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Daimon

Daimon couldn’t move his gaze away from Keir’s lifeless body. He was sprawled on his back with his eyes open, staring blankly at the sky above—directly at Daimon.

He wasn’t quick enough to save him. Rage and pain twisted together, rolling through his entire body in punishing waves.

Keir was dead. Codax was dead. Wyvern and Rider lost together in battle.

Daimon was supposed to lead as commander, to keep his fleet safe. But he didn’t.

The world around him quieted, his vision blurring and his ears rushing as if he were beneath the sea.

“Daimon!” Evelina shouted. “ Daimon !”

The sounds of battle filled his head once more. His eyes snapped to Evelina. A tear slipped down her cheek.

A flurry of motion beneath them made him tear his gaze away from her. Elias and Ranick were joining the fray, their wide eyes set on where Codax and Keir lay, their bodies nearly covered entirely by swarming Furies.

Daimon took one long, final glance back to where the rebels swarmed his comrade’s body completely.

There wasn’t time to grieve .

Willow and Aster were still stuck, and Brielle had no choice but to steer Vero and Khaline sharply to the left, making a break for a clearing close by as Zephyr’s updraft pushed Aster and Ryug back into the sky.

Descending into the tree line, Brielle split from the two, staying near as she watched them lower. Daimon couldn’t see them anymore, but he could hear trees cracking and breaking beneath the pressure of the wyverns landing heavily.

He sent a prayer to Eurydice that Khaline would survive. For now, they still had a battle to fight. While they were guiding Willow and Aster to safety, the Valon ground soldiers had arrived. A mixture of Woodland and Nox, from the looks of it. The Woodland were encasing the rebels with chunks of soil and rock, but they were breaking through it as if it were dust. The Nox were trying to use their shadows to stop them, but the Furies’ magic was darker. Stronger.

Daimon shouted commands at his remaining fleet, calling out for them to follow. Their wyverns didn’t hesitate, briefly emboldened by their rage at the loss of Keir and Codax, quickly falling in line alongside Zephyr. Brielle flanked Daimon’s right in her usual position, but Elias now rested on his left instead of Keir. Ranick watched their back.

Daimon knew they would be hurting. He needed to be strong for them. To lead them.

There wasn’t time for emotions, not as a new wave of rebel soldiers came barreling in.

“Shit,” Daimon breathed. “Elias and Ranick, close in from the left side while Brielle and I take the right. We take out as many as we can to help the ground troops.”

Elias and Ranick shifted toward the left side of the valley.

Daimon reached around, grabbing Evelina’s chin until she was face to face with him. “You can do this, Eve. Focus on the edges of the ground soldiers’ formation and take breaks before you burn out. Only shield yourself for now, conserve your energy. ”

She nodded once, her eyes clouding with tears. “It only dropped for a second. But?—”

His chest tightened. “You can’t save them all,” he whispered. What happened to Keir wasn’t her fault. If anything, it was his. He was the commander. “But you’re already saving more than if we didn’t have you here.” He leaned forward, giving her a soft, quick kiss on the lips. He released her chin and she took a deep breath as they dove into the fray.

Ranick and Elias were creating a wall of fire along the back edges of the ground soldiers, but from the looks of it, it wasn’t enough to stop the rebels’ darkness from slipping through.

That’s when Daimon felt the weight of their cursed weapons dampening his magic. Evelina’s shield wavered, the heat of its presence against his skin faltering.

A mass of Furies collided with a group of Valon fae beneath them, their darkness hurtling in all directions around them. Daimon was still struggling to control Zephyr, who was quicky losing control again. Daimon could feel the warmth of Evelina’s magic flare, her eyes set on the soldiers beneath. “Eve, not yet?—”

Within seconds, the Furies attacking their soldiers were gone—mere dust flying in the wind as her light tore them apart from the inside out.

“You have to conserve it,” Daimon called out over the sounds of battle.

Her shield dropped almost instantly and she took a steadying breath. Her breathing was heavy; he had a feeling she only listened because she was spent.

A roar came from the river, where Ranick and Elias were holding off the new wave of rebels. Daimon’s head snapped toward them. They were overwhelmed, their wyverns screeching.

The enemy was relentless. No matter how many they took out, more came streaming into the valley.

They had to get to their source.

It was a dangerous idea, even with Evelina’s light power. But the longer Daimon watched the stream of Furies flow toward the heart of the fae lands, the more he realized this might be the battle where they could lose it all. If Vidaris’s magic was feeding the rebels’ strength… They had to stop them.

“Give up offense! Follow the river,” Daimon shouted. “If we get to the source, we might have a chance at winning this!”