Page 327 of A Flame of the Phoenix

Izaiah

He’d fought many battles over many centuries, but none had come close to the endless and relentless fighting that had raged on for days. Izaiah was tiring, switching from fighting with his sword to tearing through the enemy in various large-cat forms. The panther was always most efficient for him. Its dark, sleek coat and agility made it a swift predator.

Once, he’d used the Phoenix form, until the Phoenix Blood potion in his system seemed to have worn off at least. He was too aware of the second vial he had, but he didn’t want to get it wrong this time.

Izaiah had been in torment, believing he’d taken the first dose too late to save Marlowe, who’d provided him with the portions. Why had she given him two? Was he supposed to give the other to someone else?

Something scored thorough his side, and Izaiah roared in his black panther form as he leaped. He skidded in his landing, twisting at the threat. Shadow creatures. He was surroundedby five. In all the chaos of fighting, it was hard to maintain an efficient tag team to take out the pesky shadow foes.

They needed to find that damned rift that was letting them into their world.

The number of shadow creatures grew over his east side suddenly. Izaiah wondered…

What if the rift could move location? And now it was close…very close.

Izaiah snarled at the five shadow creatures that made him his target. He needed comrades to notice and kill them while he held their attention.

No one was noticing, and they closed in around Izaiah. In groups, they moved slow, as if knowing they had their prey trapped and they enjoyed the anticipation of the feed.

Izaiah braced to lunge.

Darkness met darkness in a horizontal sheet that cut through all five shadow creatures. When their wails died out and their forms blew away on the wind, Kyleer stood behind them.

Izaiah shifted back into his fae body, catching his breath and examining the slash on his side with a hiss. He said, “Excellent timing, brother.”

Just then, Tynan dropped down from above. “I was just about to intervene.”

The dark fae had been covering the skies of their east legions.

Kyleer said, “You’re wounded. You need to retreat back to the healers’ tents before you keep fighting.”

Izaiah waved him off, but he knew the wound was particularly nasty and would impair him. He couldn’t leave now. Izaiah didn’t want to tell them he suspected the rift was nearby. He figured it would be easy to lose them in the thick of the fighting.

He pulled his blade free. “I can go a while longer. I’ll retreat if I need to.”

Kyleer’s brow furrowed in protest, but Izaiah was already darting into the masses of enemies and comrades.

The days of war were tiring; the nights grew long and blood-soaked. Izaiah couldn’t be more proud of the resilience of the warriors who kept following him to battle.

He gained distance from Kyleer and Tynan, pushing through the front line and heading to the edge of the mountain. He knew a series of passages ran through the fringe behind this main peak, and that was where he’d drift away to investigate if the rift was here.

When he was out of the thick of the battle, he ran through the narrow passages, killing any stray foe that tried to use the labyrinth to slip by. Many of his soldiers were guarding these hidden passages and didn’t stop him as he passed.

Izaiah shifted into a hawk to fly and scout faster. Forms grew out of the shadows cast by rocks.It has to be close.

Then, behind the next peak he soared over…there it was.

Wedged into a small open plane between tall peaks. It were as if a scar had torn through the air, rippling with darkness and opening a thin, eye-shaped door into a deathless void.

Izaiah’s adrenaline burst. He might have lost his mind, which would cost the ultimate price if his belief was wrong.

That was all he had…a strong desperation and the belief he could do this.

Izaiah flew lower, staring into the mouth between worlds and wondering if he was a complete fool. It was too late to deliberate anymore. The rift was closing, the eye of darkness slowly drawing together, and it would relocate again. He wouldn’t get another chance to make a great impact for all his warriors in this fight. For his brothers. For his queen.

He got so close, feeling the gentle, chilling strokes of shadow reaching out as if to greet him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the winged figure about to catch him, and Izaiah had toadjust course, tilting his body and descending low enough before shifting back into his fae form.

Tynan landed, facing off with him wearing an absolutely loathing stare.

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