Page 395 of Born of Blood and Ash

I stalked toward the nearest Revenant, deflecting a blow.Then another. I glanced up, seeing red scales high above the clouds. It was Naberius, but that wasn’t good news.

“Kolis’s draken,” I hissed,driving the sword through a Revenant’s chest.

“Focus on the Revenants,” Ash commanded, his voice lacedwith authority. “Our draken will meet his in thesky.”

I nodded, steeling myself for the carnage to come as the aircame alive with bloodshed. Shoving a Revenant back, Ash sliced into its chest.

Aurelia caught a ceeren in herjaws, and Nektas threw at least three into the treeswith a punishing sweep of his tail. The wounds in his side didn’t seem as deepas before.

I drove my sword down and saw blood dotting Rhain’s face.“You okay?”

“Not my blood.” He knelt by a fallen Rev, pulling a vialfrom his satchel. He pried the mouth open, pouring two second’s worth of draken blood into the Revenant’s mouth. “At least, not allof it.”

I glanced at the Revenant Rhain knelt by. It was still out,but its body began convulsing as its flesh flushed and then bubbled—

“You’re probably not going to want to watch that,” Rhaincalled.

Too late.

The bubbles along the Revenant’s flesh exploded, and theskin melted. I lowered my sword as muscles and tendons caught fire as if theywere nothing but paper. Holes appeared in bones and ignited, burning eventhose. There was nothing left but a mess of pink and scraps of charred flesh.

“That is…disgusting,” I muttered.

“Sera!” Ash shouted. “Behind you!”

I spun, coming face-to-face with a shadowstoneblade wielded by a dark-haired goddess. A wave of fiery pain went down my armas I lurched to the side.

Ash’s growl tore through the air a second before a stream ofshadowy eather smacked into her.

“Are you okay?” Ash was at my side in a heartbeat.

“Yes.” I breathed through the pain. “Just a scratch.”

He stared at me for a moment, then snapped forward. Pinchingmy chin in a gentle grip, he thrust his sword, catching either a ceeren or a Revenant as he kissed me.

He lifted his head and pulled his sword free. His handdropped to my hip, and he nudged me to the side, gripping the hair of whatturned out to be a ceeren. It snapped at him, and hedragged his sword up, disemboweling it.

Above, roars shattered the skies when our draken met Kolis’s. Flames of eatherlicked from their jaws as they descended upon his draken.Talons dug in, ripping through hard scales.

I dragged my attention away, scanning for any sign of Kolis.A ceeren came at me, the cloth she wore drippingpinkish water. Her full lips peeled back over bloody teeth. I parried a blowaimed at my heart.

Another charged, and I threw out my hand. Eather powereddown my arm. The burst of Primal energy slammed into the ceeren.He stumbled back, looking down at the charred hole in his chest. His kneesbuckled, and I clenched my jaw against the throb of death.

The female ceeren screamed,drawing her sword back—

A shadowstone blade sliced throughher neck. Her body went in one direction and her head in the other.

Ash stood there, more fresh blood dripping from his sword.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” His gaze turned to the sky as ared-and-black draken dug its talons into the back ofa smaller, brown one. “Fucking Diaval.”

I inhaled sharply as Diaval toreinto the draken’s throat, ripping through scales andbone. Aurelia let out a staggering, mournful call when the brown draken fell, shifting into his mortal form.

Ehthawn crashed into Diaval with a thunderous clap. They were a spiral of wingsand talons, tearing into each other. Behind them, another drakenplunged into the ocean, sending a geyser of water shooting into the sky.

I staggered at the haunting sight, forcing my gaze away. Icouldn’t let it get to me right now.

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