Page 122 of Blooms of Darkness

The Royal Guards appeared from all pathways and assembled to form their battle lines. The general strode to thefront and barked orders at his men while Ian shifted and flew high into the sky to assess the battle from above.

His pained cry reverberated through my heart. Something was wrong. With the sun blazing in the sky, it was hard to find him as I landed on the floor of the arena itself.

When I looked skyward again, I caught sight of him, locked into a battle with a Strox.

Oh, fates.

The ancient battle bird hadn’t been seen in a thousand years, thought to be a mere memory from Queen Evelyn’s reign. Its sharp pointy talons pierced the skin of many fallen soldiers centuries ago, while its razor-sharp teeth could easily clean a battlefield by devouring an entire carcass, bones and all. Those beasts were a thing of nightmares, glimmering feathers a hue of blue, as deep as the night sky, perfect for hunting its prey in the cover of darkness.

The shouting on the ground grew frantic, and I knew I would have to worry about whatever was happening in the sky later. There were too many innocent Fae frozen in shock, left in the stands and watching the onslaught, unprotected.

They needed to get out now.

Running toward the nearest stand, I almost lost my footing multiple times. Roots and rocks had sprung from the ground as those who were choosing to take part in this battle used their magic to create their own advantages.

Thankfully, the trial today involved so many weapons, there were plenty to pick up and arm my people with along the way. I managed to grab a sword, another dagger from a fallen soldier, a quiver full of arrows, and a bow.

Kalliah ran right behind me, also making her way to the cache of weapons.

Halfway across the arena, I was forced to battle a petite dark one, dizzy from being struck by a fallen tree previously conjuredby some powerful earth magic. The dark one swayed, and I didn’t hesitate, slitting his throat with my sword as I pushed him to the ground. A clang behind me stopped my forward movement, and I turned to see Kalliah engaged in her own fight.

Behind her, a dark one charged forward, and I dropped the sword, knocking an arrow in the bow. I paused, exhaling slowly as I released the arrow and struck the dark one in the chest.

A nearby guard finished him off as he fell to the ground.

I refocused on the stands in front of me. “Get out! Run!” I yelled to anyone and everyone who could hear me. The path to the exit remained mostly clear with Kalliah and I working the crowd.

Another tremor through the earth forced me to the ground as a heavy layer of darkness spread throughout the arena.

It wasn’t the darkness we feared, though, at least I didn’t. This darkness came from the shadows I trusted.

Kade’s shadows had overtaken the entirety of the left side of the arena, farthest from the start of the attack. Where the poorest of Fae had been seated, their magic unable to keep up with the battle, he protected them by keeping them hidden. Forcing the dark ones to move onto more accessible targets.

“Kalliah, we have to move, now,” I shouted behind me. “We have to help Kade.”

We raced toward the closest entrance, Fae desperately trying to leave the stands around us.

“Keep going, get to safety.” Kalliah ushered them along, helping those who had lost their balance where she could.

A dark one charged at us from the shadows, and I fired an arrow, then two. The Fae continued charging, undeterred by my strikes. I dropped the bow, out of arrows. Forcing myself to grab the extra dagger I’d stowed in my leathers, I fought hand-to-hand.

He shoved me to the ground without touching me, using his own magic blessed by nature, or whatever entity was fueling his craze. I screamed as a strange surge of power traced my skin. It was dark, cold.

If I didn’t move, he’d have complete control of my body.

My legs surged forward, and I twisted, ramming the dagger into his gut. He collapsed, twitching, arrows still protruding from his chest.

Kade’s shadows began to recede around me, and the battlefield came into view once more. Ian, now in Fae form, ran toward me, as blood trickled down the side of his face.

“Behind you!” I screamed as a dark one wielded a hatchet, ready to swing at Ian’s neck.

Ian ducked and engaged him, leaving me mesmerized with his swiftness and skill. Kade’s shout broke me from my trance.

“Lana, get down,” he bellowed as vines shot across the space above me.

Panting, I tried to collect my breath at the shock of nearly being taken out, when a tug at my foot knocked me to my side. I hadn’t seen the second vine coiling around and up my leg, and it clung to me, yanking me back and away from the fray. It pulled me closer and closer, back to the arena exit. Another vine chased up my body, wrapping around my chest, despite my struggling.

Harder and faster, the vines dragged me across the entire arena. I didn’t have my sword anymore, and the dagger I’d been using was lodged in the stomach of the Fae I’d just killed.

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