Page 129 of Ecliptic

My jaw locked. I hadn’t had time to consider how their help would make me feel. Grateful? Apprehensive? Worried? “They have sworn their allegiance to us?” I asked, knowing we weren’t in a position to be picky.

Rowen nodded. “They fight for you now.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and met Callum’spiercing blue eyes. “Thank you for helping us. I wish we could have met under different circumstances.”

“I feel like I already know you. What you did in the Crypts has been told around campfires,” he admitted, flashing his straight teeth. “And Rowen? He hasn’t been able to shut up about you. Your name and Light encouraged us as we pieced Viltarran back together. Without you, my people,ourpeople, would have never escaped.”

I never knew my blast of Light in the Crypts was such a guiding force. I’d been afraid for so long that they would all hate me for almost killing them in a cave-in. The thought choked me up. “How many warriors were you able to find?”

“Five hundred willing men and women,” Rowen replied, his gaze flashing to mine. His commanding stance didn’t falter, but the look in his eyes told me it was fewer than he’d hoped.

“I know it doesn’t seem like much, especially with what we are up against, but these warriors are some of the bravest souls I know,” Callum said, his hand resting on the hilt of an Ever-burn blade. “And loyal to a fault. Even though some fear they will be imprisoned for their time with Aliphoura.”

“We will grant them amnesty,” I said, feeling in my bones it was the right thing to do. “Everyone deserves a fresh start, especially if we survive this war.”

Rowen beamed at me as Callum elbowed him. “You got a good one, brother. Not bad on the eyes, either.”

“Thank you again for your allegiance,” I replied with a small smile. “If you’ll excuse us now.”

“Of course.” Callum bowed, then swiftly turned on his heel.

Rowen gathered me in his arms as the war camp bustled around us. “Are you ready?” he asked, his hands trailing up and down my back.

I threaded my fingers behind his neck and met his gaze. “I’m ready to kick some demon ass.”

He smirked, his eyes sweeping over my body in admiration. “Spirits, you are so fucking strong and beautiful,” he whispered, then palmed the back of my skull and pulled me in against his armor. He claimed my mouth, my body, my soul, right in the middle of the war camp. He kissed me with abandon, unashamed to express his love for me in front of his army.

The flame in my chest erupted and filled my veins with fire.

He breathed me in like he was drowning, and my kiss was the only thing pumping air into his lungs, keeping him alive. It was just a moment, a stolen fragment of time, one that we might never get again.

He groaned into my mouth and then pulled away as if it were the hardest thing he’d ever done.

He raised his chin. “It’s time,” he commanded like the true and rightful leader he was. “Fall in line!”

I stood before the army with Rowen and Alvar. Our small but mighty forces were aligned in perfect formation.

The front lines were formed by soldiers skilled with spears and shields, and in my opinion, the bravest of us all. Behind them were archers, their bows and Ever-burn arrows strapped to their backs. Farther back were those tasked with pushing the weapon carts filled with bundled arrows and spare blades. We had flanking formations on either side, utilizing the warriors who excelled at hand-to-hand combat.

“Remember,” Alvar shouted, his face, clothes, and shield covered in past battle scars. “We draw the army out. Under no circumstances do we engage first. Then, once we lure the enemy away, we wedge a path to get Keira to the tree.”

The Wyn and Viltarran soldiers nodded, conveying they understood the mission. Everyone knew what they weremarching towards, yet here they stood, ready and willing to fight for Luneth.

“The odds are against us,” Alvar continued, voicing our concerns, and the gathered warriors slouched imperceptibly at his words.

I stepped in front of the war captain. “But this battle isn’t about numbers,” I cut in, speaking to every soldier. “One of you is worth ten Voro-Kai. They are driven by a single thought: destruction. But we? We fight for something much greater.” I let everyone see the Light in my eyes and the glow emanating from my palms. Gasps rippled among them, and the atmosphere shifted. “We fight for everyone we love, for the forest, the future, and the spirits. We have more to lose but so much more to fight for.”

“We fight for the Light of Luneth!” Rowen roared beside me, pounding his fist on his breastplate while the other lifted his star blade in the air.

“We fight for the Light of Luneth!” the army chanted back, raising their glowing weapons like a sea of rebellious stars.

Our unified voices sounded so much more than twenty-two hundred strong. We sounded like an army determined to defeat the ender of worlds.

45

We marched the five hundred paces to Indrasyl, and I fell back into the second line, waiting for Alvar’s signal to reveal myself.

I heard Erovos’ demons before I saw them. They grunted and growled in a deadly cacophony that shook the earth.

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