Page 291 of The Edge of Darkness

The arrows finally ceased. The only sound that remained was the faint grunts of the injured or dying creatures, and the snapping of Calledan’s black and gold banners atop golden masts directly overhead.

Lyceius, the bastard, didn’t stick around for the main event. He vanished from the front lines without a trace.

I looked over at Niall. “Guess he’d rather wait for us to get our hands dirty first.”

The edge of his jawline was visible beneath the black helm he wore, and the muscles there were clenched with irritation. “So be it.”

Roirdan turned his head to Niall. “Say the word, Nye, and the rest will be written to history.”

At his side, Remic smirked, the toe of his boot digging into the ground, ready to launch at the enemy.

Niall surveyed the wasteland, then swung his attention to me. “On My Lady’s signal.”

He could easily give the order himself, but he knew that this path was mine to forge. I was the Daughter of Karios. The Lady of Calledan. The one who would fulfill the prophecy.

And a woman’s vengeance was the deadliest weapon of all.

I drew in a dusty breath, my jaw setting into place as I gripped the hilt of my sword and unsheathed it.

A reckoning. That’s what we would give our enemies.

Remic’s eyes and markings flared red as he withdrew both blades from their place at his thighs and spun them in hand.

Behind us, Calledan’s soldiers beat their spears against their chests, and a united war cry punctuated the air, rattling my bones and sending a wave of pride over me. It was a declaration of their allegiance and their wrath.

A declaration of violence.

I smirked as my brother’s favorite words of encouragement rang through my head. “Give ‘em hell!” I cried out, my voice echoing down the front lines.

Upon hearing my words, several flanks behind us vanished. Just . . . vanished. Then, shrieks of death echoed across the expanse.

The northernmost battalions had ported.

And Lyceius’s beasts hadn’t expected it.

Next to me, Roirdan let out a cry that shook the air around us as he launched into a sprint, lightning crackling around his fists.

New waves of arrows loosed from their bows, soaring overhead and finding their marks in the necks and hinds of the beasts that had torn across the field.

Niall’s shadows collected in a fury beside me, igniting into a pool of dancing shadowfire that threaded through the atmosphere, reaching for the enemy. My light rallied along with it.

We tore across the barren land, and the rest of the armies followed. Silas kept right on my heels like my very own shadow, ready to strike at any threat that even looked in my direction. Behind Niall, Saxon did the same.

The warriors around me, including Niall, let out vicious, powerful cries as the creatures drew closer. Adrenaline surged through me, and I unleashed a yell of my own that rattled my lungs.

Sword in hand, I raised my arms . . .

And cut clean through the neck of a keres. Black blood sprayed against my cheek as the creature went to the ground beside me, but I didn’t stop. I threw my power into my physical shield and swung again, cutting through another creature with black spines protruding from its shoulders. Behind me, Silas’s and Remic’s blades slashed through rotten flesh, taking down multiple grotesque creatures before they could get within ten feet of me.

All around us, chaos erupted. Swords clashed, voices bellowed, and my body moved like a well-oiled machine. I fell into muscle memory, blocking every advance, skirting every swipe of claws, and where my fists and feet would have normally dealt a physical blow, I used small bits of my power instead.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Niall’s shadowfire descending like a swarm, threading between our enemies and ripping limbs from their bodies as it blew through the battlefield. Beneath his helm, his eyes were burning bright gold, his expression deadly.

Aremis wasn’t far either. His body appeared in multiple places at once as he flitted from place to place using his Aura, catching enemies off guard by stepping out of thin air and slitting their throats.

I swung at opponents who came rushing by me, and felt the familiar resistance against my blade as it cut through flesh. Then, I turned to witness two Calledanian warriors and a Dionach taking on one of Skadi’s shadow beings. Quick as a flash, the Dionach flung a handful of ashes into the creature’s face, and the shadow became incapacitated by the death spell. Without hesitating, one of the fae thrust a spear into the heart of the entity, while the other sliced clean through its abdomen with his blade.

Just as I saw the shadow explode into mist, a sudden force slammed into my shield from behind. I spun around to find one of the feral, catlike creatures that Ramil had summoned in the catacombs. It sank back on its haunches, readying to strike at me again, despite my shield. Without a second thought, I dropped the shield and poured my power into a blast of light. The creature moved, avoiding the brunt of it, but the light took a chunk out of its shoulder—a blow that should have at least incapacitated it. But the flesh, the muscle and sinew, instantly began to knit itself back together.