Chapter 89

The boom of the war machine firing exploded through the air; the sound compounded a hundred-fold from inside the foul contraption. My ears rang as I swung my axe at the first of the soldiers positioned within the wooden hull.

After we'd burned the first of them, the Fae inside and surrounding the towers had thrown all of their efforts into shielding them, meaning we'd had to change our tactics and head into the things on foot.

No two of them had been laid out the same inside, each with hidden pitfalls and secret doors to bar the way to the controls and the Fae powering them. But there was a flaw in that because the motherfuckers who were pooling their magic to power the star damned machines had to be replaced often as their magic grew thin. That meant that a fresh supply of wielders had to be close at all times to take over, so they hadn't been able to shield the entire thing from entry. Especially not from two of the most powerful Fae on this battlefield.

Xavier whinnied as he galloped through the wooden space, forcing Fae to leap aside or be crushed beneath his hooves. I blasted anyone who turned their focus on him and soon my fire magic was catching on the walls, screams of panic building above us as the smoke rose and warned the Fae trapped in this thing of what was coming for them.

Xavier whirled towards the sounds of their panic and kicked out with his back legs at the wall there, causing it to buckle and opening a new way on for us.

I broke into a run, my axe slicing into one Fae's leg and cutting open another's throat as I ducked between the bodies lunging for me, though none of them got closer than that. They were too thrown off by our sudden appearance and the fact that neither of us were hanging around to fight.

Xavier shifted, slipping through the crack in the wood and wrenching it wide enough for me to follow him.

Ice spilled from my fingertips as I ran to that gap in the wall, and by the time I dove through it and sealed it at my back, none of the bastards behind me had even noticed that I'd sealed the entrance too, locking them all inside this thing and tethering them to its fate.

A spiralling staircase led the way on and I ran for it, ignoring the four soldiers who were fighting to break free of Xavier's vines by the doorway.

I took the lead, partly because I wanted to take the brunt of whatever awaited us above, and partly because I didn't want to look at Xavier's naked ass while we ran up the stairs or catch a side eye from his sparkling cock.

Adrenaline pumped fitfully through my limbs, the knowledge that the Fae above would be waiting for us a potent cocktail of thrill and foreboding.

I let my water magic race ahead of me, tiny droplets flying up the stairs and skidding along the wooden floor above, seeking out the warmth of blood. One by one, my water droplets ran over hardened boots and slipped beneath bracers and trousers to find flesh.

I doubted any of them even felt the splash of liquid against their skin or noticed when the magic sank deeper, linking my focus to the blood in their veins and letting me take hold of it.

This magic was difficult, my link on it tenuous at best, but all I had to do was pull and-

Cries of alarm were echoed by the thuds of around twenty bodies hitting the floor at speed as I yanked on their blood, pulling it downwards, making it rush to the soles of their feet and causing their bodies to riot in panic.

I couldn't hold it, my grip spread too thinly and my focus split too far, but as we burst into the room and Dragon fire ripped from my body, I didn't need to.

They barely even had time to scream before they died, the ball of power which they had all been in the process of loading into the cannon falling from their grasp.

My eyes widened as that crackling expanse of white and blue energy slipped back out of the contraption, its creators dying and thereby releasing their control over the bomb they'd formed with their magic.

"Xavier!" I bellowed in panic, whirling for my brother, magic rushing to my fingertips to form a shield which I knew wouldn't be enough.

But as I spun to face him, that ball of energy falling towards the floor at my back and wild terror lighting in my heart, I didn't find my sweet brother standing stricken with panic at the knowledge of our impending deaths. I found a war stallion charging me down, head low and nostrils flaring as he galloped straight for me and beyond where the open hole sat for the cannon to fire through.

Instinct took over and I leapt for him, grabbing a fistful of his mane while he lowered his head and dipped a wing to allow me to launch myself onto his back.

The explosion ripped the world apart in the centre of the war machine and my shield of ice flared wildly at our backs as we leapt from the precipice and dove towards the enemy ranks below.

It sounded as though the earth had cleaved in two behind us, the explosion so furious that I could hardly believe we were still alive to hear it, the heat from it rushing after us in a wave of furious fire.

My shield cracked and splintered as Xavier's wings snapped out, and the Fae beneath us fell prey to the explosion in a wave of death that I could feel singing through my blood in payment to The Ferryman.

Yet still we lived.

Xavier beat his wings and flew hard for the sky above us where lightning and Phoenix fire ripped the clouds in two, revealing a swell of Dragons swarming in battle with countless other flying Orders.

The shockwave from the explosion struck us and we were sent tumbling through the air, higher and higher, my grip on Xavier's mane so tight that I feared I'd rip his hair clean out.

The urge to shift filled me but I held off, knowing that the moment I did all secrecy to my location would be lost, still hoping against hope that I could get to my father and end this myself.

Xavier whinnied wildly as we tumbled through the air, unable to do anything other than ride the wave of force which the explosion had expelled for several disorienting, terrifying seconds.

His wings finally snapped wide again, and I blinked around at the battles taking place in the sky, trying to orient myself, noting the last remaining war machine and preparing to-

A creature of shadow and darkness collided with us from nowhere and I cried out as its claws sank into my armour and I was ripped from my brother's back.

Xavier whinnied in alarm as he was hurled away from me, and I was enveloped in darkness as the leathery wings of the beast which had struck us blocked out all sight of the sky beyond.

I ripped my axe from my back and swung it at the creature, but I was thrown from its grasp and sent tumbling across hard, rocky ground before I could make contact with it.

I spat a wad of blood from my mouth as I shoved myself to my feet and a growl rolled up the back of my throat as I took in the Dragon who towered over me, his body carved of a shade so dark it seemed to suck the light from the sky surrounding it.

Tharix bared sharpened fangs as he loomed over me, and I was struck with the question of how I was supposed to kill a beast who couldn't die.