Page 96 of The Nightmare Queen

I’m leaned up against a tree watching Eveera pace back and forth. Millie meanwhile is tending to Felix who assures her for the tenth time that he’s fine. A loud whirring noise alerts us that they are loading up another one of those heated stones.

“The city won’t make it much longer.” Will adds, his voice nervous. Eveera stops her pacing and huffs her way over to Vada.

“What are you…” Axel tries to ask, but she’s already climbing up the bony portion of her wing, and before anyone of us can argue she takes off, disappearing out of view again. None of us having a clue as to where she’s gone until a loud roar sounds above us and a wave of heat rolls through the field.

“Well. That was subtle.”I remark.

“Took Orem’s advice. That should set them back a little.”She says casually. Through the trees we can see rushes of men heading towards the burning supplies in attempts to try and save what they can.

Meanwhile, our small group unsheathes our swords and charges out onto the field. Yells of alarm sound from their encampment, signaling to their soldiers to converge on our location. Vada swoops low, releasing another wave of fire at them. Archers loose their arrows towards her causing my heart to sink into my stomach every time one of them gets close enough that I think it’ll make its mark.

My blade meets the flesh of one of the Illusioned Guards slicing clean through their torso. The Wield falling apart as his body dies.

“A soldier conscripted for the wrong cause, who dies while wearing another’s face. It’s wrong. All of this is wrong.”I murmur through the seal to her.

We repeat the process trying to cut down as many soldiers as we can. Orem runs past me, a wound weeping from his side as he charges towards another Guard. This one happens to also be an Evendell Wielder, their nature magic rolling out at Orem. The young brother anticipates it and opens up Oblivion that swallows the Wielder whole. Winking the both of them out of existence. I watch in awe as his magic works, and I hope that he comes out of it alive. A female scream distracts me and looking to my right I see that Millie is clutched in Vada’s claws. Eveera’s magic wrapping around her and hoisting her onto Vada’s back. The shrieks grow louder when Eveera secures her between the scales and then I watch, horrified, as she rolls from Vada’s back and lands directly on top of scorched dirt. She doesn’t skip a beat as she bolts off into the center of the fighting.

“Must you always be so careless and selfish with your life?!”I shout into her mind as cut down the vines an Evendell Wielder is using on me.

Her grunts of effort clamor into my head as she tries to respond, “YES! Unfortunately.” Grunt. “For you.” Ugh! “I am as careless and selfish with my heart as I am my life.”

I hop over the Wielded roots and arc my sword through the air, coming down and cleaving the head of the Wielder clean off his shoulders. “Shall I take that as an admission, Nightmare?”

“Take it however you damn well please. NOW COULD YOU FOCUS?!”She shrieks. The seal quiets as the roar of battle replaces her voice. From this angle I can see that Max is fighting back to back with his brother while if I turn the other way there Vada is with Millie, laying waste to soldiers who are heading back our way from the wall. Her flamesleaving nothing but char behind. For a second everything calms and quiets, until we hear the steady thunder of hundreds of horse hooves.

“Shit. Of course they have reinforcements.” Axel shouts as he finds me.

“Is that more of them?” Armond echoes as he appears on my left.

I shake my head, “I don’t kno—”

“It’s Matthis.”Eveera says into my mind.

“The real one?” I ask hesitantly.

Rorin

General Matthis and the third of Eveera’s army crest over the horizon. I breathe a sigh of relief when I can’t see any fuzziness or haziness while looking at them - confirming that they aren’t Illusioned. That relief doesn’t last long however as we hear more hooves coming towards us, this time from the opposite direction. More of Hadar’s Guards.

Her army enters the fight with ease. As I fight my way through, I see a few faces of the Illusioned Guards grow wide in shock when they notice the Oriks, Shifters, and Serpentes among her ranks.

BOOM!

Another heated stone lands and craters the ground, the people closest to the blast are scattered now across the hills. Vada matches the blast with an equally destructive stream of hot fire. Her large body tilting hard to the left, throwing Millie to the side. Her hands slip from their hold on the spines and she catches barely onto the dragon’s wing. Vada lurches from the touch, shaking Millie off who lands ungracefully in a heap on the ground.

I lunge for her but Orem is closer and faster. He falls to the ground in front of her, winking them into Oblivion. “Is she dead?” Eveera’s voice slips into my mind exhausted and breathless.

“Take the nightmare away.” I tell her.

“What?”

“Take it away, I need…I need help. My mind it refuses to cooperate with the Wield. Please.”She figures out quickly what I need and occupies my mind helping me to tear down my mental blocks so that I can let go of the control on my magic. Poisonous mist fills the area around me, suffocating and choking those within its radius, my heart rate rising from the adrenaline rush of the magic pulsing from me.

I walk through the gray mist hovering of the ground like a fog and kick the feet of a dead soldier next to me, his eyes are wide and bloodshot from the effects of my Wield.

Commanding it back into me is easier than normal while I run away from him, looking for Eveera. It’s a little difficult to find her until the mist clears. Straight ahead of me there is black magic covering about a third of the battlefield - Illusioned Guards and Wielders falling to their knees around her. The tiny queen stands at the center of all of the bodies, surveying her work until she gives a nod of her head, presumably content with the Wield’s results.

As I run to her from across the way, I see someone charging towards her. Fear spikes through me as I watch her stand with her back to the proposed assailant. I grab hold of a riderless horse nudging its side to make it gallop faster, but after a few feet it feels like I’m just moving in place. I’m not getting any closer to her orhim.Frustrated, I look down, and seethat the earthiskeeping me from her and to my left an Illusioned Evendell Wielder is responsible.

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