Page 150 of The Cruel Dawn
This new amulet thrums against my chest, the vibrant moth a protective shield against the sickness of my struggling realm—but not a shield against other gods. I can do more—no,I can do it all—but so can Danar Rrivae. So can Zephar Itikin—though as Diminished, he and his lissome blades have limits. I must press those blades to that limit, and then I must break them…and then I must breakhim.
Suddenly, an explosion louder than a thunderclap rolls across the firmament.
The clouds darken into banks of red-and-black mist.
We all shudder and gape at the violent sky.
“What’s—?” Elyn’s breath catches in her throat as another explosion rocks the land.
The first rocks that strike the ground are no bigger than fists and hit the ground like hail showers. The explosions grow louder as that mist rolls toward us.
The falling rocks are bigger now.The earth jolts with each strike, and fire flares every time a boulder slams into the ground.
I’m running out of time. Emerging from the smoke, the fiery meteors soon take shape, growing arms and legs…
BOOM!
These explosions are not meteors. They are Diminished, but they remain living Mera. Though they have been shrunken in size as punishment for their crimes against the Aetherium, they are still gods, still larger than any beings in this realm.
Yekaa…Yekaa…YEKAA!!
The destruction war cry of the Mera being shouted by a chorus of Diminished Mera.
“Kai!” Elyn screams.
A throwing knife flies to my right, headed low toward my calves.
I block that knife with my vambrace, and the blade cracks against that forearm armor. The impact sends a jolt up to my shoulder and neck.
That knife belongs to one of the warriors who’d joined me many seasons ago as I destroyed realms. Now, that warrior is a Crusader, wearing the brand of fiery crossed swords on their chest.
All the Diminished, living and dead, now shout, “Yekaa,” and the earth buckles beneath our feet.
The Raqiel waste no time and surround Elyn and me.
Elyn grabs my elbow. “They’re not here to help us, right?”
I shake my head, readying my blade. We’re running out of time. Though the Diminished are here to kill me, time remains my greatest enemy.
The largest meteor strikes the ground.
My legs buckle again, and I push myself unsteadily to my feet.
Elyn stumbles back, but a Raqiel sentinel catches her.
The biggest Diminished of them all unfolds from that fiery ball. I recognize that hair, that body, those eyes.
“Zephar,” Elyn and I say together. My lungs constrict in my chest, and my stomach rolls like waves across this sick sea.
Shari lands behind Zephar, her teeth bared, the largest wolf to ever stalk Vallendor.
“He’s here to kill you,” Elyn says.
“And I’m here to killhim.” We are the worst exes ever.
“Kaivara Megidrail,” Zephar calls out.
I take a deep breath, then stalk toward Zephar Itikin, Lord of the Shielded Fount and Prince of Lissom Blades. As I approach him, the trees around me shrink to shrubs, and the shrubs soon become patches of grass beneath my feet. In my god-size, I can see all of the provinces—from Weeton in the far east and Caburh in the south. The sky still roils with smoke, but I can see above the thickest layers. I swipe my hand across my body, scattering the smoke and making the trees and high grasses sway violently with wind.
