Page 228 of The Dryad Storm

Snarling out a battle cry, I thrust my branch forward.

A maelstrom of green magic blasts from my branch and forms a wall of pulsing green power, shot through with verdant lightning that rapidly fans out and rises as the wall barrels forward.

My stormwall slams into the Mage forces, and dragons and Mages scream as they’re lanced through with Dryad lightning and explode into churning masses of green fire. The wall continues to push forward until it slams into Vogel’s storm band, blasting a Forest of green-lightning trees into being throughout its expanse—trees filled with enough elemental might to blow up any Mage or dragon or Shadowcreature on contact, the storm band now pulsing with green light.

I start to draw up more of my sapling-ally’s power, just as I’m overtaken by a surge of incoming violet and then gold and vermillion Wyvernfire shot through with purple sparks, both my bond with Yvan and my horde bond surging to scorching life.

I wheel around and let out a strangled gasp as the dark slash of a sky portal bursts into being in the grayed heavens. Yvan soars through it and speeds toward me over the forest of charred trees, his gaze incandescent.

A powerful wave of aching relief and love hits me so hard that I almost lose my footing. I cry out Yvan’s name as he, and then Ariel and Raz’zor, fly out of the portal and toward me, followed by Naga and our Wyvern horde in dragon form.

Dryad Witch!Raz’zor snarls through our bond, martial heat shuddering through his red fire.

Yvan, Naga, Raz’zor, Ariel, and the horde, save Oaklyyn, touch down in front of the storm band I’ve overtaken, the protective runes marked on Yvan’s chest glowing bright. Yvan thrusts his palms forward and, as one, they blast out roaring streams of fire to rapidly form their own stormwall of Wyvernflame in front of the storm band.

Naga and our horde hold the wall of fire as Yvan runs to me, Ariel at his heels. Yvan takes me in desperately, the violet fire in his eyes turning white-hot as he notices my torn, bloodied ear. Volcanic rage on my behalf roars through our bond.

His hand slides up to cradle my ear as I grip hold of him. “Did Vogel do this to you?” he hisses.

I nod, but there’s no time to dwell on my mutilated ear. “Vogel’s an Icaral,” I rasp.

Yvan’s eyes widen, shock blasting through his fire as he blazes out a fiery image of Vogel with wings through our entire horde’s bond.

Naga’s head whips toward us, the fire in her eyes giving a stunned flare as Ariel hisses out a string of shocked curses.

“It was never you,” I say to Yvan. “Never you all along.Vogel’sthe Icaral of Prophecy. And, Yvan,I’mthe Black Witch.”

“But... Fallon,” Yvan says as I watch him working to piece it all together.

“She’s dead,” I tell him, voice harsh. “I killed her. And Vogel’s coming. Along with his army. They’re massed just past their storm band. His forces might not be able to easily get through the Shadow storm band and the lightning forest I’ve conjured, buthecan.”

“Our forces might not arrive for some time,” Yvan tells me, glancing toward the fading sky portal. “We came through once the portal held enough charge for a few, but the whole portal might take close to another hour before it can transport our entire army.”

“That’stoo long,” I counter.

Silver-hot fire knifes into me, and Vogel’s Void tree punches into my mind with staggering force. I cry out, a huge concentration of Vogel’s magic suddenly advancing through the storm band.

“Vogel’s coming,” I warn, pulse thundering as I hold up my hand, revealing my III mark. “Throw your palms in the soil,” I urge Yvan and Ariel. “III put seeds in our tree marks. We can manifest saplings to push back the Shadow and replenish our elemental power—”

Multiple bolts of steely Shadow wind blast from the storm band and smash into us, the ground giving way as we’re all hurled through the air away from each other. I grab hold of my sapling as I’m blown past it, my wind-buffeted trajectory halted as the small tree’s pain and defiance shiver through me. Frantically searching through the maelstrom, I catch sight of Yvan’s blurred form to my far left.

Shadowed storm spiders burst out of the earth, charred soil spraying. In a split second, their legs slam down, encasing Yvan and my horde mates in leg-cages, gray power blasting from raised holes in their thoraxes to whip around the cages. Yvan and my horde mates blaze a mammoth amount of Wyvern power at the spiders, only to find it being siphoned off by the largest spider amongst them—

The gigantic queen imprisoning Yvan.

I watch with horror as Yvan and my horde mates stagger then fall to the ground, the fire in their eyes snapping out.

“Yvan!”I cry, outrage sizzling through our rapidly weakening bond.

I lurch toward him just as a bolt of silver-gray Wyvernfire streaks through my horde’s fiery stormwall and blasts into my sapling ally.

The small tree explodes into Shadowfire.

“No!”I roar, my sapling kindred’s scream of agony tearing through me, my source of Dryad power whisked away, tendrils of Shadow flowing in around my lines.

Vogel’s Void tree strobes painfully against my mind, as I sense the storm band I overtook graying, my lightning trees sizzling to nothing as Vogel strides through the wall of Wyvernfire. He’s bare-chested, his grayed wings fanned out. His Shadowhorns are up, his slit-pupiled eyes alight with hate-bright silver flame as they meet mine.

He lifts the Shadow Wand.

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