Chapter 49

49

I zidora, Zuriel, and I tucked ourselves into tight balls, trying to remain unseen. The retinue of soldiers accompanying us did the same, keeping their crossbows tight to their chests. The iron bolts, notched and ready to shoot, would render the Night Fae unable to fly, even from just a scratch, as they slowly leeched their magic. Scattered across the mountainsides, other groups like ours waited, though with our low supply of crossbows, they wielded iron-tipped whips to attack from a distance. No one around us had one, because I refused to allow them near my mate, not when I needed her to be sharp for this battle.

As if she sensed my thoughts of her, she flicked her gorgeous aquamarine eyes to the side.

She was so damn beautiful.

Especially as the moonlight ghosted across her full lips and the stars twinkled around her head.

The first whisper of wings had us stiffening, and beside me, Izidora sucked in a breath. Against the powdery snow, we looked like a spill of small boulders, and I hoped they wouldn’t notice us until they were nearly upon us.

A fat, angry cloud covered the moon, stealing what little light the night had to offer. My blood thrummed with anticipation, and I let the bloodlust rise in me, the darkness that haunted me since childhood ready and waiting to play.

Pain – that was all I thought life had to offer me until Izidora swept into it like a wildfire.

After this was all over, I wanted to be free of it – wanted her to be free of it, too.

Exhaling slowly, I raised my hand, signaling the archers to take aim. They were more than ready to end this, and with a full quiver slung across each of their backs, I hoped they could send thousands of Night Fae crashing from the skies.

Izidora closed her eyes, tuning into her magic and readying a shield for us once the first volley was loosed. The bolts would give away our position, and with how many archers they had before the retreat, I wasn’t taking any chances on the return fire that would rain down on us.

The Night Fae closed in on three sides, but the ones coming from the west were our main concern. Drazen and the others were out there, preparing for their assault, and with one last glance around to ensure we were properly positioned, I whispered, “Fire.”

The whooshing of bolts filled the air around us, shattering the silence before the discord of broken cries signaled the start of the battle.

Immediately, a shield of white energy surrounded us, and the males quickly reloaded their weapons. Above us, the Night Fae swooped and scattered, searching for their attackers. The smarter ones found us immediately and shouted for the others to regroup. As they dove, swords ripped from their sheaths, and bows took aim, their wielders tugging on the thick strings.

“Ready!” Izidora called out, trying to time her shield with the next volley. “Aim!” The males tipped their crossbows toward the sky. “Fire!”

The white disappeared a heartbeat before the bolts would have rebounded off of it, soaring upward to their targets. A blink later, we were covered again, and the answering arrows bounced harmlessly off the shield, falling to the ground around us.

Curses flew down along with the Night Fae, and they landed a dozen paces away, ready to attack when their feet touched the ground.

Rising slowly, we turned to face our enemies. Izidora stifled a groan as she shook a leg to get blood flowing through it again. Sitting so still in the cold was terrible, but the number of broken bodies littering the mountainside was worth it.

The sound of the continued screams of falling males was almost like a soothing lullaby to my ears.

Izidora’s shield expanded outward to cover everyone as our positions changed. But we didn’t have long to ease all the ache from our limbs as the Night Fae charged.

Whatever magic they possessed flickered into existence as they made their intent clear – they were going to break Izidora’s shield. But my mate was ready. The moment they were too focused on her magic, she let it drop, and another volley shot out, impaling a dozen in the throat and sending more scattering as they tried to dodge the iron projectiles.

The sharp zing of my sword against its scabbard imbued my muscles with adrenaline as I sprinted forward, Izidora right beside me. Her two short swords left garnet gashes in their wake as she sliced the males into ribbons while my own blade sank through shoulders and stomachs. Blood sprays dotted the otherwise pristine snow as we killed. More and more bodies fell, sliding down the steep slopes and piling up behind boulders and trees.

“Watch out!” I shouted at Izidora, who had gotten too far away from me and didn’t see the male trying to drop down behind her.

Her aquamarine eyes flashed to me before she ducked the blow in her periphery, forcing her two opponents into each other. With a hard kick, she swept the newcomer's feet out from under him, sending him pinwheeling backward and off the edge of the cliff. She threw a hand toward the other male, white fire setting his leathers ablaze before he rose from the snow. His screams pressed against her back as the third flapped his wings and adjusted his position, malice filling his eyes.

With a flick of my wrist, the three males blocking my path to her were engulfed in black fire, and I paid them no mind as I stalked toward my mate and that male. “Finish him, Izidora,” I growled, throwing my sword up at a charging Night Fae to allow her space.

“Gladly.” She returned the venom in my tone, eyes alighting on the male landing in front of her.

He scoffed and drew his sword. “When I’m finished with you, your precious mate will be next.”

The laugh that erupted from her made me grin like a madman. “I do love when they underestimate me.”

I didn’t bother giving my opponents my full attention as I watched my mate. These farmhands were no match for my strength and skill.

Izidora took a menacing step forward, and my cock twitched as the moonlight cast her in a haunting relief. The white of the snow highlighted an insidious grin. She feigned a strike, and the male fell right into it, allowing her to slip closer to him and slice deep into his thigh. He stumbled, dropping to one knee, and braced his hand against the ground. She wasted no time slicing up his arm, and with a grunt, he attempted to rise, only to be kicked into the ground with her boot.

She stood over him, blades pointed in two directions. “Not so tough now, are you?” she taunted him, and fuck, I wanted to have her right there. The rage she displayed as she toyed with her opponents was intoxicating, and memories of us fucking after we’d killed her captors in the cave flooded my mind.

“P-p-lease,” he stammered, and she tsked.

“Mercy? Is that what you want?” She lifted a brow at the same time she flicked a sword toward his dick.

“I’m just doing as I was told,” he whimpered, and the scent of piss assaulted my nostrils.

Pathetic.

“I had to do the same thing,” she crooned, tracing the tip of her sword up his abdomen. “But you know the difference between you and me? I thought every day about how to get out of it. You are a sheep who never had the guts to stand up for what you believed in.”

Before he could protest, she stabbed him in the chest. His hands clasped involuntarily around the blade before he collapsed backward.

The last of the Night Fae that dared to confront us fell under my blade next, and in three strides, I had Izidora in my arms, kissing her fiercely as my blood heated with desire. She kissed me back with equal ferocity, and it was hotter than any fire I breathed in my Dragon form.

“You are so fucking sexy when you taunt them, sprite,” I groaned, pushing images of what I wanted to do to her into her mind.

Her aquamarine orbs glittered with delight. “It feels good. The darkness. The power. Holding their lives in my hands and deciding when they should end.”

Setting her on her feet once again, I tucked an errant strand of chestnut behind her ear. “Don’t ever be ashamed of who you are and what you desire.”

She scoffed, shoving lightly at my chest. “Now why would I do that when being me is so fun?”

A wild grin twisted my lips as I followed her back to the huddle of our remaining soldiers. “Where is our next spot?” she asked Zuriel, who stood perched on the edge of the boulder, scanning the area below.

“There,” he pointed, and I hopped up to join him and follow his line of sight.

Across the mountains, small groups fought fiercely, but just down the cliff from our spot, a legion of Night Fae were overpowering a group of Iron Fae and Félvér.

We leaped to the ground, landing lightly, as I commanded, “On me.”

Our group closed ranks, and I uttered the spell to move us to that spot. When we popped into existence, our soldiers immediately broke apart, firing bolts into the backs of the Night Fae. With renewed vigor, the other group fought forward, and we made quick work of finishing them off.

The first streaks of blue swept across the sky as we moved on to the next landing, losing and gaining soldiers along the way. The stars winked out of existence one by one, the sky brightening and revealing the true cost of the battle. Bodies littered most available surfaces, and some resorted to shoving the deceased off the edge to give themselves a fighting change.

Our strategy was working, and as we made our way down the mountain, the frozen waterfalls melted, hot reds mixing with icy blues. But as I scanned the battlefield, taking a momentary reprieve to drink some water, I still couldn’t find the one male I wanted to see bloody and broken in a ravine.

Kazimir.