Page 192 of Lady for Embers

He nodded, and she could see his hand tremble as he brought his ?nger to the map.

“You can do this, Drake,” she said, wincing as a panther lunged at something. “You were born to be a king. It’s in your blood, your very being. Do it for Rydeon. Do it for Tava. Do it in vengeance of your mother and father.”

Something shifted in Drake at those words. She saw the deep, steadying inhale before his blood met the map, and he started to trace the center line from top to bottom.

“Drake! Stop!” Lord Tyndell’s sharp bellow carried over the mayhem in the room. Eliza and Cyrus were keeping him back, while Briar was battling Sybil all on his own. “You do not understand the cost of this!”

“Keep going, Drake,” Scarlett ordered. “Do not listen to him. Go back up halfway, then follow the curve that loops around the bottom.”

“No!” Lord Tyndell bellowed at the same time Azrael said, “Incoming.”

Scarlett glanced at him, ?nding his eyes up, and she knew without looking that seraphs were descending.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

They didn’t even have one ward down yet. The Fae didn’t have their magic. This was going to end before it even began. It would be a bloodbath. She could only hold out for so long, even with Cass and Razik.

She glanced down, ?nding Drake ?nishing the loop. “Follow the diagonal line up to the end,” she urged, shuddering against the impact of a few seraphs landing. The stone table shook slightly beneath her. “Do not lift your ?nger!”

Drake nodded once, entirely focused on his task.

“When you reach the top, trace the short line down then back up, before ?nishing the long swirling one,” she instructed, looking up to see a seraph with what appeared to be power like Veda had once had. He pulled a weapon from Cyrus’s hand with nothing but air. Air magic, then? Maybe?

“Now what?” Drake asked.

“That’s it!” she said. “Lift your ?nger and step back.” Drake did, and Scarlett held her breath, waiting.

And waiting. And waiting.

Until something tingled against her skin, washing over her. Her gaze shot to Azrael at the same moment that a long vine appeared in his hands. He whipped it out, stretching it and winding it around a seraph, trapping his wings in the bindings. Thorns appeared, shredding through feathers.

She gasped, pulling back some of her magic from the Fae and letting them get their own defenses up. She tightened the shields around the mortals and Cassius. Cassius had started to master shielding his mind, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

“Now we all play,” she said darkly, leaping down from the table. Louder she yelled, “Hale, you next!” as she reached for the charcoal she’d set aside and began drawing the same Mark on the map across Toreall.

Chapter 37

Callan

Callan brought his sword up, knocking an arrow out of the way. Not before it grazed his shoulder though. He hissed at the sting, but he didn’t dare check the wound and take his eyes off everything going on around him.

This was pure chaos. The Fae all had their magic, and things had exploded. Eliza had come to help Azrael next to him, the two of them working together to take down a seraph that had dropped in from the top of the walls. Cyrus, Cassius, and Briar were guarding Drake and Hale where they were gathered around the center table, while Scarlett was back on top of the thing, giving orders to Hale. Juliette and Nuri were locked in a battle of equal skill keeping each other busy, and Razik was back in the air.

“Focus, Callan,” Eliza shouted. “You’ve been training for exactly this!” Another seraph was coming for them, ?ames from Eliza engul?ng his wings a moment later. The seraph bellowed in pain, but kept moving forward with a sneer on his lips as he raised his sword. Air slammed into Callan, shoving him backwards, but Prince Azrael was there, keeping him on his feet.

“Stay in the shields,” he said tightly, a wood stake appearing in his hand that he sent ?ying at a seraph coming at Eliza from behind.

“He has air magic,” Callan said pointing at the seraph. His wings were no longer burning, clearly having sucked the air from the ?ames.

“Ah,” Azrael replied, twirling his sword in his hand and focusing on the seraph in question. “You ever made a kill?”

“What?”

Azrael glanced over his shoulder at him. “Have you killed someone?”

Callan blinked at him. “No?”

“You’re about to,” Azrael answered. “I will bind his hands and take care of the wings. Your sword goes through his throat. Ready?”

---