Page 5 of A Realm of Fire and Ash

“Besides kill?” He snorts. “He can manipulate his body in a variety of ways.” The General paces. “He can tear himself apart into many small parts and reform nearly anywhere, or shape shift his fae form into a hydra. The target can be in many places at once, or singularly. He can be a serpent, a dragon, a demonic-looking thing, or even a mist.”

Dread consumes me. Hydras need water. So do merfae. They’re likely in the same sector, which means that either way, I’m likely about to see the man I’ve spent my life pining for today.

Whole or otherwise.

"The man is phenomenally dangerous." He stops pacing. "And as of twenty minutes ago, he's killed six more than what's listed on that sheet. All of you will die. Multiple times, and likely in painful ways. I recommend extermination."

"Permission to speak, sir," Bow calls from her formation behind me.

"Permission granted, private."

"Are the other inmates separated from the target?"

"The target is currently moving about within the prison, though we've confined most of the other inmates. And one more thing: you won't have the use of your magic, as they have to keep the suppressant deployed or the other inmates with revolt."

I nod, stepping out of formation to call the squadron over to a map the general lays out on a nearby table.

I point to the last marker, near the water. "He won't venture far from here, because he'll need to dip in and out of the pool to maintain his shifted form."

Noct regards me with a curious expression but refrains from commenting on my knowledge. I learned this information from Wilder's mother, who’d casually mentioned it ages ago. She spoke of how fortunate merfae were to possess the ability to exist both on land and in water, unlike some water-dwelling creatures who could only maintain their form on dry land for a brief period before reverting to their fae form.

"Should we sift to here, then?" Noct points to just outside the prison walls. "We'll have a better vantage point for the attack, and we'll be closer to the physical and magical wards that seal off the buildings from the sea."

Sabine quickly notes down an entry point on the parchment with a streak of blue ink. "Theoretically, if we can slip past the wards without being noticed, we can corner our target."

"If we can do that, it's a matter of eliminating him by use of fire." I roll up the map, barking off orders before turning back to the general. “Give us a portal stone and we’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

CHAPTER TWO

MORTE

Bedlam Penitentiary

Waves crash at our feet. The smell of old copper fills my nostrils, and lockdown sirens blare from the sentry towers; a high pitch screech, like nails scratching across stone. Scarlet lights flicker in rapid succession, keeping time with the flash of lightning that illuminates the largest cell block. The howling wind reminds me of the cries of wolves, while the rain hitting the prison walls echoes like a thousand boots marching in cadence. Thunder cracks louder than the alarm.

"Nothing in block D," Noct calls to our group via the tiny walkie-talkies attached to our collars.

Freezing rain bites into my exposed skin, and the ground shakes as the sky opens up. We've separated ourselves into different buildings. Mine is a stone, three-story structure with a courtyard in the center. In the middle of the courtyard is a giant lake where water-based fae can paddle, swim, and recharge their magic. Fae go insane if we can't use our magic after too long, so all inmates have an hour every day to expend it.

I'm in my fae form three levels up, sitting on a bar of iron that juts out over the grotto. The water's inky surface ripples with each boom of thunder and pelt of rain. Splashes paint the inner walls of the grotto, disrupting the reflection of the black iron bars on its smooth embankments. The sight of the water stirs something deep inside me, a hollow ache at what it’s lost.

Where are you?

I can feel him. As sure as I know the kiss of fire on my skin when I die, his presence stirs inside me, drawing me closer. My beast paces inside me, desperate to find Wilder. To keep him safe from this hydra.

To feel his arms around me again.

But first, I’ve got to make sure this monster can’t hurt him. It’s my fault Wilder is here. If something happens to him …

"Checking out block C now. Over," Harmony's tinny voice breaks through my half-formed thought.

Above the din of the rain and wind, and the blare of the siren, I hear a commotion in the distance.

"What was that?" I reach for my radio.

"Came from your sector, Commander."

Rising from my crouch, I back along the edge of the plank until I reach the stairwell leading to the barred entrance. The ancient metal and oak door bares its splintered and rotted teeth to me, and the thin screech it emits grates on my nerves. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, but I force myself to ignore it.

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