Page 51 of Immortal Alliance

An orc comes in through the entrance, his body riddled with arrows. The door closes behind him and Morrigan’s eyes snap with fire. “My Queen, a legion of soldiers scatters our numbers. We are losing.”

Hope flares within me and I use the distraction to my advantage, carving through the demons at Morrigan’s side in the blink of an eye. She turns to glare at me. Pressing her boot to the back of the orc, she pulls his sword free before rushing toward me. I block her strike with my dagger.

“I’ve fought in thousands of wars before you were even born. What makes you think you can best me?” she demands.

“I figure my inexperience matches your lack of power.” I hurl a ball of light at Morrigan. She lowers her sword to block the spell, allowing me enough time to plan my next attack. Glimpsing Kolvar slipping toward the entrance, I throw myself at Morrigan.

She’s taken aback by my sudden aggression and stumbles. But the Midnight Queen recovers quickly and whispers a spell. The strange creature appears, and stares at me from large, unblinking eyes.

I suddenly feel like I’m drowning. Water replaces the air in my lungs and I fall to the floor. My dagger clatters beside me, but my arms are free. The power is dark, and I feel the succubus side me churning, hungering for that darkness.

I grab the creature as red mist spills from my lips and flows into her eyes. I can finally gasp for breath and I climb on top of the creature, pulling the darkness from her body. Large, rubbery wings shoot out of my back, knocking Morrigan off her feet. For a moment, my own darkness takes over, powered by the creature's shadow magic.

Only when the creature stops flailing do I move away from her. My stomach heaves and I vomit. There’s terror in Morrigan’s eyes as she hurries to grab the sword. I reach for my dagger and my wings melt into my back once more. With trembling hands, I watch Morrigan. Nausea and dizziness creep up inside me.

Morrigan attacks first. I block.

“So, the angel and the succubus in your blood are fighting for dominance?” the Midnight Queen chuckles. “I told you this would happen. I told you to maintain the balance between the darkness and the lightness within you. You knew you needed Cambion and yet you allowed him to slip through your fingers.”

“Cambion loves his brother. He did what he thought was right.”

“And he died because of it.”

Morrigan’s words cause me to stop mid-strike as my stomach falls. Cambion’s dead? No! He can’t be... “You’re lying.”

“No... the kelpie was quite thorough.”

I can’t believe it. I won’t.

Not when Morrigan has lied repeatedly and manipulated everyone. My heart knows Cambion is still alive, but my anger takes hold. All my training kicks in. I let Morrigan get a hit; she grazes my thigh with the sword and the victorious smile on her face buys me a chance. I take it. My elbow bashes into the side of her head and I pummel her with three rapid-fire spells.

The Midnight Queen drops to the floor, unconscious. My legs buckle, but I refuse to fall. I limp toward the stairs and make my way to the cauldron. TheThrestcan’t remain standing. I push the cauldron over and head back to the door with my blade in hand. The one-way wards allow me through without tripping alarms.

The sight before me will forever be branded into my memory. Bodies scatter the ground, and the earth is soaked in blood. I reach inside the sack on my back and carefully pull the three explosives out. Then I pull the pins from the devices. As they begin ticking loudly, I throw them overhead into theThrest.

I run as quickly as I can but the explosions trigger faster than I imagine they will. The blast catapults me several feet into the air. I bounce off the stairs and roll onto the ground. I pull myself to my feet even as my body screams in pain. But I’m alive. At least I’m alive.

Orc bodies obscure the path, but Imake my way across the battlefield. Though the marsh is vast, I know my way. Boot prints and horse hooves lead me back to camp, but the mercenaries have already moved on.

***

I follow the tracks back to the gateway. Though my leg is bleeding and I’m moving at a snail’s pace, I’m still moving. I’m exhausted and my body aches but I won’t give up. If the mercenaries moved on, they must think I’m dead, lost in the explosion.

Dragan…

Dragan must be beside himself with worry. It’s that thought alone that won’t allow me to stop moving.

A long, painful trek takes me to the gate that leads to the mortal realm. Once I pass through, I hear Dragan’s deep voice.

“I don’t fucking care if it’s blown up!” he yells. “I’m not leaving her behind!”

I feel a smile on my face, but my throat is raw and I can’t call out to him. Instead, I continue forward. A mercenary sees me, and immediately runs toward me, pulling me into his strong arms as he carries me back to the others.

“Lady Fulthain!” someone else screams as heads begin to turn in my direction. I see smiles overtake their features as they begin to clap and cheer.

I watch as Dragan turns all the way around from where he stands in the center of the mass of soldiers. Whatever he was saying, the words drop off his lips as soon as our eyes meet. At first there’s shock on his face and then intense relief. I smile at him and he immediately takes off, running toward me. He pulls me from the man’s arms and smothers me in his own.

“Fuck, I thought I fucking lost you, Eilish,” he whispers as his voice cracks.

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