Page 22 of To Sway a Prince
All color drained from the mist.
Zephyrus and his flanking partners pounced. They drove the creature down. The claws grazed the paler blue dragon's shoulder. It bellowed with pain, and Zephyrus's jaws shot out to seize the attacking limb. His jaws snapped through and cast that limb aside as the beast roared below.
Two more dragons shot down into the mist.
Ramiel carved more runes into the air.
My stomach clenched and twisted as I watched, my skin tingling and prickling as my own magic hummed with excitement. It was like watching a spectacular aerial dance that was brutal and beautiful. Zephyrus might have been gone for fifteen years, but he kept pace with his kin, sliding through the sky with the elegance of a swan.
They shifted between groups of three and groups of four with ease. No dragon ever went down into the mist or carried a rope alone.
An enormous beast emerged, revealing only its head. Crocodilian. Enraged. Vicious deep-orange eyes blazed. Its jawssnapped at the mist and the barrier, thrashing and tearing it as it struggled to force its way through.
Ramiel summoned even more runes and coiling strands of silver thread. The light sputtered and pulsed at his fingertips and along his forearms. His jaw tightened.
A scowl creased my brow. I'd seen something like this before…in the resistance. Fae warriors who were blocked or cursed like that couldn't properly channel their magic. He wasn't using all his strength. Something about these particular runes was draining him.
I crouched down on the parapet, focusing in on him now. He moved at the edge of the narrow bridge with what would have seemed like an easy command if not for the fact I had seen him do more with greater force. He was flagging. His coloration had gone paler as if someone was cutting off his blood flow. The light no longer flared as strongly in his runes.
If I didn't know better, I'd say he was being suffocated. What was happening?
His jaw tightened. His gaze moved along the wavering rift in the light. Then he coiled his hand. He bowed his head for a moment, his shoulders tensing. Then he adjusted his stance, braced himself, and snapped his hands out once more. Energy arced out with each movement of his hand, far stronger and crisper than before. It seared along that rift. The silver light in his runes shone brighter than before.
The deep, bellowing roar faded into a low gurgle. The massive jaws slid down from the largest point in the Chasm, disappearing into the pale-purple mist.
A spasm of fear cut through me.
It wasn't over.
The air grew heavy and tense as if a storm brewed.
Ramiel's hand clutched at his chest. He waved the dragons back.
A dark column of smoke erupted in the air to his left. He shouted some command, but the words were lost in the wind. The three dragons nearest him wheeled back. Up above, the others circled. They roared and bellowed. The purple dragon landed on a broken wall, flung her head back, and screeched.
"Don't engage with it!"
I could just make out Ramiel's words as the wind whipped faster around me. Dust rose around that dark, ominous column, and then…it emerged.
10
STRUCK DOWN
Istared down at that smoky column. A shape had solidified within it—a tall, long-limbed creature that crouched low, legs bent and ready to spring. But those molten red eyes were what I remembered.
The omenfang.
A chill spread through me.
No laughter rose in my chest this time. Only horror. Ramiel needed to move. Get out of there. Time slowed.
The spectral creature lunged forward.
Ramiel marked out a large silver rune to block it, but the omenfang whipped through it. Violet-black static radiated across its form. It burst through the silver.
Ramiel dropped, dodged, and started another rune—no two runes. He was carving them into the air with both hands.
The omenfang vanished mid-leap, reappearing at his left. Its claws swept down. The two partial runes exploded, showering silver sparks across the bridge. Ramiel brought his arm up to shield his face and started cutting into the air once more.
