Page 110 of Legacy of the Heirs
Her feet pounded, determination sizzling through her veins as she ran at full force, leaping over scattered bodies from all sides. Yet the general’s grin was manic as he remained focused on Kazaar,and as he drew close, Nyzaia raised her sword.
She gasped as Caligh’s scarred hand gripped her throat and lifted her off the ground, the toes of her boots scraping across the sand. Slowly, the general turned his head. A never-ending pit of darkness resided in his eyes as though no soul remained within.
“Queen of Keres,” he hissed, making Nyzaia’s skin crawl. “An assassin queen who has fallen lax in recent times. You should know of more effective ways to sneak up on a person.” Nyzaia dropped her sword and reached for his wrists, clawing for air.
“Just like your god, you are rash…reactive. I would not have cared to take your life if you had simply let me be.” When he squeezed harder, Nyzaia’s life flashed before her, and in every memory was one constant. Even on the brink of death, one person prevailed over all else despite her heartbreak. Tajana. Nyzaia wished she was by her side, the one person she wanted to lay eyes on for a final time before her life was taken. Blinking away tears, Nyzaia yearned to cut the pain from her chest to allow her to focus on an escape, but she was a fool to think she could ever cut Tajana from her, a woman who burned her soul. Nyzaia closed her eyes, sending a silent ‘I love you’ to the sky. She hoped Tajana knew; wherever she was, she hoped Nyzaia’s final thought reached her.
Caligh lifted Nyzaia higher, her feet floating in the air. She gasped as his hand slipped from her throat, and someone gripped her underarms. Wind rushed past as she opened her eyes to watch the battlefield below. Caligh stared back at her with narrowed eyes.
“Another pair,” he said before she was lifted higher. Nyzaia peered up at the blinding glow of Farid’s wings and grinned. He gripped tighter as they soared over the war below.
“Tell me where!” he shouted. Nyzaia scanned the battlefield. The creatures were scattered, yet the realms’ foot soldiers were still outnumbered, the copper soldiers turning and pushing them back towards Myara. Only several rows remained near the dune where they had arrived, all intent on one person as the remaining Novisian soldiers fought back. War horns sounded in thedistance. Farid spun to face Myara. Help.Tajana. The Historian.Hope bloomed in Nyzaia’s heart, yet it was quickly ripped from her. From the city of Myara, hundreds more copper-clad soldiers emerged, marching in uniformed rows.
“We were doomed from the beginning,” she breathed. Caligh had tricked them into using all their strength on this one attack.
“They will be surrounded,” Farid said. It was a trap. With their backs turned, the Novisian soldiers could not see the approaching attack. Nyzaia found Larelle and Sadira; the latter moved to the Neridian queen as they stared in the same direction. Nyzaia hoped they had a plan because Kazaar was her priority.
“Down there,” Nyzaia called, pointing to where Kazaar and Elisara still fought, separated, while Caligh continued his intent path towards her brother. Farid nodded, and his wings sparked as they flapped, lowering to the ground. He dropped them at the edge, far enough for the copper soldiers not to have noticed them. Farid gripped Nyzaia’s hand, their celestial tie burning between them.
“If this is it,” he said, but Nyzaia shook her head to stop him. He squeezed her hand. “If this is the end, it has been my greatest honour to serve you.” Nyzaia blinked back tears as Farid smiled. She did not need to say anything; he knew she reciprocated his feelings. Returning the smile, pride burned inside her as Farid no longer hid himself from the world. Letting his wings burn for all to see, he kicked into the air and flew above Nyzaia, showering the world with sparks.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Elisara
The soldier before Elisara faded in and out of view. Blinking hard, she swung her sword but missed her mark. She swung again and, this time, hit his shoulder. When he doubled over, she pushed the sword through him. Her vision refocused. She did not know what was wrong. Dark eyes met hers in the near distance to her left—Caligh. Was Nyzaia right?Could he really be affecting my power and exhausting me?Caligh bowed his head to her before switching his focus.Yes.
Elisara spun, following Caligh’s eyeline, who stared intently at Kazaar. He knew. He knew she was a thorn in his side and would refuse to let him take Kazaar.
“No,” Elisara murmured. She tried to shove through the soldiers, yet struggled with each step and swing.
“Elisara!” Kazaar called for the hundredth time. He had not stopped calling for her since the damned wolves separated them, both helping and hindering them.
“Kazaar!” she called back, trying to reach him.
A light moved overhead, forcing her to look up.Farid.Elisara gasped as wings of flaming feathers pierced through the drizzle of rain and swooped low. Farid swiped at the heads of the soldiers with his sword, and Elisara paused, her mouth falling open. She had little time to question Farid’s wings, provided he still fought for Nyzaia. He hovered every few strikes, searching for someone. Elisara followed his sight to where Nyzaia stood several rows from Kazaar, striding for him with determination.
Elisara tried to mimic it, yet her steps were heavy as she battledtowards the man she loved, with Nyzaia on the other side and Caligh to the right of them. Three attempts at the man she loved. Three attempts for someone to take him, two for good, one for evil. But Caligh’s expression did not mirror the panicked determination on her own.
The man of darkness was confident, his cloak fluttering in the breeze as he strode forward with a smirk on his lips. He batted away every Novisian soldier who reached him with ease like they were nothing more than irritant flies encroaching his space.Powerful. He was so powerful, and yet he allowed this battle to continue.
He is toying with us, Elisara realised. General Caligh knew he would win, but their struggle was a mere form of entertainment to him. A flicker of raw fury lit within Elisara; he thought he could take what was hers. Focusing on the flame within, she prayed it would blossom and ignite her with the power she and Kazaar were supposedly blessed with—the essence of a god—yet nothing reached her fingertips. Elisara’s anger was the only thing spurring her forward as she inched closer.
Caligh stopped. He glanced at Nyzaia on his right and Elisara on his left. Raising his hands either side as though this were a theatrical performance, he leisurely drew them together. Elisara frowned at the absence of his power. She felt nothing. So what was he doing? The surrounding soldiers slowed, and Elisara paused as Caligh turned his hands until his palms faced outward. He grinned at Elisara and forced his hands out.
Darkness erupted. Shadows forced away the soldiers from both sides and launched them to the ground. Elisara crouched and braced her sword. Her hands trembled as the sword wavered beneath her. A wall of darkness stood, blocking Elisara, Nyzaia, and anyone from reaching Kazaar. Yet the fighting continued outside of its wall, with the copper soldiers now oblivious to Kazaar’s presence, intent only on pushing the realms’ back. Elisara rushed forward, resting a hand against the shadow, which hummed at her touch. She pushed, trying to force herself through it, but it did notrelent. Through the wisps, she saw Kazaar, his sword raised before Caligh.
The general did and said nothing. He simply looked Kazaar up and down, his expression one of disgust. A flash of orange clashed against the shadows, illuminating Nyzaia, who stood next to Farid, pounding her fists against the darkness the same way Elisara was.
Elisara reached for her power to blow the shadows away. Nothing. Nyzaia bombarded it with flames, a miniscule flicker in the walls' defence.
Kazaar,she whispered into his mind. Only silence greeted her.Kazaar!
He stood braced on the sand, raising the Sword of Sonos raised. No wisps of shadow and light held the sword to him, as it usually did. He turned his head to Elisara, his eyes widening when he realised he could not reach her mind. She pounded against the wall again, screaming.
“I’ll kill you!” Elisara shrieked. “Touch him, and I will kill you!” Still, Caligh did not move. Kazaar’s patience faded as he moved, angling the sword towards the general. Darkness flashed, and a sword crafted of shadows emerged, so dense it may as well have been forged from metal.
Elisara’s sword vibrated at her side like it had every time it met the Sword of Sonos. She raised it in her hand. With every strike Kazaar made against the general, Elisara made the same against the wall. Over and over, Kazaar and Elisara fought, fighting for their friends, their kingdom, and one another. Caligh laughed a manacle laugh that pierced Elisara’s bones. That flicker of fury ignited in Elisara again as she collided with the wall. The shadows shrieked as an indent formed, but it repaired itself just as quick.
