Page 56 of A Rising Hope

Fleur straightened up, smoothing the wrinkles on her skirts before discreetly wiping away a single tear.

“Of course she will be. She is our daughter, after all,” she proudly stated. Her chin tilted up like the proper royal lady that she was. “Okay boys, remember, a big prize on the line,” she said loudly, chuckling, as she wiped away another tear. “I’ve got the biggest turkey smoking, and it can be all yours as long as you get me one of those for dessert.” She pointed with a dagger to the darkening sky.

“Here, here!” Viyak raised his sword up, laughing in the face of death. His contagious laugh spread through the group of freed men that readied to fight, each one of them raising their weapon up in the air as they shouted, “Huzzah!”

My heart drummed in a beautiful melody as we all charged towards the creatures, fighting until our very last breath.

41

FINNLEAH

Faster.

We need to be so much faster. The powers within me surged, but I held them in. Readying. Preparing.

“Ready?” I shouted to Priya. We were swallowed into the cloud of leathery teeth and claws. Day turned into night in the blink of an eye as darkness encompassed us entirely.

I let my powers free then.

A deadly heat wave, like a small bomb, exploded from within me. The creatures rained from the sky into the ocean in giant piles. I yanked the reins, pushing us through the cloud of bones and claws as we raced farther away from the islands. My powers burned everything in our way as we carved a path in the sky.

“They are not taking the bait, Freckles,” Priya shouted behind me as another horn sounded. This time, the roar of the horn fell short.

Fuck.

Fucking fuck.

I yanked on the reins, twisting the dragonfly around and racing for the mage’s island with everything I had.

But there were too many of them. Their leathery wings were so resistant to fire that it took significant effort to even wound them. Each large burst of fire drained my powers.

Swarms and swarms of them flew towards the islands and there was no end in sight.

I looked behind us, seeing only more of them following us.

That small distraction cost me. Our dragonfly plunged in the air towards the sea. Though I was not hurt, my chest felt like it was stabbed as I saw the ripped wings on her right side. The demon-like, haunted creatures had shred her right wings completely. The dragonfly struggled, forcing her left wings to flap with ferocity, but it was no use now. I knew that, the same way I knew this was not the time to cry about it, but my eyes watered.

“Land this fucking thing!” Priya shouted from behind me, her frantic voice pulling me out of the spiral. I yanked on the reins, twisting the dragonfly to the side as we fell. I forced myself to focus even as my heart broke at the trembling dragonfly underneath us.

“There! Land!” Priya pointed to a small part of land flickering between the wings of the hateful creatures. The dragonfly, as if she understood Priya’s cry, twisted, fighting through the air with everything she had, struggling to get us closer, but forcing herself to stay alive just a bit longer for us to make it.

The deep waters below reflected our falling figures.

“Jump!” I shouted. Priya and I unbuckled our belts. Both of us launched ourselves into the air as the dragonfly crashed into the cliffs below. Her glass-like body torn, broken and at last completely motionless. I watched as the creatures shot down after her, devouring her until only her shattered glass-like wings were left behind. I held on to the daggers wedged deep into the dirt on the edge of the cliff. My tight grip on their hilts was theonly thing standing between me and white waters at the bottom of the sharp cliffs below.

“If you fucking cry for that insect and not for the fact that we are about to end up just like it, I will kill you before those hellish creatures get the chance to!” Priya snarled from above, yanking me by the hand.

My heart broke. But I let that devastation churn into ire.

Priya pulled a cloth over her face. Daggers in both hands.

I reached for my own, Heart Piercer singing to my blood a battle cry.

“Look at us, just like good old times, Freckles!” Priya cheered near me, eyeing the sightless creature aiming for her. “Just two messed up girls against the world. What’s not to enjoy?” Priya broke a vial, letting the black powder settle around her. The copper in her eyes sparkled.

With that, chaos erupted.

The creatures swarmed. But Priya was faster. It was like time had stopped. Her unwavering dagger was a flicker of silver in the night. Again and again, she sliced their bellies, gutting them, ripping their wings to ribbons. A pair of claws yanked her hair. “Fucker!” A breath and its throat dripped with black tar-like blood. She moved as if this was a dance, masterfully precise, not a single move forced or out of step. She didn’t even blink, eliminating every single creature that went for her with unlimited rage at her fingertips.

---