Chapter 100

The bloodthirsty Dragon came tearing down from above with jaws of hellfire ready to claim me. But a shield of air arced over my head as I cast chains into existence, making them fly up and coil around the beast who blocked out all light above. I forged boulders onto the end of those chains that weighed a tonne and as they dragged the Dragon out of the air, the huge rocks slammed into groups of enemy Fae around me, crushing them in an instant.

I let the earth swallow me and dropped my air shield as I disappeared into the depths of the soil and the ground tremored with the impact of the beast above.

I carried myself up in front it, casting air at my feet so I burst from the dirt and was thrown upward, my sword turning in my grip to angle down at the Dragon's head. I released my air magic, falling instead and landing on the beast's head, my sword slicing into its skull.

Dante still fought with a couple more Dragons in the sky, but I could see him gaining the upper hand, and with the enemies surging around me down here, I knew it was time for my feet to remain on the ground.

A line of enemy Fae raced up onto the hulking Dragon's body to reach me, weapons raised and magic tearing from them all at once. I sent out a blaze of fire in a ring, blasting them backwards with screams of pain. A whirl of wooden stakes went flying out from me and found the hearts of all those who had waged the attack, all except one who shielded, gaining his feet and turning to run. "I'll bring a plague of Nymphs back to take your head, Savage Whore!" he bayed, but he suddenly stumbled into a wall of solid muscle.

My heart lifted at finding him there, alive, whole, safe. Lance Orion was coated in blood, and there was something so animalistic about him as he grabbed the throat of the man who had run into him.

"You will never speak of her like that again. I will assure it." Orion ripped the man's head off with his hands and let it fall from his grip, and my heart raced at the sight.

A line of Nymphs rushed to meet us, and there was no more time to revel in the fact that Orion still lived. Fate was spinning plenty of deaths that could claim him yet.

I leapt from the Dragon's head and blasted two of the Nymphs with Phoenix fire, the blaze tearing through their bark-like skin and leaving their charred husks to fall at my feet while I readied to take on my next opponent. Orion shot into the throng of Nymphs with his speed, racing through them and tearing their hearts clean from their chests before they even had a second to realise they were dead.

Lavinia was close, her delighted cries carrying from where she was tearing into our army. I readied to fly again, to hunt her down and finish her for good, but then a roar of pain made me wheel around in fear.

Shadow was surrounded by a sea of Nymphs, the huge beings swarming him, forcing him beneath them and stabbing at him with their probes.

"No!" I screamed, taking to the air on my wings.

My hands were raised, ready to cast and fury lined my limbs.

I could barely see Shadow beneath the tide of Nymphs. With a cry, I set my fire loose and burned every one of the creatures who were trying to kill him. The fire swept through them, sending many running for safety while most were consumed in my flames.

Shadow was wounded, but as I landed beside him, those injuries began to heal and I cast an air shield over us, giving him time to do so.

I looked out at the battle forces surrounding us, so much death and destruction, all caused by that power hungry bastard, Lionel Acrux. This had to end.

A flash of pale green made me blink in surprise among the bleak landscape and my lips parted as a little sayer dragon sailed past the safety of my shield. It looked so small, so vulnerable, but even as fear for the creature ate its way into me, it tucked its wings and landed on the head of the largest of Lavinia's Nymphs.

The Nymph had been cutting through our forces with savage brutality, but it went suddenly rigid as the sayer dragon settled down on its head. My lips parted as if I might call out to the tiny beast but before a sound could escape my lips, the Nymph turned to face its comrades and bellowed furiously then launched an attack on its own allies.

My shock was broken by a low grunt telling me that Shadow was well again, and he lowered his head, nudging his nose against my cheek. I swear he meant it to thank me.

"You're welcome," I said, patting him then flying up to take a seat upon the saddle on his back.

I dropped the shield protecting us, scanning the area for the Nymph being ridden by the sayer dragon, but it had disappeared into the thickness of the enemy ranks and my attention was quickly stolen by my own fight.

Shadow roared, rearing up and I held on tight with one hand while preparing my other to cast as Shadow charged through the fleeing Nymphs ahead. I burned the ones he didn't capture in his jaws, or dragged them down into the earth with roots that wound around their legs and pulled them into the abyss. We were a thing of death, the two of us a monster of our own as we tore through the enemy Nymphs, killing them in droves.

When we'd taken down several rows of them, Orion came to stand before Shadow. "I'm yours to aim, Blue."

"Destroy Lavinia's ranks," I called to him. "Take out her defences!"

He nodded, and sped ahead of us, breaking necks, shattering bone, killing with brutal skill. Shadow charged along after him, following the path he paved through Lavinia's Nymphs and I sent fire blooming out all around us, the shrieks of dying Nymphs carrying up to the stars.

Lavinia's gaze turned our way, seeing me coming, and even from this distance, I swore I caught a look of fear in her eyes. She turned, sending more and more of her Nymphs our way then casting a colossal wall of shadow out in either direction, barring her from view.

I growled, knowing I could simply fly over to her myself, but that would leave our army to face this heaving regiment of Nymphs, so I was determined to finish them first.

The Nymphs collided with the air shield around Shadow and me, desperate to break through, but the only thing that could escape was the Phoenix fire I let out, sending it to scorch the flesh from their bones. We were a weapon that was causing chaos, sending the Nymphs into a wild frenzy as they fought to stop us.

Orion was too fast for them to catch, and Shadow and I were too well protected for them to even get close to us. Any who tried fell prey to my fire, and I watched them burn with a flood of hope in my chest.

A roar was growing ever louder at the back of our army, moving closer with every second. I turned to seek it out, the sun blinding me in that direction as I squinted to try and find its source. Then my eyes locked on an impossible reality, making me certain my brother and sister had pulled off what they'd planned, and my heart beat harder with frantic joy. Another army. A new, fresh army was ploughing forward along with our front line with glittering swords carving through our adversaries. The army of the dead.

My breath caught at the impossible knowledge that my mother and father were out there in this battle, fighting to secure our future, and it took all of my strength not to turn and run for them now. To fight at their sides and see them in the flesh. But I couldn't turn from Lavinia. Not when I had her so close, hiding within her shadows and praying I wouldn't find her.