Page 40 of Songs of Retribution

"Stand down," Lennox roared, his voice imbued with the authority of a king.

A few soldiers obeyed uncertainly, exchanging looks, but lowering their weapons.

One, however, who possessed a small pipe and lifted it to his mouth, did not. It was the weapon that could shoot the metal-stealing magic. He raised it towards Lennox.

Elisa and I gasped in unison, and she gripped the saddle’s pommel and leaned forward, like she needed the support for what was about to happen.

No.

The soldier took a breath.

I unleashed my magic. It seemed to laugh within me, delight in me finally letting the walls down. The soldier dropped to the forest floor with a thud, his skin pale.

It had been so easy.

Uncertainty ran through the ranks and a few soldiers who had lowered their weapons lifted them again. A couple even held the small silver pipes. The men and women roared as they charged each other. Lennox steered his horse around, heading for Sai, right as a soldier slammed his mount into Lennox's horse. Lennox and Lira both fell.

The horses panicked, raising up. Their sharp hooves hovered millimeters from Lennox and Lira's heads and my heart stopped.

Guards fought soldiers.

Ishir jumped off his horse and unsheathed his talwar as he ran after guards on foot.

The pipes filled with the magic-stealing metal shot, their darts glistening with evil magic as they soared towards our guards. A Prasanna guard fell with a yell and dropped to the ground. His horse crunched a hoof into his ribs, and the man screamed.

Lennox attempted to pull Lira up and away from the chaos, but she struggled, limping, and they both stumbled into the mud again.

A soldier on a horse galloped over to them, raising a sword that gleamed in the rain.

Ishir dropped to a roll, nearly missing a hit from a soldier, and jumped to his feet only to be surrounded by three others.

"No," I whispered.

The magic untethered from me, snapping out and crackling alongside the thunder, zapping to the earth like bolts of wrath.

All of the Seelie soldiers released strangled cries and plopped to the ground, their bodies shimmering with silvery magic where I'd dropped them. For a dozen heartbeats I stared at the fairies I'd felled, nothing but fear and anger from their attempt to harm my people lingering.

"Shaan," Elisa whispered gently, uneasily. "It's over now. You can let go of the magic."

Her voice snapped me out of the daze the magic had put me in. I breathed in deeply as I pulled my powers back, and the reality of what I'd just done hit me with the weight of a boulder. I gagged and jerked backwards. Elisa turned, grabbing my jacket to keep me from sliding off the horse.

The guards who'd lingered back to protect us watched me with a mixture of emotions in their eyes—wariness, awe, and fear. I remembered Sai telling me his least favorite thing about having so much magic was the fear even our people had for him. I'd never appreciated that sentiment perhaps. Having heaps of magic was never an issue I'd struggled with, and I didn't comprehend why anyone would fear Sai. He'd always been my older brother, the being I ran to when I needed support, my playmate, and—as we grew older—closest companion.

Now, though, I understood as the guards who'd seen me grow from childhood hesitated as they looked at me, as though they worried what I might do to them.

I swallowed as I gripped the horse's reins and worked our way down into the valley. Rain poured, washing over the fallen bodies and into the slushy grass.

Bodies lay scattered across the clearing. The Seelie soldiers lay pale and shocked, their eyes wide, as though they'd had a beat of time to realize what was happening. One was golden and blond-headed. Like Lennox. He had a family somewhere, beings who cared about him, perhaps someone who loved him as fiercely as I did Lennox.

When we reached the field where Lennox and Lira bowed over Sai, I helped Elisa dismount and jumped down myself. I handed the reins off to a guard. Ishir stepped alongside me and clapped my arm. It was steadying to have one being who looked at me normally, and I gripped his fingers.

Lira pulled a dart out of Sai's arm, and he groaned and shuddered. I walked over and dropped beside him right as he turned onto his side and threw up, his body heaving. I clutched his arm and helped him stay steady.

Lira bowed behind him, her knees sinking into mud as she rubbed his back. It took several minutes before Sai gained enough strength to sit up, more time for him to find his voice as he clutched Lira's hand. "Is everyone okay?"

"Thanks to Shaan," Lennox said, "yes. We have a few guards with injuries, but no deaths."

Sai looked at me then swept his gaze out over the bodies scattered across the ground, his expression shifting back to pain as his eyes met mine again. He didn't need to speak for me to understand his thoughts. It was like he'd found a creature cruelly beaten to death only to look up and discover that I was the one who'd done it. His expression was sad and a touch haunted like he regretted my actions on my behalf.

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