Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Zenith

Anash will never forgive me if I choose him over the safety of all of Luminia.

But I can't let him have her.

Trust me , he said. What did he mean? Does he know something I don't?

Behind me, Randal orders the archers to knock their arrows.

"What say you, gargoyle?" Aurielle's smile is pure wickedness. "Is the little halfbreed slut worth all this trouble?"

"Fire!" yells Randal.

A slew of arrows whizz overhead and pelt her silvery shield, only to clatter uselessly to the ground. Her soldiers never flinched. What they don't know is we have a round of spelled arrows coming next.

"Nock." Randal orders. "And fire!"

Another deluge of arrows flies through the air, but this time, they pierce their shield. Magic battles magic. The silvery threads snap and pop, overcome by the clever spellwork Jessup cast over them.

The shield fails.

I don't hesitate. Anash wants me to trust him. He wants me to fight. And so I will.

I lead the charge, sword raised high, bellowing a battle cry. Our front line of flyers is right behind me, the mounted troops behind them.

The cacophony of beating wings and stampeding horses nearly drowns out Aurielle's high-pitched voice. "Kill them all!"

"Nock," says Randal. "Fire!" More spelled arrows wiz over our heads, aimed at her troops' rear flank.

A colossal crash. Soldiers shouting, horses grunting, swords clanking.

The battle begins.

I'm at the dead center, blazing a bloody trail toward Aurielle, but her troops surround her. She has no weapon, but she raises her spindly hands high, already glowing, and lets loose a blast of magic.

The force stuns me with its power. My muscles betray me. Flyers drop from the sky, myself included, but the burst is over in a moment.

We right ourselves and attack. I slash my way toward her, swinging my sword arm. I dodge a blade aimed at me, glide past my opponent, and thrust behind my shoulder to strike his wing. He falls with a cry.

All the while, I keep part of my focus on Anash. He bites the fingers of the man restraining him. His tail wraps firmly around the second man's neck. His guards take this abuse without unleashing any of their own. Aurielle must want Anash alive for some reason.

I lock blades with one of Aurielle's guards. He's strong. A brute. While we struggle, a throwing knife zings through the air and stabs my thigh.

Pain flares hot.

I ignore it, jolting my weight sideways to throw my opponent off-balance. I thrust the pommel of my dagger against his jaw.

He plummets.

Onto the next and the next and the next. A stream of troops clearly ordered to protect their queen at all costs.

The battle continues below us. Her army testing mine. Mine meeting hers with bravery.

This is not what I wanted. Citizens fighting citizens. Death and destruction.

Another blast of magic stuns our side a second time. Her soldiers take full advantage of our moment of weakness. A flyer dives into me, sending me spinning toward the battle below.

I regain control of my body inches before impact and beat my wings hard to avoid an oncoming blow from a woman on horseback.

I slam my boot into a man's flank to prevent him from taking a swing at one of my soldiers.

Already the scent of blood clouds the air.

The sky grows dark, blackening slowly, then completely.

I blink. What under the stars? Is this another of Aurielle's powers? But it doesn't feel like hers. It's too subtle, too cool, too different.

An eerie, ice-blue magic pierces the blinding darkness and lights the battlefield. A chill seizes the air. My muscles shiver.

"Halt." A rich voice resonates over the armies, not raised yet carrying effortlessly to all corners. "Cease your petty bickering, all of you."

An imposing winged man descends from the sky, black feathers glistening in the blue glow of his magic.

It's not. It couldn't be. Surely, it isn't. Not all the way down here in the south.

Aurielle stiffens. "What are you doing here, Gatekeeper?" she spits. "You're uninvited and unwelcome in my territory."

"Unwelcome, maybe." He tilts his sharp chin. "But not uninvited."

The Gatekeeper is clad from head to boot in black leathers and furs. He looks as out of place in the southern lands as a wolf in a flock of sheep.

And we're the sheep.

The battle is bizarrely paused as everyone halts as he commanded. I'm not sure if there's actual power behind the order or if we're all shocked into submission.

"There will be no more killing this day."

"Is that so?" Aurielle's hands glow with the promise of threat. "I beg to differ." She throws a spell at him, silver magic hitting blue, then sizzling out.

"It is, indeed," he says with the same calm, the same certainty as he said "halt."

"Your two sons paid me a visit recently. Prince Evani and Prince Tomas. Sent by you. Informing me of your one-ruler decree. Your war." His distaste is obvious in the slight wrinkle of his nose, the flick of his ringed fingers. "But they also passed along a gift from your daughter, Princess Suvi."

Aurielle sneers.

"Didn't know that part?" The Gatekeeper lifts a single brow. "No matter. I'm happy to tell you."

While the queen is distracted, I test against the magical bonds that appeared to strike us all at the Gatekeeper's command. Not a spell. I can move. Why then did it feel like I couldn't? I dismiss the thought. Now that I can, I need to get Anash.

"She gave me a book. As a greeting and a sign of her goodwill. The Knight and His Squire. You know it?"

Aurielle doesn't deign to give him a response.

He shrugs, an elegant movement, the black furs around his shoulders barely moving. "It's a rare and precious book from the earthly realm. A story of adventure. A forbidden romance. A tale of chivalry and happy endings."

I lay eyes on Anash. He's stopped struggling, as enthralled by the Gatekeeper as the rest of this lot. I sneak closer.

"I read that book," he says, voice clear and unhurried. "As I was reading, I noticed bits were underlined. A word here, a fragment there. Lightly, so one wouldn't notice if one were casually flipping through."

I gently lay my hand at the juncture of Anash's neck and shoulder, breaking whatever spell had a hold over him.

"Zee."

"Ssh." I slowly peel away the loose fingers of his captors. It's like they're under some trance the Gatekeeper so effortlessly casts by his speech.

The Gatekeeper continues. "I paid special attention to those underlined sections until a message became clear. Beware. My mother is dangerous. The matriarch is greedy. She would relish suffering. Sleep. Rest. Need. Sleep. Asleep. Dormant seed. Help. Any ideas what she meant?"

Aurielle remains stiff-lipped and rigid.

"No?"

Silence.

"Well, I have one," says the Gatekeeper. "Your daughter is merciful. She would have you dormant rather than dead. I'm not sure the rest of Luminia would agree, but I do."

With Anash in my arms and her army none the wiser, I retreat to where Randal is at the heart of our troops.

The Gatekeeper flies toward Aurielle, presence menacing. "And who is the one creature who can force a faerie into dormancy?"

She utters a whimper of pure fright.

"Me." He strikes.