Page 135 of The Warlock's Trial

We rushed out the door together. My mother stopped in her tracks when she looked to the sky to see hundreds of flying creatures descending upon us. There were all kinds of magical beings—wolves with wings, griffins carrying riders, alicorns with shimmering horns that were more threatening than beautiful, and dragons with razor-sharp teeth. Fae sorceresses had insect-like wings growing out of their backs, but even their graceful nature appeared deadly as they aimed their spells at our cottage.

“Gods dammit!” Mother yelled. “The Seelie fae have found us!”

Mother blasted a deadly spell at the sky. The magic crackled like lightning, knocking dozens of riders off their shifters all at once. Fae sorceresses fell out of the sky, and dragons and griffins dropped dead into the meadow. As impressive as Mother’s spell was, it barely killed a fraction of them.

“How can we know what’s real?” I demanded. “The fae have illusion magic that we do not!”

Percival waved his hand, and the scene above us changed. Percival used his magic to force the fae to drop their illusions. The amount of fae above us doubled, only they were coming at us from both directions. They’d intended to keep us focused on one army so the other could sneak up behind us.

Spells spun in our direction, and one hit Mother in the shoulder. She fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

Instinctually, I grabbed Maud’s hand. “Together!”

She reached for the others, and we all grabbed hands. Their power surged through me, and a shield formed around my family, so powerful that the fae’s spells couldn’t break through.

A primal scream broke out of Mortimer’s lungs. He aimed his hands at the air, and one by one, fae began to drop out of the sky. A darkness swirled in the clouds as his power of death stole the lives of the fae.

Spells continued to rain down on us, and my shield wavered.

“I do not know how long I can hold it!” I screamed.

Mother winced as she righted herself. “Believe that you will win this fight, and you will!”

“We can’t!” I yelled. “There are too many.”

She ran over to me and grabbed me by the shoulders. “Seelie fae cannot use magic that is not their own, but you can, Alora. Take their magic, and use it against them!”

I gritted my teeth and searched the sky for their magic. Their powers were different from mine, for I had demon blood running through my veins. But I was also the daughter of a god, and I had power even the oldest of the fae could not fathom.

I ordered their magic to become mine, and my protection spell grew larger. Dragons landed around us, shaking the earth. As much magic as I’d stolen, it was still a small amount compared to the hundreds of fae surrounding us.

My family continued to aim deadly spells at the fae shifters. Mortimer stole their lives straight from their bodies, but soon he fell to his knees. Fae continued to fall, while others clawed at my shield, trying their damndest to get through and kill us.

All for being different. All because they were afraid of what we could do.

“Mother!” I screamed. “There are too many.”

Mother hit another dragon with her deadly spells, but I saw the horror on her face. She knew that we were strong, but there were only six of us and hundreds of them.

“We need your father!” Mother yelled.

“Where is he?” Cecilia screamed.

“Call to him, and he will hear you,” Mother promised.

“Father!” the five of us screamed together.

Like a beacon of light, a figure appeared in the sky—a tall being who stood like a man but had the face of a ram. A beastly roar erupted from his lungs, and my father flew through the sky as if he could control the air itself.

My father aimed himself at fae women. He grabbed them by the head before tearing their wings clean off their backs. The women fell to the ground one by one. Shifters noticed what was happening and turned their attention away from us, their sights set on my father.

A massive black dragon shifter went in for the kill, but my father smashed his foot into the dragon’s face, and the power sent the creature reeling through the sky. The dragon landed hard on the ground, and I heard the snap of his neck.

My father lifted his hands, and dark smoke billowed from his palms. It swept through the fae army, killing each one the moment it touched them. A dragon roared, and shifters turned to flee. Any who stayed were immediately slaughtered by my father’s wrath.

The meadow quieted. I fell to my knees, my breath ragged. My father landed softly in the grass, and his form shrank, revealing his human features once again.

“Father!” I cried, stumbling to my feet and throwing myself into his arms.

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