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“Goddess damn it, it’s too early for all this shit,” Viktor swore, punching the tent canvas out of the way as he stalked from the tent.
Every one of our nerves were frayed from days of fighting with not enough sleep. My magic was dangerously low, and with another attack on the horizon, I knew I would be tapped out sooner rather than later. Vadim’s thoughts must have mirrored mine because we exchanged a hard look and left Kazimir behind as we raced off to manage our respective parts of the army.
Kaztar was asleep in his tent, and quickly roused once I relayed instructions.
Our horses were tethered not far from our tent, and I saddled them while he shouted at the males under our command to ready themselves. By the time we were ready to depart, the ground beneath our feet shook with the force of the beasts approaching. Risking a few precious seconds to determine their location, I shot into the sky, black wings making me an easy target against the bright blue.
The olyphants had reached the earthen wall and were making quick work of breaking it down. Already, one had smashed through it, opening a path for spear-wielding warriors to stream through.
Snapping my wings shut, I landed harshly on the muddy ground, bracing my fist against it to regain my balance. “We need to move as a unit, and now.”
“How many?” Kaztar asked.
“They just broke through the wall. We weren’t prepared for an attack, and you know it.” I wastiredof hiding my feelings about this situation. No one listened to me, and we were fucked because of it.
I should go join the Day Fae and be done with it.
He clenched his jaw around the truth and nodded. Kaztar’s horse reared as he dug his heels in, urging his mount forward. Stomping my boot in the stirrup, I threw myself over my stallion’s back, landing rougher than my mount deserved. He wasn’t the source of my anger and it wasn’t fair for me to take any out on him. Still, I snapped the reins and shouted at Fae to part for us as we raced off to join the rest of the cavalry.
The infantry had organized faster than anticipated, and thousands took to the skies in the distance, looking like a murder of crows as they soared high and fast. Our horses ate up the ground beneath them, until we flew as one in a race to defend against the Day Fae.
It wasn’t until we got closer that I noticed the olyphants weren’t only outfitted with metal armor.
From hidden pockets in that armor, arrows flew through the air, piercing the wings of the oncoming Night Fae. The screams started fast and increased as they plummeted from the skies, some using their magic to bounce off a shield against the ground, while others, likely as exhausted as we were, smacked against it with a sickening crunch.
As the ones behind them landed and drew their swords, the Day Fae released the kutya, snarling and foaming at the mouth as they raced across the plains. They were fast, legs moving in a blur of gold, and some cut toward the charging horses. Thefirst leaped and caught a throat in its jaws, ripping and bringing the horse down to the ground. When the rider pitched forward, the kutya snarled and pounced on him too. A few skittish horses reared as more approached, bucking their riders and nearly trampling them as the kutya nipped and ripped at their flanks and heels.
I barely managed to avoid the rider falling in front of me. Digging my heels into my horse’s sides and crouching low on his neck, I urged him to jump over the piling bodies. His haunches bunched and then we were airborne. On our descent, a kutya leaped for us, fur around his maw stained with blood. Liliana’s face flashed through my mind, and on instinct, I blasted the beast away with my silvery magic. The whimper that caught in its chest hurt me, but I pushed the feelings away as my survival instincts kicked in.
A trumpet from the closest olyphant assaulted my ears and stole my attention, and a second wild, furry beast took its opportunity to strike, aiming for my horse’s flank. With a harsh yank on the reins, I turned him, trying to save his life. But I managed to put myself in harm's way instead, and the sharp teeth dug into my thigh.
“Fuck!” I swore, smacking the flat of my axe over its head and forcing it to open its jaws. With a yelp, it released me and fell to the ground.
Hot, ruby liquid poured from the wound, quickly coating my leg. The world spun, and I clamped my hands over my thigh, willing the burst vessels to knit and close before I passed out from blood loss. Wearily, I dug inside and found my magic well stuttering, the silvery moonlight barely wisps of gray.
I’d have to heal what I could and leave the rest for later.
Gripping the saddle blanket, I stripped a piece of cloth from it and tied it over the tattered meat of my thigh with a pointless hope that it would stave off infection. Once it was properlysecured, I rejoined my unit in racing toward the lowered spears and sharp tusks of the olyphants.
“You good?” Kaztar shouted over the pounding of hooves and screams of dying soldiers.
“Good enough,” I gritted out. My thigh throbbed through the lie.
He nodded, standing in his saddle and crying out orders to split and avoid the spears and tusks by approaching from the side. Half our unit banked left, Kaztar leading them, and the other half followed me as we angled away in the other direction. The Day Fae paused, looking between the two groups, and the moment was all we needed to find an opening in their defenses.
“Charge!” I screamed, bracing myself for the losses that would ensue.
The two groups came together like a cacophonous crescendo, where screams of the dying Fae and animals clashed with the snarls and trumpets of the triumphant. The trampled, burnt grass absorbed what blood it could, until too much had been spilled and it slicked the ground instead.
The sun rose higher in the sky, giving the Day Fae everything they needed to use their magic, while the Night Fae suffered with the meager drops that remained of ours.
And still, we kept fighting.
34
Fear slammed into me like a tidal wave, tumbling me around and around until I didn’t know which way was up and which way was down. Air solidified in my throat as I struggled to breathe, struggled to think ofanythingother than unending, unyielding pain. With a cry, I clutched my head as my knees slammed into the ground. Tears streamed down my face as more screams rent the air.
There was so much death.
