Page 80 of When the Moon Met the Sun

Footsteps, coming from the west.

Hundreds of them, if not thousands.

Their steps sounded like the beat of a drum as they descended upon the battlefield, with one lone figure leading them.

Drayven, riding into battle atop Willow.

He actually did it. He brought them.

After decades of remaining neutral, he had convinced the Ocrein Isles to offer up their support in this war.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Teagan and Byn caused a variety of flowers and plants to sprout around Ezra’s body—a small way to honor him until the battle was over and we could come back for him in order to give him a proper burial. So we could take him home, one last time.

We stood at the edge of the forest, upon a hill overlooking the battlefield, as we plotted our next moves.

Rayven had arrived at the perfect time.

Because we were losing.

The sheer number of soldiers the North had on us was starting to take its toll on our army, and not even the extra power of the sun coming up on the horizon was enough to turn the tides in our favor.

Teagan left after the revised plan was in place, both her and Byn refusing to let Margo be on her own for too long without one of them nearby, even if Lychen was a good enough protector on his own.

Quinn, Byn, and I all raced for Atlas, then charged across the field to meet Rayven after Teagan departed. The Islanders were already charging into battle, battle cries flooding the air as they descended into the fray. The Southerners, upon seeing that the Islanders weren’t cutting them down but rather the Northerners,took up arms with them and began pushing the Northern army back, step by step.

It was difficult to tear my eyes away from the shadow wielders and warriors that joined the battle. I watched as one shadow wielder used the tiny spots of darkness clinging to one Northerner in the sky to make himself appear mid-air next to the soldier. Before the Northerner could even process he was under attack, he had lost his wings, and the Islander was already jumping away through shadows to his next victim.

I cringed internally as I watched the Northerner fall to the ground—wings separated from his body. I looked away before his too-still form touched the earth.

The sight replayed in my head, reminding me of Laurence. I sent a silent wish to the Stars that he and Eden were alright.

Before the three of us could slide off of Atlas’ large form to meet Rayven, he appeared next to us on the wolf’s back, having used his shadows. His expression was neutral as always, yet somehow still gave away the urgency he felt.

“Seems like we made it just in time,” Rayven said, looking across the battlefield after quickly scanning the three of us for any fatal wounds.

I could feel Byn’s relief at seeing Rayven unharmed, and it matched my own.

“Rayven…” Byn started, but was interrupted by Quinn’s sudden scream of pain.

She fell to her knees atop Atlas’ saddled back, and I was instantly there to catch her so she didn’t fall further.

“Quinn? What is it?” I asked, anxiety once again pooling in my stomach.

“Something’s wrong,” she panted, clutching her chest with both of her hands, as though she could ease some sort of pain there.

She doubled over, groaning in agony, clawing at her chest as though she could physically remove whatever was ailing her.

Then, as though nothing ever happened, she ceased her sounds of pain and slowly sat up. She was still panting heavily as Byn, Rayven, and I looked between each other, obviously troubled. Byn leaned into Rayven’s ear, likely telling him about Ezra by the look of grief and horror that passed over Rayven’s usually guarded expression.

Pulling back from Rayven, Byn started, “Quinn—”

“I’m fine,” Quinn said, forcing herself to her feet. “For the sake of the Stars, let’s win this battle already.”

With that to set the mood, we caught Rayven up on our plans, despite how reckless they might've been. While we were all curious how Rayven rallied our new ally, we didn’t have time to get into the details.

Rayven shook his head, obviously not agreeing with our plan to put me in harm’s way. Byn didn’t either at first, but both males quickly seemed to realize how little options we had left, despite their wishes to keep me safe.

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