Page 52 of A Legacy of Storms and Starlight

Kopi called out again, and Zylah didn’t stay to watch how quickly Raif would turn the beast to ash. She darted amongst the trees, careful not to trip over gnarly tree roots and loose rocks, the smell of wet earth flooding her senses.

She heard a whimper and slowed to a stop. Her foot pressed into something; the texture so strange her eyes slid to her feet to scan for whatever it was in the darkness. It looked like… little flakes of silver.

The creature roared and Zylah resisted the urge to turn back for Raif, to trust that he would deal with it alone. Instead, she knelt down for a closer look and sucked in a breath.Dragonfly wings. She looked around and found the ground littered with silver shards and dark patches of what could only be blood. And there, discarded beside a bush as if they were nothing but a forgotten shawl, were what remained of Mala’s wings.

Zylah swallowed down the acid that coated her throat. Willed herself to stay calm as she listened for that whimper in the darkness. Every hair on her arms stood on end as she felt eyes watching her through the trees. She could hear nothing of Raif and the creature. No whimpers in the forest. Only the quiet groan of the trees and the rustle of leaves. And the sound of her own quickened breathing.

She’d left Raif to deal with one of those things alone. He could defend himself but… she looked at what was left of Mala’s wings and suppressed a shiver. What if something happened to him?

There.A quiet moan. Zylah darted towards the sound, her arms thrown above her head to shield herself from tree branches.

She smelt the coppery tang of blood before she saw the faerie. Even in the shadows of the forest, Zylah could see the sheen of sweat coating Mala as she hung from a tree in the middle of a small clearing, a rope around her feet and blood dripping down her shoulders and onto the ground.

It could be a trap. But Zylah knew Kopi would have already warned her if there was anyone else nearby. She reached for her dagger, eyeing the places the rope was tied, flicking her gaze left and right, listening for anyone in the darkness. There was no easy way to get the faerie down.

“This is going to hurt,” she said softly. Kopi flew into a tree at the edge of her vision, keeping watch, no doubt.

Mala made a sound somewhere between a whimper and a sob. “My wings.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Zylah grasped for words of comfort but found none. She evanesced herself to the tree branch above Mala, sawing her dagger at the rope. If she was fast enough, she might be able to catch the faerie when she fell.

She wasn’t. The rope snapped, and Mala fell with a heavy thud. A shuddering, broken breath left her as Zylah appeared beside her in the dirt, already working at the rope around her hands.

There was so much blood, it coated her hands and clothes. Had Rose seen this too? Relief washed over Zylah as the rope came free, but she couldn’t hide the tremor that ran through her.

“Asha warned me,” Mala wheezed.

Seven gods.“Asha’s coming for you. He’ll be here soon. Just hold on.” Zylah rested Mala in the dirt as gently as she could and tried to still the shaking in her hands. She could heal. She’d practised. She could do this.

She swallowed as she looked at the bleeding stumps on Mala’s back, hacked off, blow by blow, if Zylah had to guess. She drew in a breath and rested her hands above the wounds, careful not to touch them.

“Asha,” Mala murmured. “Give him this.” She struggled with something at her wrist, but Zylah wouldn’t break her focus.

“Give it to him yourself,” she said, as gently as she could.Don’t you die on me.Zylah’s hands were still shaking. If only she had some moss to stem the flow of blood, to give her time to work.But you don’t.She closed her eyes. Focused on her breathing. Pictured Mala’s wound knitting back together and felt something stir at her fingertips. The lump in her back ached and her eyes flicked open. Nothing happened.

Mala let out a wet, broken breath. “Promise you’ll give this to him,” she whispered. Zylah couldn’t see the faerie’s face. Couldn’t bring herself to look into her eyes. Kopi called out, and she instinctively pressed her body to Mala’s, careful not to touch her wounds. A roar broke the quiet of the night, and Zylah’s heart sank for the faerie bleeding out beneath her.

She reached for her dagger just as something crashed into the clearing. The creature, with no sign of Raif. Had he been injured, or was this another? If more came… Zylah didn’t want to think about the outcome.

She darted away from Mala, to draw the thing away from the faerie, evanescing to a tree behind the horned beast. Red eyes met hers as it lunged for her. Zylah used her height, ducking under its legs, narrowly missing a hooved foot and spinning around to slash against a leg. Wiry strands of black hair became wet with blood as her dagger met its mark and the creature roared, kicking back with a hoof and flinging her across the clearing.

The air was knocked out of her, but she shoved herself to her feet. The beast ran for Mala at the same time Zylah did. Zylah evanesced herself to close the distance, throwing herself over Mala to protect the faerie’s broken body. Mala wheezed deeply, and Zylah tried to ignore her own aches with the faerie bleeding out beneath her. Something told Zylah Mala wouldn’t survive being evanesced in this state, even if she could manage it.

The creature charged, head lowered, horns first, and Zylah found herself sending a silent prayer to Pallia just like she used to back before all this started. All the air seemed to leave her lungs as the horns came closer.

It couldn’t have been less than two strides away when it screamed. Tiny lights whirled around it. At first, Zylah thought they were orblights, but they were far too small for that, far too animated.Sprites, some distant part of her mind whispered.

The creature faltered, clawed hands slashing at the lights, at its face to try and swat the lights away. It roared and the lights scattered, blood sprayed and its crimson eyes fixed on her. Zylah drew in another shaky breath just as the creature turned to ash.Raif. He was alright.

He was at her side in a heartbeat, his eyes wholly black.

“Help me heal her. I can’t do it,” Zylah blurted, placing her hands above Mala’s wounds. Zylah closed her eyes, begged and begged whatever part of her it was that power came from to pour out of her, but nothing happened. She flicked her eyes open, and Raif rested a hand over her own. His eyes had returned to bright blue, his expression soft, gentle. He showed no sign of injury, that was something, at least.

“She’s gone, Liss.”

Zylah pulled her hand away from his. “No, she, she’s lost a lot of blood, but she’s got a bracelet she wants to give to Asha and…” She pressed her fingers lightly against Mala’s neck to feel for a pulse, lowered herself to meet the faerie’s eyes.

Open. Glassy. Empty.

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