73. Jace

Chapter seventy-three

Jace

Staring down the gaping maw of Adler’s wyvern, Lia’s pain and fear repeatedly slammed into me. Her last words that she let slip through— I love you— replayed in my head over and over. My heart was shattering, but I poured all my focus into my rage, ready to kill this vicious prick once and for all so I could find my queen.

Adler had tried to taunt me, telling me that Lia was dead, unknowing of the fact that not only was she my wife but also my mate. The look on his face once he heard those words may be the last thing I ever saw, and the only view that I wish could have replaced it was her.

Nox raced towards us from where he was guarding the healer’s tent, but I knew he wouldn’t make it in time. The fire building in the back of the red-gazed wyvern’s throat was already blinding me, and I lifted my sword high, ready to die swinging.

A roar erupted from me as I took my first step, the fire blasting through the creature's throat, when suddenly, the beast erupted into nothing but smoke and gore, sending my body soaring violently down the field .

I crashed into the terrain nearly fifty feet from where I had stood before them, agony slamming into me at the forceful contact with the ground as my body rolled even further.

My name was being called, but I couldn’t tell if it was from near or far. I blinked as I looked up at the blazing sky—a once sunny day now consumed by smoke and shadows. And then Zaela appeared above me, followed by Gage.

“Jace!” she screamed, but it was muffled in my ears as my hearing and vision worked to return from the blast.

Gage lifted me up by my back, having me sit up in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by the bloodied corpses of both man and fae.

“Brother!” he yelled, and I slowly turned to face him, blinking the dirt and haze from my eyes. “You’re okay, you’re okay!” he was screaming as he frantically looked my body over.

The veins in my neck bulged as I tried to stand, but they caught me, slamming me back down onto the ground. “Let me go!” I barked at them. “Where is Adler?!”

All three of our gazes flew to where he had been perched atop his mount only moments ago. The wyvern he rode was gone, nowhere to be seen, and he was covered in what remained of it. Pushing himself to his feet in visible pain from the explosion, his eyes were locked on us, absolute fury radiating from them.

My eyes moved across the battlefield, where soldiers from both armies continued to fall to their demise with each passing second .

I swallowed as I pushed myself to stand, reaching down and grabbing two swords at my feet from fallen warriors. “I don’t know where Lia is. She won’t let me in, but something’s wrong. All I know is that she’s alive.”

“They have our girls,” Gage breathed, chest heaving.

“Adler is coming,” Zaela warned, as she positioned herself in a fighting stance.

We were losing. Even with Kellan’s wyvern gone, we had no sight on the witches or the queen, and they likely still had Avery and now Lia.

Our men were falling, their bodies giving into exhaustion. One of the twin witches erupted into ash, and the other abandoned us. Landon was still swinging his blade halfway across the field, but he was moving slower than before. Veli was injured, and the healers’ tent was overflowing. Leon had fallen in battle, and Nox was out of his flame and visibly wounded.

Everything we worked and aimed for was bursting into flames before our eyes, and I saw the knowledge of it in their stares. My two best friends positioned themselves next to me as we prepared to face our final moments, ready to die for everything Lia needed to bring the realm peace.

Suddenly, a horn sounded in the distance, echoing through the skies and fields, projecting from our backs.

We all whipped around, the clashing of steel halting as everyone’s focus turned to the noise that filtered in from the distance.

I squinted through the sun's rays as it peered through the clouds and smoke, and my jaw dropped at what my sight took in .

Endless rows of beastly warriors lined the tops of the hills in the distance, taking all forms of shapes and sizes. A leader stood on four hooves at its center—an enormous centaur, lifting itself on its hind legs as it continued to blow into the enormous, bone-carved horn.

“What in the name of the gods…” I breathed.

Knowing laughter left Zaela as she shook her head, stepping back up to my side. “She did it. They’re here for her!”

Pride burst within me, and I shot it down our bond, hoping that it reached her as I watched thousands of creatures from the Sylis Forest stampede down the distant hills and aim for us. Battle cries erupted from them as their march rumbled the ground beneath our feet.

It wasn’t just centaurs in our added army, but also trolls and giants that towered over even them. Sylis bears appeared after the first wave of warriors, dwarves saddled on their backs, riding towards us with sharpened axes held high in the air.

They slammed into the outskirts of the battle with ferocious ease, eliminating the enemy forces faster than we ever could. The Islan soldiers scattered and ran for their lives, terrified as the beasts of legends charged at them.

A laugh left me as I shook my head. My Lia did it.

Veli wisped herself before us as we turned back to face Adler, who had shaken himself from his trance at what now stampeded towards what remained of his men, and he aimed for me once more.

I lifted my double swords as both Zaela and Gage took off to rejoin the battle .

“Something has happened. The wards of the city have been shattered,” the sorceress declared in a near yell. A look resembling hope lingered in her stare.

Veli was about to send her shadows out when I took a step up to her, forcing her to look back up at me as Adler drew closer.

More than anything, I wanted to find Lia, but I knew I wouldn’t necessarily be the fastest—I didn’t know Isla or its castle, and she could be anywhere. I also knew that there was no way in any fucking realm I would let Kellan walk away from this battlefield.

“We have this handled. Adler is mine,” I declared. “Go find our queen. Bring her back to us. Please.”

Her fuchsia-hued eyes flared but then softened in understanding. She gave me a curt nod right before she vanished, wisping herself to our queen’s aid.

Kellan was feet from me now, and a growl erupted in my chest. Head twisting to the side in a predatory manner, I said, “Not going to run away this time and take the coward’s way out, Adler?”

“I am no coward.” His voice was as lethal as my own.

A feral grin crept up my face, knowing that my words clawed their way under his skin. “Twice now you’ve evaded the consequences of touching what’s mine.”

The muscles in his neck strained as his jaw visibly locked.

“First, you needed your men to bind my limbs and hold me back for you to maim me with a poisoned blade, leaving me to rot in the dirt. Then, you fled a battle, running away like the pathetic pussy you are after my wife plunged that very same dagger into your flesh. ”

He lifted his sword into the air, getting ready to strike as he bellowed, “You know nothing of me, mortal cunt.”

“Oh, I know enough.” I took a step toward him. “You find yourself superior to females and women. However, I must say, every single one that I have had the pleasure of knowing has shown far more courage than you.”

A moment later, Adler’s blade met mine.