Page 7 of Battle of Evyndral

“Taking out the dragons like I’m supposed to.”

“You hit one of ours, you stupid chínt.”

“I haven’t held a bow in ten sun cycles. Excuse me for being out of practice. Now get out of my way so I can concentrate.”

Asherah huffed as she backed away. Elle retrieved another arrow, aiming this one closer to her brother. He was fighting two Und?nthú, so she aimed at another coming behind him. The arrow flew half an arm’s length away from Thran’s head, hitting its target. Upon feeling the whoosh of the fletching, his eyes turned her way, narrowed at who was aiming at him. When he locked onto her, she winked. Asherah, in a rage, reached for the bow, but Elle was stronger. She wrenched the wood from the female’s grasp, then whipped it across the hand holding the dagger. As the blade fell, Elle caught the hilt on her shoe, flipping it into the air, where she caught it deftly in her free hand. The other Und?nthú were too busy shooting at the dragons to notice the skirmish, and Elle took advantage of their focus being elsewhere.

Elle took a step toward Asherah, the blade poking the female in the stomach. “You forget who my mother was. Where I come from. If you ever threaten me again, I’ll cut your throat before you can utter another foul word. Do I make myself clear?”

Asherah fisted her hands, her eyes filled with hatred. “And when I tell your father about this, he’ll cut your hands off for your treachery.”

“Yeah? Then you’ll have to do all the cooking and cleaning. Or maybe he’ll fool another innocent light female into believing he’s her mate with glamour while putting a child in her belly. Don’t for one instance think I don’t know the truth of how I came to be.”

Asherah’s eyes flashed with mirth. “And don’t for one instance think I’ll let that female live either.”

Elle sucked in a breath. Asherah had killed her mother? “You murdered Lorhana?”

Asherah lifted her chin. “Since Grevolus wouldn’t let me kill you, she was the next best thing.”

Calling on the shadows around the trees for cover, Elle shoved the dagger into Asherah’s stomach as the mist swirled, cloaking them from being seen. She twisted the blade, then dragged it up, blood coating her hand. Asherah grasped Elle’s hand, trying to remove the blade, but Elle pushed harder, never taking her eyes from Asherah’s. “Consider this payback, you chínt.” When Elle was certain Asherah wasn’t going to recover, she removed the blade, grabbed an arrow from her bag, and pushed it into the wound. Elle then shoved her stepmother down the hill, where she tumbled head over feet to the bottom. Keeping the shadows surrounding her, Elle tossed the dagger into the trees, then used glamour to cover the blood instead of wiping it on her dress. Elle nocked arrow after arrow, loosing them at as many dark fae as possible. When she ran out, she eased from the shadows after ensuring no one was paying attention.

“I’m out. I need more arrows,” she told the male closest to her.

“Where’s Asherah?” he asked, looking behind her.

Elle pointed. “Down there. She had an arrow in her stomach and tumbled to the bottom.” That was technically the truth. Fae couldn’t lie, but they could weave their words carefully.

“Have you managed to hit a dragon?” he asked, his eyes narrowed.

Elle waved an arm in the direction her brother was fighting. “No, but I have distracted them long enough for one of ours to finish them off.”

“Huh. Head back to the carriages and reload.”

Elle nodded and took off toward the wagons. If Grevolus saw her, she had permission to be somewhere other than the hill. When she arrived, no one was guarding the weapons. If she wanted, Elle could disappear. She could run back to Summerland to her home. Knowing Thran was out therefighting, outnumbered, Elle reloaded and returned to her spot where she could help. She searched for Yari, but her sister was nowhere to be seen. An arrow flew her direction, and Elle squeaked as it barely missed. Narrowing her eyes, she focused on the battle below. She caught sight of the light fae aiming her direction, but the male beside her had stepped closer. She couldn’t call on the shadows, and she couldn’t run, so she did what she was best at – she took aim. The arrow sailed past the guardian, almost nicking his ear, as it hit the dark fae behind him.

“Hey, that was one of ours,” the male next to her groused, but in the next instant, he had an arrow protruding from his chest. Instead of falling, he snapped the shaft and tossed the broken bit to the ground, cursing the D?nthúlú and the goddess both. “Don’t stand there gaping. Shoot the beasts!”

Elle focused on the light fae who aimed at her, but he was now engaged with another dark fae. She scanned the battlefield for Thran and found him fighting his way toward the castle. More of the archers on the hill had been struck. Several of them joined Asherah in a tumble down the steep incline. Elle wanted to help Thran, but the dark fae was now watching her more closely. Instead of aiming at the Und?nthú below, she let her arrows fly toward the dragons flying high overhead. She came just close enough for it to appear she was trying to hit them. While reloading, she searched once again for Thran who was now staring at her. He grinned before climbing the steps to the castle.

As she took aim, it appeared the light fae were winning. She inhaled, and just as she loosed the arrow, someone plowed into her from behind. Elle went down to her knees, keeping her eye on the target. When it missed him by a hair’s breadth, she thanked the goddess. Before she could get back to her feet, a strong hand gripped her braid, wrenching her head backward.Murderous eyes met hers just before a meaty fist swung at her face.

Chapter 5

Yaricelan

“What in D?nthú’sname is that?” Yari asked for the hundredth time since stepping through the portal. The realm Queen Zarina sent them to was alien. The sun wasn’t pink. Instead, it glowed yellow, scorching her eyes if she tried to look at it. The village they came upon after walking several hours was larger than Summerland by five. The buildings were several levels high. The beings – because they weren’t fae or dragonfolk – bustled about in a hurry, not speaking as they passed others along the stone walkways. But the most fascinating things were the carriages they rode in. These were not pulled by horses. They were a type of metal box that made a loud noise when moving.

“I think we should head back toward the cliffs,” Cassi suggested.

Yari agreed. If they were encountered by these beings, would they be taken for being different? Their clothes and Yari’s armor would give them away well before Yari’s pointed ears, which she hid with a glamour. She also hid her sword. She saw no one else carrying a weapon unless you counted the spikes some of the females walked on. Females wore breaches the same as the males. A few had on skirts, but they were tight and showed more leg than was normal in the fae realm.

Cassi rubbed her arm where she’d been cut. “Why did the queen think we’d be safe here?”

Yari eyed the wound, then the princess. Queen Zarina assured her the poison wouldn’t spread, but Cassi wouldn’t stop rubbing it. “No idea. Has she even been here? Or did she miscalculate when she opened the portal? Did you hear the words these beings spoke? I’ll have to configure a translation spell just to understand them.”

“Maybe Queen Zarina intended for us to remain at the cliffs and not wander about. If she has been here, it’s possible she never ventured as far as we did.”

And ventured they had. As fit as they both were, the terrain was different than that of the fae realm. Yari wished they had their horses. Then again, the horses would stand out even more than she and Cassi did. They set out walking away from the town, back to where they came through the portal. They were almost back to the cliffs when Cassi stumbled. Yari gripped her elbow to help keep the princess upright.

---