Page 169 of Ash and Feather

Quietly, I said, “I have a warning for him, too.”

I struck my right hand outward. Flames ignited in my hand, stretching all the way up to my shoulder. Another flick of my arm, a bit of concentration, and the fire gathered into the familiar-by-now shape and weight of a makeshift blade.

The elf who had stabbed my sister cocked his head and narrowed his gaze, lips parted as if to answer me.

I silenced his reply by flinging that flaming sword forward with such swift, incredible force that he had no hope of avoiding it. It struck his chest and exploded, swallowing him in a ball of heat and light.

The group of approaching elves slowed, their expressions wary.

My eyes darted over them, counting.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven.

My sister’s attacker lay dead on the ground, little more than a melted and singed, gruesome impression of a body.

I pulled the fire around him back into my control, reshaped it into a weapon. As soon as my hold on it was secured, I struck my left hand out and repeated the same motions as before, forging a second blade.

With all the divine power I possessed, I swung both of the blades forward, crossing them before me and sending forth a wave of fire from the combined points—a wave that built and spread until it became an inferno that leveled trees and bodies alike.

It was over within seconds.

Nothing survived. Everything had been reduced to ash and cinders—or so I thought.

Then I heard footsteps scrambling off to my right.

I turned my furious gaze toward the only thing still moving—a female elf who had managed to take cover in a ditch that my fiery wave had merely skimmed over.

She tried to run faster.

I flew after her, knocking her to the ground. She attempted to roll away, but I shoved a boot onto her chest, holding her down.

Jerking my head toward the closest pile of charred, ruined bodies littering the ground, I said, “Pass thatwarningto Andrel for me, won’t you? And let him know he’s next.” I let the fire of my wings fall away, guiding some of the embers into the shape of a long sword that I pressed near her throat. “Swear to me you won’t leave out any detailsof what I’ve just told you.”

Her wide eyes shifted toward those burned bodies, then back to me, over and over.

“Swear it,” I growled.

She nodded frantically. “I-I swear it.”

Slowly, I lifted my foot from her chest.

And without another word, I went back to gather up my sister’s lifeless body, wrapped it in a cloak of divine fire, and carried her away.

Chapter 39

Karys

The fieldsoutside of my old home were burning again.

And this time, I had set the fires.

I’d needed to release. To get rid of some of the magic eating away at my insides—or else I would have done far worse than the small massacre I’d committed back in the tree-lined grove in Altis.

We’d ended up back at my old house because it was the easiest place to go. Because it was in the mortal realm and still blanketed in the magical residue from the fires Dravyn had set days ago. Despite how passionately I’d sworn to myself that I would never return here, there had been no better choice; I wasn’t sure how Savna would fare if I tried to carry her into Nerithyl, especially now that she was injured.

Injured.

Not dead.

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