Chapter 88

Iraced for the clouds, extinguishing my flames as I dove into them, flying fast through the mass of fluffy whiteness, water droplets clinging to my skin and soothing some of the burning heat which thrummed through me.

I sped through them, heading towards the rear of our army, needing to take stock of the battle so I could be sure we were still employing our best tactics. So far, our methods were working well, the advantages we'd so carefully crafted coming together one by one, but Lionel's numbers still spoke for themselves and we couldn't afford a single mistake.

Lightning crashed through the clouds, illuminating the shape of an enormous Dragon in their depths, the sparks which crackled over his silhouette meaning it could only be Dante. The Storm Dragon was fighting our war in the sky, and I was glad to find him still dominating this ever-changing tundra. Flashes of red and blue fire within the clouds let me know that my sister was up there fighting with him too, and I allowed myself a moment of relief at the confirmation that she was still alive.

I shifted, my wings falling away and my gut plummeting as I let myself fall too, crossing my arms over my chest, my feet aimed firmly towards the ground. The air whipped my hair around me in a maelstrom, the stench of battle pungent in my nostrils, so much blood and gore that the world beneath me was stained red with it.

Pain gripped my heart as I took in the bloody scene, the carnage and devastation, our army racing into death before us, laying down their lives for the sliver of hope we'd offered them. Lionel couldn't win this day. He couldn't make their sacrifices mean nothing. I wouldn't allow it.

My gaze raked over the battlefield as I fell like a stone through water, the flying Orders ignoring me entirely, either taking me for a corpse tumbling to the ground or likely not even noticing me at all among the Griffins, Manticores, Dragons and Pegasuses who swarmed the sky.

Our line was jagged now, our tactics shifted from the trident formation which Geraldine had led to start the day, the fight more fragmented, focused in small pods of desperation.

I took in the left flank, Rosalie's pack still tearing ruthlessly into the opposition, and a rank of our ally Nymphs immobilised countless enemy Fae with their rattles, ripping through them with their probes just beyond the Wolves.

My chest swelled with pride as I took them in, but a piercing scream ripped the air in two, making my heart lurch out of rhythm and stealing any false sense of hope I might have been kindling.

My head snapped around, a sharp breath catching in my throat and lodging there where it threatened to suffocate me as I used my air magic to jerk to a sudden halt a hundred feet above the battling Fae.

My lips parted in horror as I spotted the rift in the side of the mountain to the east of our army, the jagged rip in the rocks which hadn't been there before. The howls, the fucking agonised screams of Wolves being torn apart carried to me as the entire right flank of our army, including Seth's pack, were being decimated by beasts plucked straight from a void of nightmares.

We'd thought the monsters we'd set loose on Lionel's army had been it. We'd believed that our sabotage of their cages had meant an end to them. Either we'd been wrong and there had been more all along, or Vard had spent the time between then and now working tirelessly to create these creatures. And these were far bigger, far more horrifying than any I had laid eyes on before.

Fear clutched my heart as a many-legged monster lifted a fur-covered body into the air and tore the howling Wolf in two with a violent jerk which I felt echoed in the lurch of my own heart.

I needed to call for backup. I had to turn the army towards the right flank, but there wasn't time. It was happening so fast and there were more hideous creations pouring from that dark tear in the mountainside.

I twisted my hand and the air tightened its hold on my body then launched me straight across the expanse of the army. I cast an amplification spell on myself and roared a command for any who could hear me.

"Fall back from the right flank! Retreat and re-group. We need shifters, big fucking shifters and as much power as we can muster. Turn all focus to the right flank!" My words whipped away on the wind, but I knew they would be carried to our generals, to Geraldine and Washer, or the strategists who had remained at the rear of the army, ready to put such orders into practice as best they could. But it wouldn't be enough. Those monsters were carving through our forces and tipping the scales even further against us.

A flash of white fur drenched with red caught my gaze and I lurched for it, yanking my sword from my scabbard and bellowing a challenge as I took in the enormous, scaled creature with eight legs and a body something like a fucking horse.

The monster whipped its head towards me, green spittle flying from its lips as it hissed at me then charged. I ducked beneath its lunge, twisting to the right and hacking brutally with my sword, slicing into one of the legs but not severing it as I'd hoped.

Bright green blood sprayed from the wound and where it splashed against my skin a ferocious burn began.

I yelled in alarm, throwing myself beneath its body, water magic cascading over my arm to wash the acidic blood away while I focused on trying to get out from underneath the thing.

The monster bellowed, throwing its weight down, the eight legs splaying as its huge body slammed into the ground where I had been standing a moment before. I swung for it, my blade striking its face, cutting into its eyes and blinding it, though more of that acidic blood spewed in every direction.

I managed to get an air shield up in time to block it, the green spray hissing against my magic as it rolled over the dome of solid air surrounding me.

I threw myself aside as the monster thrashed, lashing out at random now that it was unable to see and knocking Fae flying away from it with savage kicks from its many legs.

I cursed as I rolled across the ground, trying to get to that patch of white fur, hunting the grim surroundings of fallen warriors and this unforgiving landscape of rock and stone for any sign of him.

A ruinous cry made me whirl around, Phoenix fire bursting from my palm as a shadow descended on me from above, another of Vard's monsters diving from the sky, this one with a hooked beak and jagged talons the size of goddamn machetes.

My flames ricocheted off of the silvery scales that clung to its humanoid body, flaring white as their heat increased and making me squint against the brightness.

I raised an arm to shield my eyes and a scream tore from my throat as those talons sank into my arm, the metal bracer bending beneath the pressure of its grip, and I was hauled from the ground.

The beast lurched in jagged motions as it took off toward the sky, Fae on the ground beneath me crying out in alarm as they saw one of their queens being dragged above the battlefield.

I swung my sword, hacking at the leg of the beast, my blade ringing as it struck against the metallic scales coating its flesh. There were enough similarities to a Harpy to let me guess at this creature's Fae roots, but its body was five times the size of my own, its bird head vulgar and unnaturally ugly.

The ground pitched away below me, one glance beyond my kicking legs showing the deadly drop beneath us, but the height wasn't my greatest concern as I spotted a horned beast - something like a bull with jagged spines raised along its back - charging into the fight beneath me.

A deafening chorus of Moos sounded, and I fought harder to free myself as I found a legion of our Minotaurs stampeding into the fight, all of them shifted, horns lowered, and weapons of war clutched in their powerful fists.

I recognised Milton leading the charge by the bands of gold painted onto his horns, the mark of leadership making him into a target while his herd charged into battle behind him.

I swung my sword at the beast holding me again, the burn of its claws sinking into my arm as it found a spot beneath the bracer to puncture.

My breath stuttered in my lungs as some toxin slammed into my veins, my body convulsing, sword spilling from my grip to tumble a hundred feet towards the ground. Ice spread under my flesh in a wave of petrifying violence, and I hardly even noticed that I was falling, air whipping around me as I tumbled over and over like a rag doll, dropped like discarded trash, unable to do a thing to stop the inevitable impact.

My wings flared around me, flames tumbling from them towards the heavens as they curled close, wrapping me in their embrace, trying to shield me from death as my body failed to do anything other than scream in agony.

I hit the ground with a deafening crack, my breath expelled in a scream as I felt nothing at all, then everything at once.

Pain exploded through every piece of my flesh, the lifeless bodies beneath me only making the horror of my fall worse as dead eyes stared at me from all around, accusations whispering on the wind. My mind flickered between here and there, the hisses of the dead surrounding me for an inhale then fleeing as the breath was released.

"For the queen!" Milton bellowed, a chorus of moos filling the air, almost loud enough to drown out the echoing shriek of the monster who had seen me fall, the bull-like beast charging my way, horns lowered, enormous hooves obliterating everything beneath them.

Fear came for me between the ruinous pain, my fingers opening and closing, something soft knotting between them for a brief moment and then falling away.

I tried to summon my magic, but my thoughts were scattered in the endless pain which coated every single piece of my being.

"Wait," I gasped as the Minotaurs turned their stampede, charging into the space dividing me and that beast, placing themselves between my broken body and the oncoming certainty of my death.

Venom. My mind supplied the word between convulsions, between the blinks that shuttered my view of the Minotaurs running towards a monster ten times the size of any man.

I shifted my fingers again, the fur brushing against them, a whimper tugging at my awareness as I swept my thumb against the ring on my forefinger, hunting out the thorn on the rose which adorned it. These rings had been a gift, given to me and Darcy by the Oscura Clan to use if the need arose, and I felt the need rising faster with every passing second.

The Minotaurs collided with the beast, screams of fury turning to agony before cutting off abruptly one by one.

"No," I gasped, gritting my teeth against the roaring fury of my own pain and pressing my thumb down on the ring, releasing the antivenom stored there.

My gaze stayed riveted to the Minotaurs, a flash of golden horns showing me where Milton fought on, an axe swinging from his fist, his horns dripping blood. The monster who faced them threw its weight around wildly, a hooved foot crushing a Minotaur in a bloody spray of gore as he failed to get out of the way in time.

The ice dissolved beneath my skin, leaving only the brutal torture of my broken body in its place.

A sob racked my chest as more of the Minotaurs fell to the wrath of the monster before me, a tear sliding down my cheek and into my hair as I pressed my fingers to my side and fought to clear my mind enough to heal myself.

The thread of magic slipped from my grasp, the pain and clash of war surrounding me too much.

Another whimper sounded from the pile of bodies beneath me and as the wind blew cold and savage across the battlefield, several white hairs were lifted from the Wolf I lay upon and drifted before my eyes.

"Seth," I gasped, closing my eyes as he whimpered mournfully, the tiniest movement beneath me telling me he was clinging to life even more precariously than I was.

The sound of braying cattle and ferocious roars clamoured with more intensity as I blocked out all sight of the battle and forced my mind to focus on healing, the magic snapping into place at last and rushing into my flesh.

I cried out as my broken bones cracked and fused themselves together, blood coating my lips as I coughed up whatever had been making its way into my lungs.

The pain left me in a rush and I rolled to my knees, blinking out at the Minotaurs, now only Milton and two others left fighting the beast whose gaze still lurched my way, like it knew I was the ripest prey on this field.

I pressed my hand through the heaped bodies, reaching for that brush of fur, healing magic still buzzing through my veins and connecting readily to the flickering tendril of Seth's power as soon as I found it.

The monster swung around, the spines on its tail cutting one Minotaur in half and beheading the other, leaving only Milton standing against it. One of his horns had broken, his axe chipped and dripping blood where it hung limp in his fist, the reality of his herd's death freezing him in place.

"Milton!" I roared as the beast turned for him, lowering its head and scraping a hooved foot against the ground as it prepared to charge him down.

My friend looked at me for half a second, pain reflected in his eyes tempered by pride for his fallen herd. In death, they had shifted back, and I saw Bernice among them, her neck cut wide open, her lips parted as if her end had taken her by surprise.

Milton released a mournful moo, his own horns lowering as he turned to face the charge of the monster.

"Wait!" I cried, lifting a hand to cast magic, but my power was locked to Seth's, his wavering heartbeat resounding through my ears as my power poured through him, dragging him back to this side of The Veil through pure force of will.

I pulled a dagger from my belt as Milton broke into a charge, the immensity of his foe making his death all but inevitable as a moo poured from his lips and his feet pounded towards the beast without hesitation.

The monster rushed to meet him, head lowered, sharp horns braced for a killing blow.

I hurled my dagger, watching as it flew end over end, its aim true. I struck the monster in the eye, making it bellow in pain and lift its head at the final moment.

Milton didn't slow his charge, tipping his horns and driving them deep into the creature's bared throat, ripping it open and spilling its blood in a river of vivid red.

I screamed Milton's name as the monster fell, its enormous weight crashing to the ground and crushing my friend beneath it as a deafening boom sounded the finality of its demise.

The fur beneath my fingers turned to flesh and Seth cursed as he woke. I was already on my feet, running, magic ripping from me as I hurled the creature off of Milton with a wrench of air magic, revealing his broken body.

"Fuck," I breathed, rushing to him, scrambling over the bodies of his herd, taking his hand while I tried to ignore the unnatural twist of his spine and the fact that he had shifted back into his Fae form.

"You're okay," I told him, my grip tightening around his palm, the warmth of his skin giving me hope, but as I squeezed, I felt that rush of death, the extra beat to my heart. "Wait," I begged, my magic reaching for his, crashing from me and pressing against his flesh, hunting for a scrap of power to latch on to.

"Milton, wait," I said again, louder, more forcefully, the clash of battle fading around me, the roar of the monsters who had come barrelling through our army falling quieter.

I reached for his face, gripping his jaw in my hand and shaking his head, but the way it lolled was too loose, his expression vacant and fallen to the sky beyond me.

"No," I told him, my magic lashing against his flesh, hunting for any sign of his own, building and building with this infernal need for release. "Please don't leave. Please. I didn't ask you to die for me. I didn't want this. Please, Milton."

Tears rolled down my cheeks, pain ripping into my chest as I gripped his face harder, shaking him again, demanding he listen to me and come back. But no matter how hard I pushed, there was nothing for my power to latch onto. Nothing left in his body for me to heal.

A sob broke from me as I pushed harder, the world blurring with my tears and the loss of my friend, the loss of his herd, of this entire flank of our army. It was too much. The sacrifice too great.

A hand fell to my shoulder and a baleful howl ripped the air apart with a grief so pure that it broke what little restraint I had left on my tears. I released Milton, an apology falling from my lips as I stood and let Seth pull me into his arms.

"My pack," he rasped, his grip threatening to crush me as his tears wetted my cheeks, our pain climaxing as one and the horror of what surrounded us pushing in on our souls.

I trembled as I took in the devastation, the decimation of our army on this side of the warring Fae and the emptiness of the battlefield where so many had fought all too recently.

I processed the strike to our numbers, my eyes raking over the endless ranks of Lionel's warriors beyond them, stretching out ceaselessly while our rear guard was already in plain view.

Those monsters had cost us a brutal price. And I couldn't deny the fear which drove into my heart as I was forced to admit that everything had just turned against us in the most undeniable way.