Page 109 of The Realm That Falls to Her

I reach the Unseelie front line and hurl my magic at the iron soldiers charging forward. It runs through them quick as lightning, tugging them to the ground and crushing them into twitching lumps of scrap metal. The Unseelie cheer as I clear the nearest line of soldiers, and then focus on picking off the strays.

That’s when I spot a goaty, craggy-faced figure several yards behind the warriors, standing on a cart with a book in one hand and the other raised. It’s Maidar, chanting something, his eyes on a spot thirty yards to my right. I turn to it, just in time to see a crowd of iron soldiers seemingly disappear. The ground has given way beneath them, swallowing them as they fall into a pit of Maidar’s making. So that’s what’s causing the potholes.

I grin with triumph, only to feel my own body shifting and start to fall. My horse whinnies in alarm as Evanthe’s puppets swarm it and attack its legs. It rears up, throwing me off, and then bolts. The iron soldiers’ hauntingly empty faces turn to me, their weapons swinging, but I shove them back with my magic, giving me time to scramble onto my feet.

“My Lady!” someone bellows. A crossbow bolt slams into the head of the nearest iron soldier, causing it to jerk violently, but it doesn’t go down. Instead, the thing takes another step towards me, and I ready my magic?—

Except I blink, and the iron soldier is gone. A clank of metal makes me look down, and I see the bolt that struck the soldier was attached to a long chain, that’s now dragging the armor across the ground, bouncing it against the earth with such force that the armor scatters into pieces. On the other end of the chain is a harnessed ursinian with Elias sitting atop it, his red hair streaming.

He brings his steed round in a U-turn, aiming his crossbow again. This time, when it hits the iron soldier, it explodes in a flash of magic. I make swift work of the other two iron soldiers just as Elias reaches me.

“Lady Thorn, take my hand. Quickly now.”

I let him haul me up onto his ursinian, then he rides us back through the ranks of the Unseelie.

“Thanks,” I say. “Are you all right?”

“The cursed warriors took us by surprise, but we’ve adapted.” He lifts his crossbow to illustrate his point. “However, the king was injured in the initial charge. He’s with the healers now.”

“Is Wistal—?” I ask, unable to finish my question.

Elias shakes his head. “I saw him go down. He did not get back up.” He dips his chin, his tone reverent. “May his name echo in our halls forever.”

“And may we do justice to his name,” I respond, remembering Lisinder’s words from the remembrance ceremony. As we continue to ride, the Unseelie’s numbers thin, and we reach a cart of supplies. A huge, brown beast is tethered behind it.

“Parsley!” I shout, scrambling off Elias’s ursinian and scruffing the fur of the bear’s snout. He releases an indignant whine, like he doesn’t understand why he’s stuck here and not in the fight, and snuffles at my armor.

“As I promised, I brought him with us.”

“Thank you,” I say, immediately releasing the tether and climbing up into the saddle. I pat the bear’s flank. “No suits of armor are going to spook you, are they, Parse?” He snorts his agreement.

“Let’s get back,” I say to Elias. “I don’t want to leave anyone unprotected from those things for too long.”

Elias nods, and we hurry back to the front line. But even my few minutes of absence has had consequences. The iron soldiers have advanced several more yards, and Maidar’s cart lies upturned, the wheels spinning.

“Maidar!” I shout, but there’s no answer. In a fit of panic I lift the cart up by its metal axles, not caring about how much energy it costs me. The wood creaks and groans, but it holds together as I levitate it into the air. Then I hurl it upon a cluster of iron soldiers, pinning them to the earth, twitching.

When I turn back I see Maidar lying where the cart was, his book muddied and splayed open beside him, his eyes open to the sky, unseeing.

I feel like the battlefield is suddenly airless, and I frantically tug on Parsley’s reins. He responds, battering his way through the madness towards the edges of the fighting. The iron soldiers may be strong, but they’re not smart. Unless I’m actively attacking them, they don’t see me as a threat, and so there are few obstacles for Parsley as he takes me away from it all. There, at a spot where the ground is clear of bodies, I lean forward and take great gulps of air, trying to summon up the strength to go on. How many more of my friends will I have to watch die before I can stop these things? My breathing at last slows, and I look up towards the Seelie end of the field, only to spot something that makes me freeze.

“Dad, what the hell are you doing here!?”

He’s standing at the edge of the battlefield, a loose breastplate strapped to his chest and a short sword in hand. I urge Parsley after him, blocking his way, and my dad immediately takes a terrified step back, before he recognizes who is on top of the bear.

“Nora?”

“How did you even get here? You’re supposed to be back at the palace.”

His face hardens. “Some of those resistance fighters let me come with them. I wasn’t going to sit by and watch you all go off to war.”

I stare at him, my fear spiking at the idea of him being so close to so much power and destruction. How could he put himself in danger like this, after we just went to such lengths to make him safe again?

“Dad, you don’t know the first thing about fighting.”

He shakes his head, and I see his stubborn streak rising to the surface. “I have to do something, Nora.”

“Why?” I ask, bewildered. “This isn’t your fight.”

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