Page 112 of A Flame of the Phoenix

“Don’t get too close if you need to fly,” Tauria reminded her, slightly doubting the dark fae’s ability to stick to instruction.

“Of course. I’m small—he won’t see me.”

They watched him take flight as usual, and as soon as Tauria deemed it safe, she took off.

Adrenaline pushed through her limbs and honed her focus. From the castle walls, she had to make her way down, sprinting when she met land. Her natural agility was aided by her wind at all times. She became the element, flipping forward and leaping up walls with ease as though they exposed personal ladders just for her. Tauria could run and climb and jump as easy as breathing when she gave over to her magick and instinct completely. It was in these times she felt weightless and unstoppable.

Her focus on the course ahead only broke with frequent glances up. Mordecai was a particularity fast flyer, and as she anticipated, the distant silhouette of him blended too much into the dark night for her to keep track.

Edith noticed too, flying ahead, and Tauria’s anxiety built watching the dark fae get closer without her. She was going too far. Tauria gritted her teeth, pushing her body harder. She soared as though she were flying too, but it would never be enough to match the perfect clear path of flight in the sky.

Edith stopped, to her relief, and Tauria slowed as the dark fae backtracked and swooped down to the roof Tauria was climbing onto. She doubled over, bracing her hands on her thighs to catch her burning breath. Pulling down her face covering, she couldn’t gulp the icy air fast enough.

Edith had caught up to her, but the dark fae didn’t speak. Tauria glanced up, reading her ghostly expression with a sense of foreboding straightening her stance.

“You have to see,” Edith said.

That was enough to inspire Tauria’s dread.

She trod more carefully as they got closer to where Mordecai was. Buildings became less frequent, and Tauria ended up on the ground, treading carefully through a thick, dark woodland. These trees…it was like they were frozen in time. Tauria paused to hold a hand to one, feeling only a distant beat of life, which should be full and strong. She didn’t think they’d shed and grown new leaves and timber in a very long time.

“Just over here. You’ll want to climb to get the best view,” Edith said.

Tauria took her advice, scaling the tallest tree she came across.

What expanded before her eyes… Tauria had to clamp a tighter purchase around the tree with the horror that slammed into her.

Warriors. So. Many. Warriors.

Torches blazed up and down the formation lines, and Tauria tried to count how many to a column…how many to a row…then the countless blocks of them.

“I’d wager over a hundred thousand soldiers,” Edith whispered close by her ear.

Tauria knew High Farrow’s army consisted of around three thousand, maybe an additional five thousand with the armada. She didn’t know what was left of Fenstead’s armies, and though Rhyenelle was guaranteed to have a significantly higher number…they still weren’t enough to stand against this.

“Transitioned?” Tauria breathed, trying to figure out how Mordecai could have amassed such numbers.

“And many born. I’d say the numbers are almost half. He’s been very forward in encouraging his people to conceive all these years. The children are regimented by the masters in the Mortus Mountains to be soldiers as soon as they can hold a sword. This isn’t just a force of numbers—these soldiers have only known one purpose all their lives and have no love to balance that harsh upbringing. All they have is rage and vengeance. Nothing to lose.”

And they were stronger, faster, than the fae on their diet of human blood.

Tauria could have collapsed to her knees on the ground staring at the war already lost, tipped too greatly against them by sheer numbers and ferocity.

“I need to find out when they might start moving to the mainland,” Tauria said, already trying to calculate how she might escape. She needed to warn the others, and they all needed to prepare for an age about to descend far darker and far bloodier than the Dark Age of legend.

If Mordecai had this scale of an army, why hadn’t they attacked yet?

Tauria’s answer might lie in the Spirit of Death, who glided like their reaper down the center of the uniformed blocks. She headed to meet Mordecai returning from the back, and when they reached each other… Tauria was shocked when they didn’t hesitate to reach for each other intimately. Then theykissed.

Though she hadn’t expected these kinds of relations between them, if Mordecai had genuine feelings for Dakodas, it made sense why he hadn’t insisted Tauria sleep with him or even made persistent moves on her despite their potential marriage ruse.

Tauria was growing with dread… Had Mordecai been tricking her all along for some other reason? If not to have her kingdom, which was already his in Mordecai’s eyes, what did he plan for her, other than keeping her close and content…

For Transition.

Her eyes cast up to the near full moon and saw nothing but a timer toward her death. Her change. The next full moon was days away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

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