souls of the men the Mórrígan had collected from ancient battlefields. She plucked the bravest from their bloody demise before the Gods of Death could claim them. They wore thick, feathered armor and swung long, black swords where their arms had once been. If one fell, two more would rise in its place. I’d never imagined of all the myths surrounding the Mórrígan, that one was true.
“Dragons,” I called, watching Fyra and Darnell take to the skies to force the mages on the edges of the battlefield to move closer to the middle.
I studied the arrows, flicking my wrist the moment they shot toward the dragons. They instantly disintegrated into ashes. I grinned silently, holding the line while I put everything into play. More arrows were loaded, and I flicked my wrist again, crying out as one of the dragons dove too soon and took an arrow to her chest.
“No!” Ciara shouted, watching as the dragon dropped from the sky, its shrill scream ripping through the air. We watched its body hit the ground while mages leapt onto it, stabbing its body. It flailed helplessly, trying to escape the arrow that was retracting to the ballista by the attached chain. More mages engaged the dragon, cutting it up while preventing the Raven Guard from reaching her.
“Who fell?” I demanded and watched Ciara shake her head.
“Fyra, I think,” she whispered thickly.
My heart hammered in my throat as I shoved the emotions down, turning to look at Lilith. “Shadows.” I swallowed, watching as the shadows that had clung to Lilith moved like a thick fog across the ground, covering the battlefield in darkness.
The one dragon still fought fiercely, and every time they tried to load an arrow, I flicked it until one finally reached the ballista, flinging it like a toy through the air, shattering it. Erie guarded the other machine loaded with iron dust. She was slicing and dicing through the mages as if they were there merely for her enjoyment. I stared down the line one way, then the other as my breathing grew heavy.
“We fight to survive! We fight to protect the horde! We fight to persevere, or we die in the name of glory!” Cheers erupted, and I turned, staring at the mages who screamed in pain. Ice held them to the earth, and fire burned their bodies as darkness consumed them. “Well, ladies, shall we?” I asked, materializing swords before I sifted. Erie threw a warrior toward me, and I jumped, spinning in the air as I took his head from his shoulders. His body landed on the ground in front of me.
A warrior rushed toward me, noting the crown on my head. His blades moved swiftly, slashing for my body as I ducked and dodged each attack. I watched Erie from the corner of my eye as she danced in her long blood-red skirt, her blades pulsing.
Lena’s wings were out, skewering men as she lunged, taking them down effortlessly as those who had come with her joined the fray. Blood covered the ice beneath me, and my swords drank it, offering more to the surrounding ground.
Asher and the Seelie let their power rip through the crowd, surrounding the mages from the outside. The mages had attempted to hide behind a veil of invisibility, attaching pieces of the cloak to their armor.
A giant flung his knife toward me, forcing me to drop and roll through the blood. Coming back up in a crouching position, I sifted, landing on his shoulders where my swords ran across this throat. His lifeless body fell, and I stood upon his back, turning to block yet another blade. Ciara took the attacker’s head, swiftly dodging another assault behind her until the sword found a home in his skull.
I moved toward Icelyn, whose ice blades sliced through the advancing warriors, holding them to the ground with her power. She filled their lungs with ice until their breathing was labored.
Lilith forced the warriors to their knees as her shadows ripped through them, yanking limbs apart and pulling them into dark recesses as their bodies were devoured by the darkness.