She tracked the rebels, noting how each time the fleet took out a mass of Furies, a new group was already there to take their place.

“Daimon,” Evelina breathed.

His eyes snapped to hers and he frantically looked her over for any signs of harm.

“Look,” she insisted sharply. She pointed below, a little ways away from the center of their attack, where more rebels were flowing in. Only…the way they were moving was unusual, like they were rabid animals being held back rather than marching in natural unison. “They’re all Furies,” she said breathlessly. “How they got such power… Vidaris must have offered her full powers to Moros.”

Suddenly, Zephyr shuddered beneath them, shaking her head and veering chaotically. She reared back, leaving Daimon and Evelina to clutch her neck to keep from falling off.

“Z?” Daimon yelled. Evelina could hear his panic rising.

Yelling rose from their left and she looked to see the other wyverns reacting in the same way. It was as if something was in their heads, a frequency only they could hear. Whatever it was, none of them would respond to their Riders.

“I can’t feel her,” Daimon shouted. “It’s like she’s cut off from me.” Evelina’s heart raced as Daimon struggled to get Zephyr steady. “We need to get her higher,” he snapped. “The Furies must be doing something.”

He was able to direct Zephyr enough to fly higher away from the disorienting influence. Brielle and Keir followed behind, their beasts flying in a choppy pattern .

Aster and Willow didn’t make it up to meet them, stuck just above the tree line, their wyverns struggling to rise.

“No one gets left behind!” Daimon shouted, directing his fleet back to retrieve them.

Brielle at their side, they swooped back down into the negative force as they focused all their attention onto Aster and Willow below. If they could swoop beneath their wyverns, they could create enough updraft to perhaps help them escape. Keir dashed lower, using his blasts of fire to clear the space below them. Evelina focused her shield onto him, though the tether was difficult to maneuver against whatever power was manipulating the wyverns.

“Get out of here!” Willow screamed as they lowered, tugging at Khaline’s reins. “You’ll get stuck too!”

Zephyr roared against the power embattling her mind, screeching as Brielle and Vero pushed up on Khaline. They were nearly there when an arrow the size of a wyvern’s head shot straight up and into Khaline’s sternum.

The beast roared in pain and slipped from Vero’s grip.

Willow howled a bloodcurdling scream as they tumbled through the air. Aster dipped in altitude, frantic at hearing his soulbonded screaming for her wyvern.

Brielle managed to dart to the side and get Vero’s claws around Khaline as she dropped, taking on some of their weight, just as another arrow launched into the sky, narrowly flying past the two wyverns. With the wyvern’s flight restricted, they were an open target, prey ripe for the predator.

Evelina searched for the source of the arrows, watching as another shot into the sky. Vero thrashed, fighting against invisible chains. She felt Daimon start to move Zephyr toward the archer on the ground. But Keir was closer.

“Fucking bastard,” Keir shouted. He broke apart, racing Codax toward the Furies below. Codax was strong, nearly as large as Vero. But he was flying slower than he should’ve been, barely breaking through whatever control the Furies had on them.

“Keir, stop!” Daimon called after him.

But he was already gone. No one could stop an Aegis blinded by rage.

Evelina briefly closed her eyes, willing her focus to stay strong as she clung to her light, trying to travel after Keir as he flew further away. When she reopened them, she found him positioned between Brielle and the Furies beneath as he headed for the archer.

Another arrow shot from the ground, clipping Vero’s wing this time. The beast screamed as Brielle frantically tried to pull up.

Evelina’s eyes widened as Zephyr reared back with a sympathetic roar, shock causing her hold on her shield to slip. She could feel Daimon desperately trying to steer Zephyr toward his fellow Rider, but the dark magic disturbing her was too strong.

It only took a second. In the blink of an eye, a torrent of shadows filled with crackling light barreled toward Keir, wrapping around his neck. Next, the chains made of shadows reached for Codax, wrapping around his legs and the base of his wings. It pulled him down with a forceful yank. Wyvern and Rider went crashing into the ground, rebels swarming them within seconds. Codax didn’t have time to attempt to get up before the Furies battered him with dark magic, piercing his scales as if they were made of flimsy armor. Zephyr screeched, crying out for her friend.

Keir made a garbled cry, hanging in midair as the shadows around his neck held him in place, slowly draining the life from him. His eyes were on Codax’s lifeless body, his arms and legs flailing as he reached desperately for him.

Evelina panicked, reaching inside herself for her Essence. But it was too late. Before her magic could reach him, the shadows tightened around his throat, snapping his neck .

Evelina screamed as his body dropped to the ground beside his wyvern, landing with a sickening crunch atop the rebels below.