Page 139 of Queen of Legends and Lies
I take a deep breath, a knot of emotion lodging in my throat. “No matter what happens, I’m honored to call you my friends. My family. Bastian, Leesa, Helene, Elijah, and the troops they’re leading are counting on us. The entire kingdom is counting on us.”
“Is that all?” Agnar shouts, and nervous laughter ripples through the group, easing the tension.
The drachen draw ever closer, the screech of their growing wingbeats scraping down my spine like icy claws.
Soon, the real battle will begin.
And gods help us, I pray we’re prepared.
I straighten on Dame’s back, drawing myself up as the wind whips strands of hair across my face. This is it. The final step. The point of no return. My heart pounds in my chest, a wild drummer heralding the oncoming storm.
“Lark.” Sterling’s voice cuts through my chaotic thoughts. “Ready, love?”
I nod, drawing strength from his presence, from the unshakable bond between us all. Sucking in a deep breath, I begin the call, my voice ringing out across the fields. “We are the water.”
Sterling’s response comes swift and strong. “We are the source.”
Ancient, primal power stirs, awakening to our summons. It tingles along my skin, raising the fine hairs on my arms. “We are the earth.”
Agnar thumps his fist over his heart. “We are the roots.”
Magic pulses, deep and dark and rich, the heartbeat of the land itself. It coils around us—through us—and binds us together as one. “We are the air.”
Rafe lifts his chin. “We are the breath of the world.”
A potent, swirling gust dances around us, filling our lungs with its wild essence.
I lift my arms, fire sparking at my fingertips, flames licking up my forearms.
“We are the fire. We are the fuel of life.” The words leap from my throat, a solemn vow and a sacred oath.
Heat floods my veins, scorching and searing, as if I’m harnessing the raw force of the sun itself. I embrace it, shape it, and hone it into a weapon of righteous, divine destruction.
“We will burn together and cleanse the land.” Our combined voices surge forth like a battle cry. A promise.
As our voices fade, the magic takes hold, ancient powers interlocking and clicking into place like the tumblers of a lock. Energy swells within me, within us all, building to a crescendo.
We are the primal forces of nature given flesh and form.
“Ready?” My blood hums as I meet Sterling’s gaze.
“To back you up?” He smiles, fierce and proud. “Always.”
I turn to face the oncoming horde, hands wreathed in flame and heart alight with purpose. “Then let’s show these monsters what happens when you mess with Tirene.”
Fire and water, earth and air. We are the elements incarnate, the guardians of this world.
On our tails, the drachen shriek. The monsters wheel closer, their shadows staining the earth. Below, an army of the corrupted surges forward, a twitching mass of darkness. I bare my teeth in a feral grin, my blood singing with the thrill of impending battle.
Let them come. Let them taste the wrath of the world itself.
We will not yield. Not while breath remains in our bodies and magic thrums in our blood.
The drachen get closer still, their scaled bodies twisting in midair.
Atop Chirean, Agnar raises his arms, his voice booming with power as he calls upon the earth to heed our summons once more.
The very ground rumbles beneath us with the force of his magic.
