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Rion took a step toward the limp hand, that once silken hair crusted in blood. He tried to swallow, but his throat wouldn’t obey. His hands were shaking too, his soul fracturing with every step.
Rion knelt, but a blade slashed through the air a second later and he barely registered it enough to sit back on his heels. A male, no, a half-breed, grabbed for her, twisting her body so that he cradled it against his chest. The half-breed pointed a blade at him, growling in desperation.
Then Rion heard the faint heartbeat. The shallow breath. Something in the air cleared and he scented the female again.
It wasn’t Arianna.
But the similarity, the likeness in both scent and appearance.
“Is that Ellie?” The half-breed growled again, baring his fangs in hopelessness. Rion stood carefully. “Is that Arianna’s sister?” he asked with a bit more force.
Her name seemed to break his trance and Rion’s nostrils flared. “Where is she?”
Chapter Forty-Four
Arianna
Arianna landed another blow, watching the life ebb from the face of her enemy. A comrade collapsed to her left, and she eyed the rest, taking a shaky breath amid the chaos.
There were so few of them now, but those few were the reason she still stood and fought. Because every single one of the warriors surrounding her was battling for the queen who kept healing them, no matter how much her body begged her to stop as they faced off against the largest military force they’d ever encountered.
Talon’s blade tore through another of Fiadh’s warriors, moving with a precision that hadn’t waned since he began. He’d danced through them for what felt like hours, never pausing for breath.
But she saw the consequences of that constant strain. It was only by a fraction, but his movements were slowing. She kept glancing his way, far too often, for someone who should be focused on herself.
But so many bodies already littered the ground and the thought of Talon joining them… The thought that he could fall and there’d be absolutely nothing she could do to stop it was unbearable.
A knife reflected the sun’s light, and her cry of warning came too late. The sharp blade plunged into Talon’s side, and he roared in pain, twisting to kick in the warrior’s knee. Talon followed the movement by shoving his sword through the male’s throat.
He stumbled back a step and their unit converged upon their commander. Arianna’s hands were over his wound seconds later, his blood spilling out over her fingertips. She panted, feeling the muscles knit themselves together and willed her magic to work faster. Metal rang from all sides and smoke still filled the air, burning her lungs.
Dread settled in the pit of her stomach. They couldn’t keep this up. Over half of their forces had already fallen, and Fiadh’s warriors kept pouring in. But if they stopped fighting, Fiadh’s warriors would overrun the civilians struggling to escape. Females and children would be taken as slaves or slaughtered. Her country’s capital would fall. Everyone she’d ever cared about would cease to exist.
Arianna clenched her jaw and let her gaze flicker between her comrades. Each of them had made the same decision without ever speaking. No matter how much their bodies cried out for rest, no matter how much they suffered, not a single warrior would surrender.
Her lips trembled, tears threatening to spill over. Even if, by some miracle, they survived, she wasn’t certain about Ellie. Her little sister could fight, there was no contesting that, but the fear had overwhelmed her, made her forget her defenses and within moments they’d been separated. Talon’s second had split off to retrieve her, but then Fiadh’s forces had swarmed in, their numbers seemingly infinite and Arianna had lost track of her little sister.
Arianna knew Talon’s warriors were some of the best, but she also knew the devastations of war and as much as she wanted to rage against the idea, she might never see Ellie again. Or anyone for that matter.
Hot tears streaked through the blood and dirt caking her face. Help wasn’t coming. They’d fight as much as they could, but reality was closing in fast. They weren’t going—she startled, Talon’s warm hand breaking her downward spiral into despair. He stood and despite the hopelessness that had settled over her, his jaw was still set, his eyes determined. No matter how bleak, Talon wasn’t giving up this fight.
She wiped her tears away and took his outstretched arm. It didn’t matter if they wouldn’t live. It didn’t matter the impossibility. All that mattered was their last stand. These last moments. Because if she, if they, were going to die, then they’d go together. They’d make a final display so grand, the people of Móirín would sing songs about them for centuries.
The lost queen and her warriors.
Arianna settled back into her stance, letting Talon’s teachings flow through her. Talon yanked water particles from the air, and she followed his lead. It burned. Her magic burned, spluttering like a stream running dry. But she kept tugging at those depleting reserves, refusing to accept defeat.
The particles surrounding the pair hardened into ice and her breath clouded despite the warm air. Talon rotated his blade, stretching his wrist, and launched back into the fray. Arianna followed.
Her too-large sword slammed into her enemy’s shield, and she gritted her teeth against the sound, spinning toward his exposed left side. Her blade met its mark, warm blood rushing from the wound. She withdrew and collided with a second.
Just one more, she kept promising herself. One more enemy and she’d get to go home. One more death and she’d get to see Ellie’s smiling face, safe and sound at their family estate. One more and Talon could rest and—
Their entire line stepped back. Another comrade fell, too far for her to reach as Fiadh’s forces pushed them back again, their magic like a battering ram against their dwindling energy. Talon gritted his teeth, hardening a shield around his comrades as the flames threatened to break through. She lunged again, sinking her blade deep.
One more.
Another comrade fell.
