Page 107 of Legacy of the Heirs
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Larelle
Alvan’s hand tightened around Larelle’s as they watched the creatures claw at the vines Sadira summoned to protect them, refocusing their efforts from the Neridian soldiers to break down the barrier instead.
“They’re going to break through. Are you ready?” Alvan asked. Larelle turned to him, her hair whipping into her face. She nodded. Larelle tried to focus on the soldiers and creatures, preparing for any need to change the plan, but her mind kept drifting to where Zarya sat in the palace, hoping her mother would come home. Larelle and Alvan stood slightly raised behind her army that formed a last line of defence to protect her while she wielded. She looked over to the dune to her left, where Elisara stood with Kazaar, waiting for the signal. Though Elisara faced her, she was not looking at Larelle; instead, she watched someone on the ground as the soldiers stripped away the vines. Larelle scanned the front line and clenched her jaw, her grip tightening on Alvan’s hand.
Osiris. He was too far away for Larelle to read his expression, yet she knew it was him by the tailored black jacket and amber flowers and the sleek hair pulled back and low. She knew when he drew closer, she would see the amber ring in his eyes.
So, they did meet again. Larelle narrowed her eyes, recalling parts of their conversation. He owed a debt, but to who? She looked then at the man on the horse in the centre of the desert.Was Osiris forced to be here?She did not know why he shifted unless it was merely to taunt her because a moment later, he returned to theform of his creature and joined the mix of copper soldiers shredding the vines. He was stronger than others, slicing the remaining vines in one forceful strike. As he did, the creatures that had been diving low on her soldiers flurried into the air, and she lost track of which one was him. Copper armour clashed with her soldiers while Nyzaia screamed orders from the dunes.
The Vala and Keres forces cascaded down the sandbank, intent on the soldiers encroaching Nerida and Garridon’s ranks. Lightning struck three times in the centre of the desert—Elisara’s signal. Larelle released Alvan’s hand and mourned it instantly. Clashing metal rang through the air, competing with the screams of the dying. The clouds gathered above as the final two armies joined the battle, a collision of bodies from all angles. Copper soldiers dominated the sand, but the placement of their armies was working, forcing the foot soldiers to battle on all sides while the creatures plucked people from above.
Thunder rumbled overhead—a warning of what two queens could do together. Rain fell gently at first until Larelle latched onto it and forced it down in sheets. With a flourish of her hands, she paused the rain mid-air, twisting and pulling it together until she controlled a full stream of water gathered in the air. Three more lightning strikes was the signal for their soldiers to duck after the next. Lightning struck the ground closest to the man on the horse and sent him to the floor at the same moment Larelle shot the stream of water low over the field, knocking down enemy shoulders caught in the crossfire. It allowed the crouching Novisian soldiers to deliver a quick killing blow.
They only had one chance at it. The soldiers would know now what to expect.
Larelle released her control, allowing the water to soak into the desert floor. She looked at Elisara, who stumbled into Kazaar. Larelle frowned. It was not normal for Elisara to be affected by her powers.
The sides appeared balanced, though Larelle did not know if herconfidence was misplaced as she continued watching, readying to use her power to repel the foot soldiers. Yet, for now, she risked hitting her own men. Surveying the rest of the armies, Larelle pushed the wet curls from her face and struggled to differentiate between the sides as rain continued falling. Shadows appeared as the general moved through the path he created, intent on reaching Elisara and Kazaar, who ran down the dune alongside Farid and Nyzaia to join the fight. Larelle made to follow.
“Please. Do not!” Alvan begged, holding her wrist.
“I cannot stay up here while they join the fight.” Larelle’s arm was slick with rain, slipping from his grip.
“Sadira still remains,” he said, glancing at where Sadira stood, hair plastered to her face as she manoeuvred vines to isolate the fight into separate groups. “She knows her strengths and sword fighting is not one of them.” Droplets streamed down Alvan’s face. He was right. “You know your strengths: patience, detail, power. Use that.” He spun Larelle to face the ongoing battle, positioning his hands on her hips.
Focus. What can I do?Larelle watched. There were not enough archers on Novisia’s side, and any damage to the creatures could only be done when they descended on her soldiers. She needed to strike them while they were still in the air.
“The creatures on this side of the battle are not focused on us,” she said, gesturing to the beasts, who all followed the actions and direction of one creature. She knew who. Why was Osiris keeping them away from her?
“So, what can you do?” he asked. Larelle looked around, counting the daggers and weapons on Nerida’s soldiers, forming a protective line in front.
“Disarm,” she commanded. The soldiers hesitated for a moment and glanced at one another before looking at Alvan.
“Your queen said disarm!” Alvan barked.
“Lay them in individual rows on the floor,” she said. The soldiers quickly did as she asked while Larelle knelt on one knee,lining the weapons with the creatures soaring above the battlefield. She wielded water and created a stream to propel a dagger towards one, hitting its mark. The creature fell. None of its comrades noticed where the dagger came from. She glanced at a grinning Alvan, his eyes beaming with pride.
Refocusing, Larelle made quick work of the other daggers. One, two, three.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Creatures fell in quick succession alongside the few remaining archers until only one beast roamed on the eastern side. Slowly, Larelle rose from her knee. Osiris hovered in one spot, flapping his wings. She tilted her head when she realised he no longer seemed as terrifying. She could kill him. He shifted into human form yet kept his wings; he stared straight at her. He was close enough now; she could make out the glowing golden rings in his eyes. Raising the final knife in her hand, she prepared to throw it. Then she saw it—the flash of fear at the mark of imbuement on the knife’s blade, the slight shimmer catching in the light as the rising sun forced its way through. Osiris composed his features, though his eyes were wary and calculating as he watched Larelle. He nodded to her before diving back towards the Garridon recruits, changing mid-air to his former state. Alvan looped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.
“Was that him?” he asked. Larelle nodded slowly, trying to understand his motives. His wings were larger than most as he reached the other side of the field. With no threat of creatures on her side and with her foot soldiers gaining, Larelle took the moment to track Osiris. He did not engage in the fight but circled the other creatures.He is looking for someone,she realised.Arik.His black wings slowed as Osiris found him, and Larelle watched intently as the two creatures looked at General Caligh in the centre, slaughtering his way through the centre line to reach Kazaar andElisara. Osiris and Arik soared back in the direction they came, the mist of sand shrouding their retreating frames. Larelle frowned.Osiris did not strike her as someone who would abandon war.
“Larelle!” Alvan called from where he pushed forward with their line of soldiers. Copper armour flashed in the gaps between the men. Pushing forward, Larelle shoved her arms between her soldiers and wielded the rain into a flow of force that propelled the opposition back. Men tumbled down the dune into the waiting swords of Nerida’s soldiers.
The sands of fighters were a mess; she could no longer tell where the Novisian soldiers hailed from as their formations muddled in the sea of destruction. The rain eased, and the clouds thinned. Elisara fought sword to sword with a soldier, too focused on hand-to-hand combat to control the air. Kazaar fought beside her, a formidable duo if Larelle had ever seen one. A copper soldier broke ranks and circled, heading for the back of Kazaar and Elisara, who did not yet see him.
Larelle narrowed her eyes and raised her fist before her. She squeezed, and when Kazaar spun to find the soldier, the man’s hand clawed at his throat. The action only lasted a moment as the enemy soldier repositioned his sword, and Larelle frowned. But the brief change in stance allowed Kazaar to plunge the Sword of Sonos through him. Larelle gasped. The Sword of Sonos shone as Kazaar pulled it from the soldier’s chest. Clutching his wound, the soldier stumbled and fell to the ground. One moment, he was there, accepting his death, and the next, his body crumbled into blackened ash. Her eyes looked back and forth between the ash and the surrounding soldiers, who bled like normal. Although they were dead, their bodies remained.
“Something is different,” Larelle said to Alvan. “I just tried to make a soldier choke up water, and it didn’t work. He simply clawed his throat for a moment as though inconvenienced.” Alvan furrowed her brow. Something protected the foot soldiers in the same way the creatures were immune to their power.
