67. Malkar

67

Malkar

T he winds of change are all around. I can feel this moment, right now, means much to the course of all the tomorrows we might have.

Or might not have.

Kami is burning up, covered in the red flame radiated by the war god who clutches her.

They're sharing a kiss, but Kami isn't moving.

I have a bad feeling he's sucking the life out of her.

It's all I can do to hold onto my regular-seeming.

I've claimed Kami as mine. I can't let this continue.

I see my sister all over again, helpless while they stole her piece by piece until she was nothing but a memory.

Oz is still fighting, but he's weakened and bleeding. I have no idea where Ries is, because he never arrived with us.

And Crash…

My life debt, what I'm owed, has been thrust out into the lake. His absence is enough to wrench me from sanity. He's mine. My life to take, and no other's .

At least Kami is still here, still my possession. And hopefully still alive.

Crash. Hmm. I concentrate, and thank the Divine, I feel him still. He's not dead. Not yet. But he's not well either.

The war god laughs, his presence here so foreign.

He's taken Enwiss's place, but I don't trust that Enwiss is truly dead. Because that would be too easy.

Though Beyrthnel is using his body as the base of the avatar he's building, I have no doubt that sadistic elf will survive.

And that's too bad, because I plan to eat him in front of Rilitar.

Just like I consumed several of Folas's family when in my other, clandestine form.

There's a reason we keep our ability to shapeshift into a man-like form a secret.

He doubtless thinks I'm a servant or pet, imbued with some of the abilities of the Kept.

Unfortunately, Beyrthnel knows what I am. He ate my fingers, that fucker. The pain is excruciating. I'm just glad Iskae gave me her eyes and not her talons, or he might have been able to gain insight from her vision, of things she had once seen.

Another fae stabs me with a blade, and I turn and rip his arm from his body, gratified by his shrieks of pain.

I'm tired, but I'm also furious.

I should never have followed Oz so blindly. He's only fae, well, and spawn. It's not his fault he doesn't have the capacity to lead properly.

Once again, I let down my guard, and now the others are paying for it.

I need to escape and take everyone with me. Since it's down to Kami and Oz, I might be able to manage it .

If I didn't have all these fae between me and my pets. And if Beyrthnel, that worthless shit head, hadn't dropped in to play.

He's pushing into our realm, his footprint larger than it was.

All the deaths in the arena have bolstered him, but it's Kami that's giving him the power to truly step forward.

That he could push through Enwiss is one thing. Even Caethybdue used Kami without much fanfare. But she's a goddess of Death, one who has been around and still worshipped since The Meld.

Beyrthnel is only worshipped by few of the population, because who really wants more war? Besides the idiot elves of Sacred Lakes, I mean.

Someone hacks into my back, perilously close to the muscles guarding my wings.

I'm done playing around. But if I change into my true form, I'll have to kill everyone here. No one can know what I am, or I'll have a target on my back for the rest of my life.

Then again, if I don't do something soon, I might not have a life to regret.

Kami cries out, and the horror in her voice spurs me to action.

While Oz tries harder to fight free, I focus on the ice inside me, my power that's been bound thanks to Folas's stolen magic.

Damn. It's no use.

My older sister was always so much stronger than me. Even in death, she contains me. That gem in Folas's left ear I spotted earlier, the dark-red flame of Iskae's fire, burns for the elf who betrayed her.

The depth of wrongness there is so piercing, I'm struggling to get past it. But as angry as I am, I'm also weak.

Crash would have used that rage to burn more bodies .

He's a much better sort than I'd ever figured he would be, putting his pain to good use.

If he's not dead yet, he's close.

And I'm still not doing anything to help.

Weak. Useless. Banished.

You let her die, Malkar. You're so much Less than Better.

I look back at Kami, feeling for the little dryad—the necromancer —despite my misgivings.

I have been taught since a youngling to avoid death bringers. Those who steal life are the lowest of the low.

My Kami has been nothing but sweet, caring.

She's so small yet so powerful. And despite that power, she dangles helplessly in the arms of our enemy. Hurt.

She's fading.

The banging of my heart grows louder, and I realize that hiding my identity means nothing if she's gone. I've already decided to keep her.

Oz and the others as well.

I must prove I can protect them. I can't fail the way I did not so long ago. I can't prove my brother, Ulrast, right, not if I plan to return one day.

But he'd never approve of my collection. My monsters, maybe. Crash, a full fae, would be seen as a boon. Ulrast would kill Kami on sight.

And she's the shining star of my hoard.

No. I can never go home again.

A truth I already knew but had yet to accept.

With a sense of relief, I let myself feel the affection, the possessive caring for my deadly gem.

And I accept the responsibility for killing everyone else, not my property, in here.

I let myself Become and assume my massive form, still considered small compared to full-blood Betters .

"What's he doing?" one of my enemy asks.

"Look out! That's a?—"

I spear that one with my tail, which is thicker and sharper than it is in my between-form.

I let out a roar to attract everyone's attention, giving Oz a chance to take as many down as he can while they stare at me with awe and greed.

"A dragon!" Several shout and laugh, moving closer.

Not realizing that's exactly what I want.

So I can unleash the death that comes, not from a necromancer, but from a beast too good for the likes of any of them.

I smile, showing off my fangs as I swell with power so fast, I crush half a dozen under my massive frame.

Time to feast.

First on the fae.

Then on a god who wants war.

He's got one.