Chapter 48

A s if with the snap of a finger, the Minotaur came to life. It raced toward me at lightning speed. The pain of losing Aryx a second time was too much to bear. I locked it down and promised I'd find the time to fully grieve it. But for now, for Lytos, for his son, his wife, I'd have to fight. He'd make it off this island alive, even if it meant I didn't. I gathered what little strength remained and sprinted away from his unconscious body, praying the Minotaur would take my bait. It sniffed the air, finding the trail of my scent. With perked ears, it altered its course.

I skidded to a halt and took a deep breath. If the beast couldn't see me, its other senses would be heightened. Diving to the ground, I rolled in the bloody muck, covering every exposed patch of skin until I was entirely coated in grime. The taste of iron seeped between my lips. The blood of my own men. Dizzy with nausea, I thought of their shredded limbs and vacant eyes. Bile rose in my throat. I swallowed it back down, refusing to come apart. There was a life far more significant than my own on the line.

The Minotaur continued raging toward me. I closed my eyes and took a breath, stilling the heartbeat pounding in my chest. When it was nearly within arm's reach, I sidestepped. Barely dodging its pointed horns, my legs gave out beneath me. It charged right past, slamming into the fortress wall with a force that quaked the keep all the way to its core.

Dazed, it collapsed to its knees.

This was my time to strike.

Pushing my legs as fast as they'd take me, I leapt into the air, clinging to the beast's back. It roared in protest as I squeezed my legs around its chest, feeling the sheer strength of its muscles contract with me. Clawing at its nostrils, my fingers laced around the pierced iron ring.

Perfect.

I pulled with all of my strength. Sinewy flesh ripped as the metal severed from its nose. Blood spurted from the gash, inhibiting its sense of smell. One more attack like this, and it'd be rendered defenseless.

The Minotaur thrashed in fury, shaking me from its back like a dog shaking droplets of water from its fur. I whipped through the air, somersaulting to the ground. My already wounded spine splintered again, sending shockwaves of pain through my body. Biting hard on my bottom lip, I had to suppress the scream of agony flooding up my throat. I couldn't afford to make even the slightest of sounds.

As silent as the northern night air, I flew across the yard and again leapt for the Minotaur. This time, though, it heard me coming. At the last second, it tilted its horns in my direction, piercing the tender muscle between my shoulder and heart. It sliced clean through my breastplate. The wound, although shallow, lit my flesh on fire. Pushing away from the beast, I rolled to the ground. Dirt clung to the gushing wound, sticking to my glistening skin. Fragments of rock sunk into the muscle tissue, piercing my flesh like minuscule needles over and over again.

Arcturas dove for the beast, sinking her fangs into its bloody skin. It roared again, flailing and striking at the wolf. She was too quick for its frenzied attacks, ducking and dodging each swing of its powerful fists. Ignoring the pain, I let the tingles surge through me. I am in control.

Unleashing beams of power from my palms, I stepped toward the beast. They bounced off its chest, sending flashes of light into the darkness. Blisters of burnt, black skin littered the Minotaur's chest, and the smell was overwhelming, like burning hair and cooking meat. I gagged, watching the Minotaur claw at its chest to extinguish the embers melting into its core.

With another step, I freed another beam from my fingertips. It struck again, forcing the Minotaur to its knees. The impact of its colossal weight shook the ground, sending tremors up the sturdy fortress walls. Particles of sand and stone rained down and encrusted us with an additional layer of grime.

I pounced once more, raising my blade overhead, preparing for a final blow. The sword's edge, dripping red, glistened in the night. I swung at the beast, landing on my knees. Two pale ivory horns rolled to my feet.

Consumed by its pain, the Minotaur wavered and sunk into the ground. Glowing ruby eyes, frantic with rage, blinked into the night. I took one last step, wiping the blood from my lower lip.

Using both hands and my full body weight, I plunged my weapon through the beast's heart. It shuddered against me, exhaling one final breath before collapsing into the mud. Steam rolled off the freshly slaughtered carcass. Heat from its powerful body trickled into the night as life waned from its unseeing eyes. I dropped my blade and sunk to my knees, entirely exhausted, wholly broken.

This wasn't over yet, though. What few men remained scanned the keep for signs of another attack. The bustle of footsteps and clanking of armor greeted us as the eastern and western fortress doors swung open, unleashing another flurry of beasts. This time it wasn't lizard-creatures, however; it was men. Each enemy soldier was plated head to toe in silver armor. Plumes of red horse hair struck from each helmeted head. Like a sea of bristling cardinals, the men swarmed us. Long silver spears and sharp metal clubs circled us, forcing us closer as they encroached into our space. I scanned the yard for Lytos. He remained limp and still where I'd left him. Aryx had promised he was healing, but for now, it was best for our enemies to think him dead.

Arcturas growled deeply, her black, blood-soaked fur straightened along her spine. We were surrounded. The unending flood of bodies stifled the yard air. There were too many lungs and not enough oxygen to spare. I looked at Balakros. His expression was of dark defeat. We were simply outnumbered and entirely on the losing side of this battle. This no longer was a fight; it was a massacre.

A horn bellowed in the distance. What I thought was an earthquake shaking through the fortress gates turned out to be a few hundred soldiers outfitted on horseback. On their black armor shone a simple sigil- a single star with four long points. Hermia and her soldiers had arrived, bringing with them the entire Northern Army .