Page 82 of Songs of Retribution

Sai’s eyes were ebony from edge to edge, scarcely a glimmer of light brushing over them as he focused on the area his mother and their court didn’t reach, using memory magic to rewind steps again and again. But visibility had grown poor, and his magic was faltering. I stepped closer to him, twined our arms together, like I could boost him in some meaningful way.

Dragons rushed from the sky, taking out hundreds of soldiers in one strike. There was nothing we could do to stop them. My ice only helped one section at a time, and I wasn’t sure if it was actually saving many.

Magic tingled at my awareness, and I opened myself.You must focus on helping the sirens’ powers reach.Sai’s voice was steady, almost bland. All his attention remained on the field where his gaze snapped from section to section and he attempted to unwind steps before soldiers died. He winced when a group fell before he could touch them.

What of the dragons? They’ll slaughter our troops.

Emotions broke free from his stoic hold on them for a moment, fear and worry beating like a wind tearing a sail from a ship.If our brothers don’t succeed and soon, we have no hope. But if Carrington can steal magic with his cannons, that must be the priority. We can’t let him grow stronger when Lennox and Shaan face him.

I shuddered but shifted my attention back to the wind, pushing the sirens’ voices as far as I could.

The world below had turned into a slaughter. In the sections I managed to see through the smoke, dust, and magic, soldiers stepped over other fallen ones, blood gathered in puddles, magic clashed, Seelie had their steps reversed only to redouble their efforts, light and shadows from the Froh scrambled everything further.

I belted another note, and my voice skipped a beat.

Sai wrapped an arm around my shoulder without breaking his concentration.

Orman’s group of elves came into view as they battled a dragon. Orman led the charge, lifting a spear that struck the creature’s side. The dragon reared on its legs and opened its massive beak.

“Oh God forgive me,” I gasped then poured a note out that caught the creature’s wings aflame. It startled, breaking its action, then shifted back to the group as if it didn’t notice its flesh burning. Sai snapped his face in their direction and sent shadows to confuse the dragon, but there was little more we could do.

Smoke drifted across the group, and I returned to singing the wind forth, but my gaze remained glued to where Orman had been. An explosion of flames burst from the area, and Sai and I turned like a unit towards it.

“Orman,” Sai said.

Elisa was sitting behind us forming arrows from raw metal as quickly as her fingers could move. “What happened?” she called out.

Sai pulled away from me enough to meet her gaze. “A dragon,” he answered.

She whimpered loudly enough that I could hear it over the battle’s din—roars and screams and shrieks that rang in my ears.No, not Orman. I licked my lips and released a self-indulgent note that caused the wind to shift smoke away so we could see those elves.

A large man lay stretched out in the dirt, and I stumbled. Sai steadied me but stared in horror, his role in the war forgotten for a moment. The sirens who remained at our side all dripped with sweat, their voices faltering. The Froh King shouted something, but I couldn’t make out his words. Light sliced forward in the distance, bursts that were painful even in my peripheral vision.

Neia swept out of the shadows to gather Elisa’s arrows, but she paused and kneeled beside her. “What’s wrong, love?”

“Orman.” Elisa wept his name.

Neia stormed up beside us, her mouth gaping as she followed our gaze. “No.”

A dragon got close enough that its flames hit like an explosion, shaking the hill and our feet. But we were all glued in horror, staring at the fallen man. Smoke shifted again, and the elf group rose from beneath massive shields they’d drawn together like a shell. Orman stood at the front, glimmering in sweat from what I could make out and with a torn shirt sleeve but otherwise unharmed. He shouted, and they pursued the dragon. The fallen man must not have been him.

Neia released a breath. “That motherfucker. I’m starting to think he’s unkillable.”

“Let’s pray that’s true,” Sai said, but he’d already returned to unwinding time and she jogged back to Elisa to share the news and gather more arrows to deliver to the chain of soldiers at the bottom of the hill.

Another dragon flew closer. Soldiers shot its wings, but it continued as though it didn’t feel the injuries. Luz weaved through the leaders on the hill and stepped up to us. “The Maharani wants to know if you have any ideas on how to stop the dragons should they reach this far.”

If they did, they would kill our strongest magic users, our greatest advantage in this war. My father would slaughter us all and win. I doubted he’d feel a pinch of remorse.

Sai looked at me, and I parted my lips to send a note of magic towards the dragons, but my hoarse voice cracked and the magic stuttered to a stop. The world swirled around me, my hands growing clammy as I swayed a step. Sai caught me in unsteady arms and grimaced at Luz. “We’re all close to being drained here.”

Luz’s lips thinned even as they patted my arm. “The others down the line are as well.”

Sai closed his eyes then looked out over the roaring battle playing out below us. He shifted back to Luz. “It’s up to Shaan and Lennox, now. I believe they’re our only hope.”

CHAPTERTHIRTY

LENNOX

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