Page 140 of Queen of Legends and Lies
Drachen halt mid-flight. Red eyes gleam, and oily wings flap.
Rafe spreads his arms wide, Mygist flying straight and level. “Winds, settle.”
The gusts subside.
Though a gentle breeze swirls around us, the drachen struggle. Like they’re caught in some sort of magical force field.
Closing my eyes, I make a low pass on Dame and focus on my own element. Fire. The blaze burns within me, eager for release.
Then I give my magic what it wants.
Flames dance from my fingertips in a blazing arc toward the heinous creatures.
The drachen scream. It’s a haunting, inhuman sound.
An inferno of fire engulfs them. Some fall to the ground, writhing in agony. Others continue their charge, their wings becoming kindling for my fire. The blaze burns hotter. Flames shoot higher.
Charred flesh and acrid smoke sear my lungs.
Dotting the landscape, thousands of Tirenese soldiers and civilians fight hand-to-hand with the army of the corrupted. Even with the sun setting, I have no trouble watching the battle with my enhanced vision.
Metal clashes. Arrows whiz. Screams rend the air.
My heart clenches at the devastation all around me. Too many. We’re losing too many people. Both Tirenese and?—
Crimson eyes meet mine. A drachen’s. The menacing creature is right beside us.
Hot, putrid breath blasts my cheek. Wicked, razor-sharp teeth gnash mere inches from my face. Terror clogs my throat.
No. It can’t end like this. We’ve come too far for the drachen to kill me now.
Instinctively, I reach for my short sword.
Dame’s fury rolls through me as she blows out a white-hot stream of flame. At the last second, the drachen dodges and rolls. It circles, then dives for us. Dame plummets to escape the creature, but it stays on our tail. It’s gaining. Getting faster. Faster than I’ve ever see one fly before.
Shit.
Dame pulls up just as an icy blast sends the creature barreling away from us. Not dead but stunned.
“Lark!” A note of panic tinges Sterling’s booming warning. “Don’t worry about what’s happening below.”
“Got it.” I release a shaky breath. “Thanks for having my back.”
“Always.” He and Tanwen swoop over to me. And for a second, it feels like I’m face-to-face with the arrogant, powerful instructor I met on this very campus. “I don’t want to live without you, so don’t lose focus and fuck up again.”
I blink, quickly clearing my head.
Now’s not the time for reminiscing.
The four of us regroup, moving on our dragons as one unit. From the air, we attack only those that are a direct threat to us to spare as many lives as possible.
Agnar summons earthquakes and raises walls of stone from the ground. Rafe manipulates gusts of wind to scatter our enemies. Sterling freezes them solid, sending them plummeting on top of their earthbound allies.
But they’re relentless.
Then, I manage to unleash hellsfire that would impress a demon. “Choke on this, you bastards.”
The air shudders beneath the onslaught of my power, the very foundations of the world groaning in protest.
