Page 99 of An Honored Vow

“He comes for you because he knows the power you hold.” The images changed once more, no longer memories but what I was witnessing now. Gerarda’s amber eyes were even brighter as the shadows curled around her body, lashing out like thrown blades. Elaran changed her face into Gerarda’s and then into the Dagger’s before transforming into Damien himself, the glowing amber eyes the only sign that she was not truly him.

“He knows what you can become,” I said, my eyes never leaving the Dagger’s face. “And he would rather kill you for it than see youturn against him.” I raised my hand and another spout splashed the Dagger in the face. “I will not accept your offer. Today, tomorrow, or ever after. Because no Halfling, Elf, or Fae will ever submit to you again. We shall fight.”

Parts of the crowd cheered, and the soldiers readied their swords for an attack. Damien spat salty water onto the deck below, wiping his host’s face with his black cloak.

The Dagger waved his hand. A horn blew in the distance as theshirakshrieked from the mountain. The soldiers began their march, not toward us but into the city. Their belts filled with blades to slay Halflings in the street.

The pendant on the Dagger’s chest began to glow.

“As you wish.” The chorus of voices boomed, drowning out the panicked screams from inside the city walls. The Dagger leaned over the crow’s nest and lifted his blade in the air, as he shouted his king’s final command. “Kill the Halflings on sight!”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-NINE

“FERON!” I SHOUTED, POINTING TOthe soldiers marching on Volcar. Feron sat high on a slab of rock he’d pulled from the ground, his eyes glowing bright violet.

He lifted his hands, and a wall of stone broke from the ground, blocking access to the city from the main road. Damien’s army broke apart immediately, anticipating the maneuver, and lined the stone that now created a wall around the entire city.

“Again!” I roared but Feron didn’t move his hand. He let it hang in the air, frozen in time as ashy snow fell across his face. Only when the soldiers had thinned their lines to three men deep did he act.

His fist shook as he pulled his arm down with all his might. He let out a guttural scream, the veins in his neck threatening to rupture as he used his gift to split the ground in two.

Bodies tumbled into the chasm that now divided the new city wall from the outer fields. Some men ran back. Others clutched roots anddirt to keep from falling in, but they were swallowed by the sea as the channel waters came rushing into the rift. The waves thrashed against the banks, spraying salty mist into the faces of the survivors.

A thick root wrapped around my waist and as well as the others’, carrying us to the field of battle below. We dropped onto the ground, and I saw Feron collapsed against his seat, chest rising as his violet eyes dimmed.

Men flooded the port and released the lines holding their ships. The sound of creaking wood boomed against the mountain as the thrashing waters split the port in two. My stomach hardened. The vessel manned by the Dagger fought the currents. The three ships ahead of his fled as the rest carried into the chasm. The crews jumped into the water, hoping to swim to shore, but instead fell onto the jagged rocks that now punctured the sea.

My head snapped to Feron, his eyes glowing purple once more.

But the Dagger survived. He leaped the grand mast, his fingernails clinging to the edge of the chasm instead of falling to his death. My nose wrinkled as he climbed onto the soft grass on the Volcar side of the chasm. The pendant pulsed against his chest.

Gerarda aimed her bow at him but I grabbed her arrow. I nodded at the eastern horizon that was now completely dark. “That pendant is the only thing keeping theshirakfrom laying the city to waste.”

Her jaw jutted to the side. “I will kill my successor if I so wish.”

“As is your right.” I nodded. “Get that pendant and kill him however many times you like.”

Gerarda’s answering smile was sharp like the point of her drawn arrow. “A little help.” She smirked.

I braided a length of gust around the end of the bolt. She let it fly—farther than any arrow should. A soldier climbing over the city wall fell to his doom and took three others with him.

The ground shook as a piercing cry split the skies.

The Dagger lifted his arm, and one of theshirakdescended upon us. I grit my teeth. My powers flared as I pushed my gusts beyond moving air. A small cloud formed under the belly of thewaateyshirand expanded underneath as it flew toward us. Lightning flashed inside and I raised my arms, pushing the growing storm higher and thewaateyshirwith it. It tried to fly through it, but the swirling hail thrashed at its wings. The beast flew higher, waiting for an opening.

Soldiers carried ladders from stockpiles on the beach. Damien had suspected Feron’s line of attack and planned a countermove. He had everything he needed to build a bridge over the moat. The soldiers charged forward and shoved the gigantic ladders across the gap. I glanced at Feron, but he was slumped over, chest heaving and brow slick with sweat.

Soldiers surrounded the Dagger with their shields as he doubled over, clutching the pendant at his chest. The beast shrieked high above the storm. I turned to Gerarda and Syrra as I created a hole through the center of the swirling clouds. “We may only have one shot at this,” I told them.

They grinned at each other.

“One shot is all I need,” Syrra said.

The Dagger stood tall and hoisted his sword arm into the air. His pendant glowed like a beacon, ushering his beast toward the ground. Thewaateyshirtucked its wings and plummeted through the storm’s eye.

Gerarda released her shadows. They sprawled from her limbs in thick sheets, covering the battlefield in a blanket of darkness. She lifted her hands, and the shadows grew thicker, rising above our heads until not a single Elverin or soldier could see anything at all.

The beast began to whistle. Rot and sulfur filled my nostrils as loose strands of hair were sucked upward along my cheek.

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