I glanced up just in time to see Saena’s fire chasing me to the ground.
Landing in an ungraceful heap, I shifted.
Xander, are you alright?Aileana asked through our connection, as Daegal shouted, “Ryllae, stay with Maiela!”
The two elves were near me in moments, and the Fortune Elf threw my trousers at me.
“She tried to kill me,” I said in disbelief as I pushed myself into a sitting position. My entire body ached, and my chest was bleeding, but I barely paid the wound any attention. It would heal in a few minutes. I had bigger problems than scrapes and bruises.
What was a little blood when my only remaining family member was hell-bent on killing me?
Aileana’s green eyes met mine, and I nearly choked at the sight of the pity and regret filling them. “I’m sorry, Xander,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
I could barely speak over the pain in my chest. My heart hurt, as though Saena’s fire had hit its mark, and agony filled me.
What could I say? Saena was my sister, and yet she was committing the deepest form of betrayal possible.
Kysha yelled, “They’re coming!”
Her words were a jolt to my system. There was no time for guilt. Not right now. Pushing myself to my feet, I pulled on my trousers before running over and grabbing my sword.
Right now, I had to fight.
There would be time for heartbreak later.
Practice Makes Perfect
RYLLAE
Pulling on the thread of power that lived beneath my skin, I threw myself into my magic. It hummed a familiar tune, drawing me into it as I focused on bringing up as much as I could. I needed to concentrate on that, because if I let myself think about what was happening all around me, I might curl up into a ball and remain there for the rest of what was likely to be my very short life.
If I didn’t fixate on my magic, I might remember the things my father’s Winged Soldiers had done to me. The horrors they had committed against me. The ways they had touched me. If I thought too much, I might remember what it was like to be a helpless female in Nightstone Prison. But I wasn’t focusing on those. I wouldn’t give them my attention. Not while we still had a chance.
This turn of events shouldn’t have surprised me. After all, I was exceptionally unlucky. I had warned Daegal that getting involved with me was a death wish.
The scene unfolding in front of us was proving me right.
It was utterly unlikely that we would survive this day. The situation had turned so abruptly that for a few moments; I hadn’t understood what was happening. A few blessed minutes after we left Shadowfell Mountain, everything had been nice and calm. Quiet, even. Daegal had pulled me into his arms, and we had shared a brief kiss before absolute chaos descended upon us.
The vicious blue dragon fought with Xander, but all that came from that venture was blood and pain. The dragon shifter had come back, landing in the valley. He’d shifted and healed as the other dragon roared in the sky.
Now, the Winged Soldiers were coming closer. Experience told me what these males could do. They were no ordinary guards. Bred for this very purpose, they were weapons that lived and breathed violence. My father had used them for years to keep his people in check. Their hearts were as black as the blood running through their veins.
Killing them would be no easy feat, even for practiced warriors like my companions.
Daegal ran back to me. “Stay away from the front lines, Ryllae,” he ordered.
I nodded, and my bonded mate turned his attention to his twin sister and her wife, who stood near me. “Maiela, will you protect her?”
“With my life, brother,” she agreed.
Before I knew it, Daegal a fleeting kiss over my lips before he ran to Aileana and Xander. My heart constricted at the sight of the three of them standing shoulder-to-shoulder, eyeing the advancing army.
Maiela glanced over her shoulder as she strung her bow. “Is staying back going to be a problem, Ryllae?”
I shook my head, pulling more red magic into my hands as ice cold fear ran through my veins. “No, it won’t. Believe it or not, I don’t have a death wish.”
In no way was I a warrior. In the past, I had used my powers against others, yes, but never like this. Before Father lost his mind and locked me up on the day I Matured, he had taken me to battlefields. Training lessons, he had called those trips.