Shadowborn Queen - G. Bailey Page 0,37

need me to be brave.

The entire forest is relying on us to send the Titans back.

We have to win.

The keys hanging around my neck glint in the sunlight, almost like Kaelah is with me. I glance over my shoulder. Gold's dragon brings up the rear, his huge wings outstretched beautifully. His eyes cut to me and he nods before he scans the earth again. We're getting close. Only a few more minutes and we'll be fighting for our lives. I don't even know if we'll make it out alive. All I can really do is pray that the Zorya Sisters will protect us.

"Gold, Luke, Axel, Scott... I love you," I say, tears gathering in my eyes and it's not from the wind. "I want you to know that in case anything happens to me."

"Nothin’ will happen, jaybird," Luke growls, though I know it's from sadness not anger. "Nothin’."

A weak smile pulls at my lips. "I know, but I just wanted to say that. My life's been so much better since I met you all. You guys gave me hope when I thought there was none. I will always love you for that, in this life, and the thousands after it. Now let's go kick some ass."

It pains me to think that I'll be fighting my own people. I just hope I can send the Titans back before any blood is spilled. Going by the chaos carrying on the wind, it's unlikely.

The war has already begun.

"Stay with Izora at all times," Axel orders, and the guys nod.

Gold roars and breathes blue fire as he descends through the clouds. It looks like we've arrived. I swallow my fear and nock an arrow despite my trembling fingers. I can... No, I will do this. I've got to. Not just for my guys, but also for my sister, for the people of the forest, for those who have already fallen, for my mother, for the father I never knew, for Danica and Selena.

I fly down and hover in the air above the battlefield, looking for the Titans. Fire covers the ground like a molten blanket, devouring everything in its path. Dragons fill the blackened sky and tears prick my eyes, relieved that King Cyrus decided to fight with us after all. And his warriors are a force to be reckoned with. They slam into the Titans, knocking them to the ground and gnaw at their limbs. But the Titans are so much taller and stronger that it takes five fully grown dragons to bring one to the ground. Still, the Titan rises.

I need to get into the middle of the battlefield.

I land on the ash-covered ground and aim my bow, my guys landing beside me. A Light Fae throws a knife and Axel pulls me out of the way. I release my arrow and it hits the Light Fae in the thigh. I do this for any Light Fae I see, hitting them so that they're unable to walk and fight. I'd rather injure them than kill them. Since injured fae can still be healed, we can give them a second chance. Once they see Eva for who and what she really is, they'll see the light again. I just need to make sure the Dark Fae don't kill my people in the meantime.

It's strange to be fighting alongside the Dark Fae. Narah was the villain of this tale in the beginning, but then she found something worth fighting for—her daughter—and now she's fighting with us. I search the sky for Corvina, but there's too much chaos going on. I do, however, hear a howl that forces me to spin around.

A white wolf with gleaming blue eyes snarls at me from across the field. It runs forward, mauling every and any fae in its path. I shrug my bow over my shoulder and shapeshift, then run to meet it. We stop just out of reach and circle each other slowly, two predators about to go in for the kill.

The wolf snarls at me and bares its blood-stained teeth.

Eva is… dead? But who killed her? Rage cuts through me until all I can see is red. I wanted to be the one to kill that psycho bitch. After everything she did, after all the pain and suffering she caused, she deserved a slow, painful death. And I wanted to be the one to give it