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“...show them how powerful the Night Realm is and that we are not so easily banished! We are not swayed by pretty wordsand pretty gifts. We are fierce, vicious, and independent. We are the true Fae of this continent!” Kazimir finished, eliciting a resounding roar from the infantry.
Returning to the rear of the guard, he plucked a stag’s horn from Vadim’s outstretched hand and lifted it to his lips. The trumpeting call was more akin to a death knell as it rang out across the land, signaling the start to a war that would bring Északi to its knees.
Gritting my teeth, I dug my heels into my mount’s sides, driving him forward among the rest of the cavalry. Kaztar and I raced along, shouting orders for our males to break off in various directions and clash with the Crystal Realm’s soldiers from an advantageous position.
The sun was momentarily blotted out as a thousand black wings beat together, our archery unit better suited for their task from the sky. A volley of arrows from the Crystal Fae attempted to take them down, but in perfectly rehearsed unison, a silvery shield encompassed them, sending the arrows bouncing off and down onto the field below. Their returning fire was rapid and precise, cutting down nearly half of the Crystal Realm’s archers on the first attempt.
The skies had their advantages.
The magic wielders behind the Crystal Fae quickly brought water from the lakes and created an icy barrier for them, tiny holes appearing in the shield just in time to fire an arrow before closing over again. Night Fae plummeted from the sky as they traded back and forth, some with enough force to crack the ice and reveal a warrior hiding beneath. They were shot down without hesitation.
Kaztar and I peeled off in different directions, trying to surround the foot soldiers and herd them into a group so our infantry had an easier time picking them off. But they were either clever or prepared by a seer, and any time we beganpushing one way or another, they’d cut across, move forward, or move backward.
The sun rose higher in the sky.
I passed Viktor locked in battle with three Crystal Fae, his heavy strikes making him slower than the lithe bodies surrounding him. One circled out of his periphery, and without thinking, I yanked on my mount’s reins and kicked him in Viktor’s direction. Drawing a dagger from a sheath strapped to my thigh, I grasped the blade and threw it end over end toward the Fae whose blade was arcing toward Viktor’s shoulder.
It sank into the space between the Fae’s shoulder and neck, dropping him and slowing the momentum of his strike. The blade glanced off Viktor’s shoulder guard, and he whipped his head around after he dispatched the other two.
“You’re welcome,” I said. We locked eyes, acknowledging that I’d just saved his life, before I spurred my horse on. He returned to the fray, cutting his way toward his father who fought a few lengths away.
Mine was in the very back of the company and out of the battle, thankfully, managing the healers we’d brought with us.
Another pass around the foot soldiers brought me back to Kaztar, whose horse had a large gash in its side and was struggling to walk. His blade dripped blood, but he looked otherwise unharmed. “You okay?” I shouted over the clang of blades.
“Yeah, but my horse is not,” he called, angling the injured animal toward me.
I leaped from my mount and rushed to Kaztar. Placing my hands on the sweaty hide, I willed the gash to close, and tendrils of silver magic swept from my palms across the horse’s skin, knitting the flesh back together. The stallion tossed his tangled mane, letting me know he was good enough to continue the battle.
“Thanks, Endre,” Kaztar said. “Domi would have killed me if I came home without him.”
I snorted, since his wife would have undoubtedly followed through on it. “She loves her horses more than you.”
“That she does,” he grinned, scanning the area behind me for threats. “Watch?—”
But the rush of footsteps had already reached my ears before Kaztar spoke, and I whirled around, axe already swinging. It sank deep into the chest of an approaching Crystal Fae. He clutched at the wound and fell to the ground, spluttering blood with a wet cough. Another swing of my axe delivered the swift death he deserved instead of the slow, painful one he would have experienced from a wound like that.
All shadows disappeared from the battlefield as the sun peaked in the sky.
“Let’s end this,” I told Kaztar, striding away and throwing a leg over my mount’s back.
We took off in a gallop to assess the battlefield, scanning for opportunities to break apart their lines. The archers had been dealt with, the icy shield only protecting the magic wielders who took turns shooting the flying archers from the sky with spears of ice. They had started to understand the tactics of their opponents, and one by one, flew to the back of the line to exchange their bows for swords and drop to the ground to battle with magic and sword against the barrier and those behind it.
“Over there!” I shouted to Kaztar, pointing toward where Vadim and Viktor were fighting with their fathers in the center of the field, bodies piling up around them as they danced with their swords.
We turned in unison and cut our way through the fight toward them.
“I thought you’d never show up!” Vadim shouted with a laugh as he cut a deep slice into a Crystal Fae’s leg.
“Need a break?” I replied, throwing another dagger into an oncoming soldier.
“Fuck no,” Vadim shot back, kicking the legs out from beneath one opponent and sending him flying into another.
“Haven’t you heard? The great warrior Vadim can fight for days on end with no breaks, no water, no food. In fact, he needs no food to survive,” Kaztar teased, slicing into an opponent who was running by with his blade.
Erik snorted and wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand, taking a momentary break from the chaos around us with the addition of my blade and Kaztar’s. “Us old males on the other hand–”
High Lord Adimik never got to finish what he was saying. Blood dribbled out of the sides of his mouth as he looked down at his chest, where an icy spear protruded, the tip pointed in my direction. My mouth dropped in shock, and Viktor released a furious cry. “Father!”
