Page 74 of When the Moon Met the Sun

“Robyn!” The sound of somebody running through the brush. “Aviva!”

“That’s Teagan,” Byn breathed.

Him and I shared a single glance, then I was retracting my wings and we were both on our feet, following the sound of Teagan yelling our names.

Because of the darkness of the forest at this hour, I took the lead, my eyes adjusting better to the lack of light.

“Teagan!” I shouted into the forest.

“This way!” she responded, and I shifted our direction slightly to the right, when I finally saw her up ahead.

My feet carried me until we were upon her, Byn at my side and Teagan panting slightly.

“What is it?” Byn asked tightly, and I could tell without the feeling in my chest that his anxiety was rising once again—along with my own.

“They’re here,” she breathed, “the North. They’re on the horizon as we speak.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

The roving hills at the base of the mountains, yet just beyond where the forest ended, was the perfect battlefield. There were no large bodies of water nearby, but the Southerners had the very earth beneath their feet to their advantage.

The entire host of the North was a blur on the near horizon, difficult to see by just the light of the moon above. Where the hills met the forest, I stood with Byn and Teagan, watching as they approached. Quinn was readying her soldiers—Laurence and Eden included—while Chess readied the trokavs. Atlas and Lychen stood, waiting, behind us—further in the trees to hide their large forms.

I still had no clue where Byn had sent Drayven, but I had come to trust him enough to know that wherever he sent the spy, it must have been worth not having him on the battlefield today.

Teagan, standing on the other side of Byn, was murmuring to herself, counting the rows of soldiers coming towards us. Between the ones marching on the earth below us, and the ones in the sky above, there must have been thousands. Tens of thousands, if the Stars were against us today.

One of the largest hosts the North had gathered in decades.

My stomach was leaden, my chest tight with worry radiating from the male standing next to me.

We didn’t get to talk further once Teagan found us, but from his firm grip on my hand, I was hopeful that what I said got through to him. That we truly are a team, one unit.

And the extra ring on my right hand weighed as heavy as my crown. The ring, full of poison and housing a small spike, was my absolute final option if things didn’t go our way today.

Today would be my father’s last day, one way or another.

His rule could go on no longer.

“Our soldiers will be waiting for your signal,” Teagan said to Byn, having finished counting—dread now clouding her soft yet strong features.

Byn shifted, his armor clinking quietly. The three of us sprinted back to the campsite to don our armor and weapons before heading here—to the edge of the forest. I had my usual dozen daggers, my sword Elaera, a bow and quiver of arrows, and my mother’s dagger all strapped to various places on my body. I knew Byn and Teagan had just as many weapons on them, too—if not more.

The three of us were the first line of defense between our army and theirs.

“I know,” Byn responded to Teagan solemnly.

We stood on that hill for what could have been minutes or hours, watching as the army of children of the sky marched and flew into Southern territory, some flying on the backs of their griffins.

Just when I could see the deadly expression of one male on the front lines, and the sweat beading his brow, Byn took a step forward.

Then another.

He walked until the trees barely provided him cover anymore, then paused.

That waswhen he made his move.

He leaped straight up into the air, then came crashing back down to the earth, falling into a crouch as his fist struck the rocks and dirt below.

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