Page 80 of Songs of Retribution

I jumped on in front of him and removed the bag from my side. I pulled gloves onto my hands and took out the pouch of raw Amentium darts. If Shaan's magic faltered, we'd only have a few chances—one actually—if I knew my father well. I tucked back against Shaan, and he rested his palm on my waist. I knew that if I failed, he wouldn't. He'd use his magic and protect us both. He'd kill my father if he had to. Already he intended to protect the back line of our most powerful magic users, where Sai and Lira would remain, killing anyone who made it too close. He was powerful enough to manage his magic from that far of a distance. His magic hummed between us, a warmth I leaned into.

I shifted on the kelpie as the army became clearer. Thousands of humans walked ahead of the actual army. Behind them, half a dozen dragons emerged from the mist, their beaks and legs free from the Amentium laced cuffs. Murmurs of alarm rushed through our soldiers.

Dragons were supposed to be myths, and in those old folktales one dragon was a fearsome foe for hundreds of fairies. My father had seven, and they all seemed spell-bound, roaming after his soldiers without a beat of hesitation.

Lira crossed her arms as she watched them appear in the distance. She'd seen more than a monster in the creature that had saved our lives. It must have pained her to see them like this. Hopefully, we'd free them. Hopefully, we'd free us all from Father's oppression.

We waited for what felt like hours as General Daksh rode to the center of the field to meet a Seelie representative for a conversation we all knew would be pointless. When he turned and rushed back in our direction, soldiers drew their weapons and a seriousness permeated through the crowd.

Lira looked at me as the delicate jewel of her zevar lit up, gleaming along the curves of her cheek, ready for her magic to call forth. A tap of magic fizzled, and I opened myself up to it. Lira was there in my mind as she stared at me. She said nothing, but there was one emotion as steady as the change of seasons and the moon’s rotating phases.

Love.

Death couldn't take that. Loss couldn't steal it.

Even if I didn't return, that love would still be there. I poured my heart back to her, hoping she'd feel the joy and happiness and deep, abiding love I possessed for her. That I would hold it even beyond this lifetime.

The armies surged forward.

I kept Lira's gaze for one last moment, memorized the way her crystal eyes sparkled, then I turned and nudged the kelpie forward, and Shaan and I dashed into the mass of our soldiers.

Magic sparkled out of me, as easy as the sea, glamouring us. Father had called my powers useless. Now it would be his weakness. I'd spent so many years honing glamour that I would make us invisible to almost all the Seelie as I carried death into his troops. The soldiers would be unfamiliar with me or too focused on the war to realize I was there. If we were lucky, only Father would notice my magic trace to feel us coming. I prayed by that point it would be too late.

The earth shook and the kelpie startled. I snagged its reins to steady the creature. Lira had used her magic, and the earth gave way ahead of us, dropping humans into its belly. Screams rang out loud enough to overtake the armies’ roar. I hoped most weren't injured, but we'd certainly saved more lives than if our forces had cut them down.

Father's army startled at the hole in the earth, rearing back on kelpies and smacking into each other. Chaos ensued among them, and generals yelled, trying to bring order.

Lira had left bridges wide enough for three beings to cross at a time in several spots across the crater, and our soldiers soared across them as planned.

They slammed down opponents who fell into the gap with echoing cries. Sirens’ song hummed in the air like static-filled cloth that zinged and pricked the skin. Lira was using wind to expand their voices, spreading them over and beyond us. The cannons hadn't fired yet, so I prayed that meant it was working.

Hope surged through me. We'd win without causing too many casualties. We'd end this quickly and efficiently. Wind swept across my brow as we galloped at such a speed the motion of it rattled my bones. Shaan tightened his grip around my waist, and I reclined into the comfort of him as his heaving breaths warmed my neck. Screams rent the air, swords scraped as soldiers jerked them free from scabbards, and magic tingled through the atmosphere as thick as fog. We weaved through our soldiers, pressing as fast as our kelpie could go towards a bridge.

A whooshing noise above grabbed my attention. A shadow swept over us, and Shaan I looked up. The dragons had taken to the sky.

They were elegant creatures despite their enormous size. With a massive beat of one dragon’s wings, some of our troops fell off their mounts and stumbled to the earth. They screamed as others trampled them.

One creature breathed flames, killing hundreds of soldiers instantly. A burnt smell filled the air. I gagged on it and struggled to keep a hold on the reins.

"I can't stop them," Shaan said, horror lacing his words.

"We have to get to my father. That's the only hope." I nudged the kelpie’s side and urged it ahead faster.

Lira used her ice to fight back the dragon’s flames. Her magic snapped into theirs, sending rainfalls of hot water scalding our soldiers. It was better than burning alive, but perhaps not by much from the sounds of their screams.

Froh fairies used light and shadow, wrapping the dragons in darkness and flashing them with bright beams to disorient them. The creatures howled in frustration. One landed, smashing soldiers into the earth.

Prasanna magic reversed soldiers’ steps as memory crystals whirled everywhere, the whistles deafening. The elves and the Alegre bolstered either side of our troops, fighting with a vengeance I'd never imagined. Blades cut into bodies, soldiers cried out, axes sliced through limbs, beings died. On our side and theirs.

I pressed my heels into the kelpie and bent down towards it. "Come on, a sheòid, you can do this." The kelpie whickered and pushed harder, dodging around soldiers and leaping over the fallen. Shaan's arms were tight around my waist, and I focused on the steadiness of his touch and tried to ignore the death and misery exploding around us.

We approached one of Lira's land bridges and slowed as we reached Seelie soldiers trying to push into our forces. They lifted darts to their mouths.

"Shaan," I said breathlessly.

His magic hissed free, full of righteous fury. The Seelie dropped like leaves in a typhoon, their forms slamming to the ground and tumbling off the cliff. I placed a hand over Shaan's, and he gave my fingers a squeeze. It didn't reflect the hesitations he'd once had. He was certain, focused, and powerful. It made me fucking proud to be his and for him to be mine.

We reached the Seelie troops as darts soared around us, stabbing into our soldiers who cried out. They knew to remove the darts as quickly as possible, but that was far easier in theory than amid the world coming apart at the seams, dozens of different types of magic screaming and lashing against each other, the pounding movement of kelpies, horses, elves, and fairies, and dragons who roared and blasted sulfur flames over everything.

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