Page 136 of A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash

Kage opened his mouth, shouted her name.

But by then, it was too late.

A blinding green light swallowed the world.

…

‘Citius, Nyx!’ Mal's voice cracked against the roaring wind, her plea laced with desperation. The wyvern’s great wings carved through the sky, slicing through the thick air like twin obsidian blades. But it wasn’t fast enough. Not nearly fast enough.

Below, the witches swarmed like a rising tide of darkness, their figures shifting through the green smoke that coiled around them like restless spirits. How many were there? A hundred? More? And if these were only the ones lying in wait along the wall, how many more were scattered across the kingdoms, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike?

They had been blind. Arrogant in their belief that the witches were nothing more than remnants of an old war, ghosts of a fallen kingdom too broken to rise again. Surely the Fire King’s decree had awakened them. He had not just threatened to seize their land—he had declared war.

And the witches would never allow their home to be stolen.

Mal couldn’tblame them.

‘Mal, look out!’

Ash’s voice tore through her thoughts like a blade. Below, his dragon had begun to spit fire, not at the enemy but onto the barren land around them—a warning, a final attempt at deterrence. But it would not last. The witches would not be intimidated.

And then, as if drawn by an invisible thread, every single witch turned their attention towards Mal.

A hundred hands lifted in unison, the air thickening with power, humming with the eerie pulse of green fire gathering at their fingertips.

Nyx’s wings twisted sharply, Mal guiding her wyvern into a chaotic zigzag, weaving through the air in an attempt to break their aim. But it didn’t matter. No matter how she moved, their hands still followed. Their magic would find her.

Higher, we need to go higher.

Mal urged Nyx up, up, up, towards the heavens, towards the clouds where the air thinned and the witches’ aim might falter. But as she climbed, the hair at the back of her neck rose in warning.

Something materialised behind her.

A sudden rush of green smoke.

No.

Mal twisted her head just in time to see her.

Allegra.

Vera’s sister, unchanged from the last time Mal had seen her in the Kingdom of Magic—her wild curls still spilling down her back, her eyes the same unnatural shade of purple as Mal’s own.

There was no time to think. No time to act.

Mal’s fingers flew towards the dagger in her boot.

But she was too late.

Allegra’s hands clamped onto her shoulders.

And shoved.

Mal’s scream was swallowed by the wind as she plunged into the abyss.

Nothing.

There was nothing beneath her but sky and the long, merciless fall awaiting her at the earth’s embrace.

---