Page 124 of Oaths & Vengeance
“Probably.” A lump formed in my throat. “But I have to portal the Therressian army home, and he’ll make me return with them. You know there isn’t another choice.”
His grip on the horse’s reins tightened, and the expression on his face was even darker than when he discovered my scars. “I agree you need to get your people out of here, or else this battle won’t end until all your soldiers are dead and far too many of my people die with them, but I’m going to find a way to free you. I vow this to you, Aella.”
I nodded, a lump forming in my throat. “I know you will, Dare.”
With one final intense look filled with frustration and regret, he rode off. He was undoubtedly in charge of his forces and had used precious minutes to save me. We also couldn’t afford to be caught speaking to each other. Matters were dire enough already.
I hurried toward the portal. There was so much mayhem and destruction, troops on both sides running back and forth, that it took nearly half an hour to reach the ring. The village only had about four thousand inhabitants, but the homes and shops were spaced widely apart, allowing for personal vegetable gardens enclosed by neat wooden fences. As a result, it turned the town into a large maze with all the fires, smoke, and destruction obfuscating my path.
One of our military healers had already begun work near the ring. He was busy caring for the many wounded, but he handed me a bandage I could wrap around my shoulder until I could receive further treatment. I did my best to wind it tightly so it could help stop the bleeding. One of the guards I’d knocked out with my wind power earlier brought me a canteen of water.
I gave him a surprised look. “Shouldn’t you be angry with me?”
“Those two are,” he said, gesturing to where his comrades stood about fifty feet away. “Some of us understand why you did it. Attacking enemy soldiers is one thing, but killing innocent people is another. You’re one of the only ones who can help them without being charged with treason. You gave us a valid excuse for why we couldn’t stop you.”
That was the thing about war. There were always good and bad people on both sides, though it was easy to forget that when you were in the midst of too much horror and death. I gave him a weak smile. “Thank you. I managed to save a few lives tonight, so it was worth it.”
No need to mention the fleet of boats and ships I’d capsized and the people I’d drowned. I didn’t know why the dark elves were here, but it was more than suspicious that they’d arrived soon after my uncle’s forces. Of course, he’d worked with them before, so I shouldn’t have been surprised even if it would enrage our king.
“You’re a good woman, Lady Aella.”
Before I could respond, Ulmar appeared in the clearing, passing by the many wounded Therressians. He marched straight for me. “Father is putting out the order to retreat and wants you to open the portal now, but send everyone to Ivory Castle. We need to start moving the injured to where we have healers waiting.”
I stood. “Of course.”
It was a good thing I’d had enough time to recover from my last use of power, and channeling to locations in my homeland was always much easier. I needed that advantage with my wounded shoulder weakening me.
I pulled my pouch of holmium and began chanting. Within a minute,the blue glow appeared, and all the walking wounded went through first. Therressian soldiers who arrived after that helped carry those who couldn’t move on their own, or put them on horses. Before long, they were gone, and I continued to channel as more and more troops staggered from the battlefield. Time seemed to pass slowly as my powers steadily drained to hold open the portal.
Sick relief filled me when my uncle appeared across the clearing, shouting that the last of the surviving troops were following shortly behind him. I estimated I had maybe ten minutes left before I would completely exhaust my magic. Hopefully, they would make it before then.
When Lord Morgunn reached within forty feet of the large ring, Darrow appeared from the smoky ruins to my left with several elves at his side. Hope lifted in my chest at the sight of him and the furious vengeance written all over his chiseled face. He marched forward to intercept my uncle, his hand held out toward him.
My gaze shot to Lord Morgunn, and I found he’d noticed my husband as well. The soldier with the shield had his palms raised already. When I squinted, I could just make out the bubble around him and my uncle. Darrow couldn’t get through it to use his powers on them. More fleeing troops arrived and surrounded the front of the ring as an additional layer of protection, while I could do nothing except continue channeling.
My husband and his people, including Loden and a couple of others I didn’t recognize, stopped a dozen paces from our group. Darrow’s expression turned cold and brutal as he began targeting everyone who didn’t have a shield. The sound of breaking necks reverberated around me, and bodies dropped two and three at a time.
Ulmar hid behind me and whispered. “If you stop channeling before we make it through, I swear I’ll kill Rynn to punish you.”
My chest tightened. The thought of releasing the portal had only begun to form in my mind, but since he was evil, he would have considered that sooner. Now, I had to keep weakening myself while being unable to do anything to help my husband. Meanwhile, Ulmar abandoned me to sneak into my uncle’s shield bubble so he could avoid harm. The only good thing about it was that he wouldn’t be able to use his pain magic to target Veronnians.
Darrow’s companions threw knives at the translucent barrier around Lord Morgunn, but they all bounced off. Then, Loden stepped forward and lifted his hand. A solid beam of red-hot light shot straight at Lord Morgunn. It hit the shield without penetrating, but he continued to feed it, making it glow brighter. My jaw dropped at his impressive control of the ability I had always failed to master.
He might not open portals, but we shared the same light power. It was a common gift among the druids, and since he was half like me, that made sense. I’d never thought to ask what magic he might have. To be fair, I’d never thought to ask much of anything about him, except that Darrow had mentioned once that Loden had never met his father from Alavaar and grew up with his mother in Veronna.
I felt guilty for not showing more interest as I watched him slowly eat away at the shield. Whenever the opportunity arose again, I would have to request his help in improving my skills. The level of focus on his face told me he was giving it all he had so he could reach my uncle.
Finally, a hole formed near the top, about the size of a head. Darrow lifted his hands, ready to grab the occupants inside the shield. My heart thrummed as I waited in anticipation for him to finish my uncle and finally free me.
Ice spears—one after another in rapid succession—flew from that hole and arced through the air. I watched with horror as Darrow, Loden, and the two other Veronnian soldiers attempted to dodge them, but there were too many. My husband deflected many with his power, but they kept coming. In the next minute, all four of them had been struck.
I nearly lost control of my channeling as panic filled me. The men collapsed, and my husband fell to his knees with his stomach impaled. My uncle’s magic not only pierced them deeply, but the icy spears began melting and shifting to spread over their bodies with a glaze that hardened as it set. If it penetrated far enough into their bodies, it would freeze and kill them.
That could not happen—not now! Without thinking, I let go of my channeling magic and started to take a step toward them, but I hadn’t anticipated how weak I’d grown. My legs buckled. Strong arms grabbedme from behind and hauled me toward the ring a handful of feet away. I tried to struggle, but whoever held me had an iron grip. They rushed us toward it before it closed.
My focus stayed trained on Darrow’s face as his furious eyes watched me being dragged away from him. We’d lost our one opportunity to finish my uncle for good. The last I saw was the skin of his neck turning blue and climbing toward his head as I was yanked into the portal.
Chapter 50
