Page 34 of Legacy of the Heirs
Elisara nodded as her eyes skipped over the falling bodies, searching for the others. She could not see Caellum or Sadira, but a line of emerald uniforms stood in rigid formation on the other side of the hall, and she assumed they were among them. While searching for Larelle and Nyzaia through the blurred movements of darkness, a scream sounded above the chaos.
“Protect the queen!” a voice she recognised as Tajana’s called. Elisara whirled.No—not Nyzaia. She panicked until spotting her friend’s golden lehenga on the opposite side of the room. Nyzaia was unharmed. Elisara frowned and ducked to avoid a claw as a brown-haired beauty slid across the floor. It was not Tajana, however. Talia ran to Soren’s aid and joined Tajana’s side.No.Elisara’s heart sunk, a pit forming deep within her stomach.
“Nice of you to join me, sister,” Tajana jested.
Sister.Elisara had always said Talia had always looked like she hailed from Keres.
“Elisara!” Kazaar shouted. Elisara spun just as a claw swung at her shoulder, its onyx nails grazing her skin. She fell to the floor, and pain flooded her arm as she pushed herself up with one hand. Her eyes met those of a dark-haired woman drenched in blood with both arms missing. Elisara swallowed, recalling the last time she had stared into such lifeless eyes, recalling her father on the temple floor. The memory almost cost her as large, padded feet stood on either side of her body, caging her in. She peered up at the creature’s eyeless face, its lips dripping with drool. It tipped back its head and roared.
Elisara screamed as someone grabbed her ankles and pulled her across the floor beneath the creature’s legs.
“Hello, angel.” Relief flooded Elisara as Kazaar leaned over her with a smile, undeterred by the chaos. But then he cried out, crumpling beneath a creature’s claw. It did not get another chance to swing again as a man Elisara recognised from Nyzaia’s syndicate embedded his sword into the creature’s stomach, shoving it backward. Kazaar grunted and held himself above Elisara, who pushed up against his weight as she tried to position them to kneeling. She touched his back, her fingers suddenly wet. Too much. He was losing too much blood. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped Kazaar’s shoulder. He would not last long without a healer.
“We will get you help,” Elisara murmured, her eyes wide as she scanned the gardens behind Kazaar in the hope of finding more soldiers or someone to carry him. She pulled her hand away and blinked to his blood was no longer crimson but shimmered silver. She did not know whether to be relieved at the lack of red blood.
Kazaar panted and wiped his thumb over Elisara’s collarbone. She flinched when he brushed the spot caught by the creature, yet when he inspected his thumb, the same silver liquid marked it. Elisara’s blood was silver, too.Theirblood was silver. She grabbed his hand, their changed blood intertwining. They gasped as threads of shadow and light drifted from their hands and reached for their wounds. Awe-struck, Elisara gasped as the threads that tied them floated behind his back, the same threads knitting and binding the skin above her collarbone. Elisara glanced around to check if anyone had seen, or for reassurance she had not lost her mind, but they were all too encompassed by the chaos to notice.
Kazaar straightened with no hesitation in his movements as he examined her collarbone. Behind him, Vlad, Nyzaia, and Farid approached.
“What do we do with one sword?” asked Vlad. Elisara reached for the second in his hand: a dull grey sword she had nostalgically kept after leaving the Unsanctioned Isle with Kazaar. He reached for the Sword of Sonos. She looked to the others in case they wondered why it was he who wielded it, but their expressionswere unchanged, with Nyzaia too focused on assessing Kazaar for injuries. Elisara was the only one to note the soft light emanating from Kazaar’s hands when he gripped the sword seconds before shadows twisted from his grip to secure the weapon in place. When she looked at her own, nothing happened.
Elisara felt compelled to touch the Sword of Sonos to see if it responded to her the same way. She did not get the chance to try. A creature charged, the crook of its wings pinning her against the stone wall of the castle once connected to the glass exterior. Elisara’s hair was slick against her face as she grunted, using her elbows to shove its wings off her. The creature did not budge. For a second, she thought this was it. This might truly be her end.
With a push of resolve, she struck the creature. Lodging her thumbs in its empty eye sockets, she shoved with all her might. It screamed and stumbled back as the silvery blood painting Elisara’s fingers marred its face—a face that no longer moved. The creature froze, paralysed, before its head tumbled to the floor, spewing red blood as Kazaar sliced the Sword of Sonos through its neck. Elisara stumbled back, watching as the flesh where its eyes had been sizzled under their blood.
“Our blood… it paralysed it,” she whispered. Kazaar nodded and called for Nyzaia, who instantly joined him. Grabbing her dagger, he sliced both his and Elisara’s palms. She flinched as the glittering substance spilled from her skin, coating the dagger silver. Nyzaia only frowned when Kazaar returned the weapon.
“Trust me,” he said before continuing to collect weapons from her syndicate, marring each one with a combination of their blood. Elisara watched as Nyzaia sliced the wings off a creature, but they did not grow back this time. In its confusion, Kazaar pierced its chest with the golden sword, the light glowing brighter with every defeat.Two down. Three to go.
A rush of water sounded near Elisara’s ears, who turned to find Larelle behind her, summoning an aquatic barrier to pen two of the creatures in yet only slowing them. The third was toofocused on breaking through the Garridon line. Elisara threw her blood-coated daggers, bypassing Larelle and Alvan and paralysing the legs of two creatures in one hit. Seeming to realise their plan, Soren fled towards the Garridon line to where the final creature loomed. Though Elisara did not like her, she trusted Soren would defend her sister.
Chapter Twenty-One
Caellum
Adrenaline coursed through Caellum’s veins as he swung at the creature, targeting the line of his remaining soldiers. The soldiers were quick to arrange into formation, their movements succinct and focused as they protected their king. Caellum saw the fear in their widened eyes and felt uncomfortable at their speed to protect him, a clear show of their loyalty. When the creatures arrived, Caellum pulled Sadira to him and searched for Sir Cain, who ran out of the shattered glass wall for the training yards. Caellum assumed he was raising the alarm for the resting soldiers and guards. He hoped he was quick.
Channelling all his pent-up anger, Caellum fought with the added strength from his lineage, which aided every swing against the creature. Nevertheless, he could not help but feel inadequate upon realising there was little else he could do to protect his betrothed. Even if he had the powers gifted to those in the Garridon line, it was clear from the ease with which the creature broke through Sadira’s vines that the power was of little use against them. They were not equipped for this; this attack could very well be the end. The line of soldiers pushed ahead of Caellum, allowing him a chance to breathe. They had worked in sync ever since the creatures landed, and this one creature in particular seemed intent on reaching him and Sadira. Caellum glanced at the surrounding devastation and instinctively reached for Sadira, finding her hand.
A calm washed over him as their fingers intertwined, the feel of her silver engagement ring cold against his skin. He grew more focused as he scanned the room. Only two creatures remained:the one bombarding his soldiers and another targeted by Kazaar and Alvan. Caellum frowned at the absence of the other creatures, yet he finally understood when he glimpsed the glint of gold in Kazaar’s hand.
A roar sounded from the creature before him, who swiped at Caellum’s men, brushing them aside in one swoop. Caellum backed up, and Sadira stumbled behind him.
“Caellum,” Sadira said urgently. He raised his sword. This was it: life or death. A moment to prove himself strong or weak—to be a saviour, or a man who needed saving.Weak. His father’s voice flashed through his memories, but Caellum was not beaten by those words. When Sadira spoke his name again, Caellum wished to prove his father wrong and show his worth, if only for the woman behind him. He swung his sword, grazing the creature, who reached for him with its talons. Behind, Soren charged towards the beast, her wild braids flowing behind her while blood oozed from a slash across her face. Crimson dripped off her silver Garridon armour mixed with the creatures’ black blood. Caellum could have sworn it sparkled as she moved beneath the candlelight. Snarling, Soren’s deep green eyes glowed as she raised her sword. The creature had not yet seen her; it growled and lowered onto its front claws, which appeared more like knuckles that crunched beneath its weight when it lowered its head to their eye-level.
Caellum’s eyes locked with the creature’s, and instead of hollow crevices, it had eyes of dark black. The beast’s movements were specific and composed compared to its counterparts, and it seemed intent on reaching them. Amber rings glowed in its irises, and Sadira gasped. Soren's approach slowed, though her sword remained raised as she advanced.
Caellum angled his head to check for Sadira, which was his mistake. In mere seconds, the creature rose and towered over them, its claws glistening as it knocked Caellum’s sword from his hand, sending it skating across the room. Caellum shifted to shield Sadira, and hesitation crossed her sister's face.
Soren looked at the creature’s raised claws and met Caellum’s gaze. Her eyes flitted to Sadira behind him. Stepping back from the creature’s reach, Soren lowered her sword and called her wolves to her side.
“Soren!” Caellum screamed as the creature swung. Soren disappeared as a wall of trees shot up before him, shattering the stone beneath his feet. The wood splintered as the creature swung again, offering Caellum a split second to grab Sadira and lunge from the path of death. Caellum fell atop her, peering into Sadira’s bright green eyes that glowed. She had saved them. Him.Shehad saved him.
Caellum tried to catch his breath as he gazed down at Sadira beneath him and gulped at the flush in her cheeks. Relief filled her eyes as she reached for his face, but upon realising his position, Caellum cleared his throat and rose, offering her a hand. She clung to his chest while he searched for the creature, but it did not stand behind the pile of splintered wood. Soren did. Her expression was unreadable as she stared at Caellum and Sadira, who, still embracing, stared right back. This was war, and all three knew it. Soren had declared her intentions. Anger brewed in Caellum’s chest as he thought of Soren’s willingness to sacrifice her sister’s life to secure the throne. Turning, he looked for Elisara but found Kazaar instead, piercing the Sword of Sonos through the beast’s skull before him. Alvan rose from the ground beside Kazaar, coated in a mixture of blood: red, black, and a shimmering liquid Caellum could not comprehend.
Kazaar offered his hand to Alvan and patted his back as he rose. Alvan grinned. They were nearly there, and only one creature remained. Alvan’s grin fell, and he shoved Kazaar aside.
“No!” Alvan screamed, the sound so raw it sent shivers up Caellum’s spine, emulating the panic and pain only heard about in stories. Alvan made to run past Caellum and Sadira, but Kazaar grabbed him, locking his arm around his blood-spattered chest to keep him back. “No!” Alvan screamed again. With four of the fivecreatures defeated, the room fell silent. Sadira turned, the fabric of her gown catching against the shards of broken glass. Her face paled. Caellum looked behind him and grabbed Sadira, guiding her back towards the others. The creature had chosen a new target, redirected by Sadira’s defence. It stood and faced them all. The creature panted heavily on its hind legs, and in the clutches of one clawed hand, poised perfectly around her neck, hanging mid-air and choking for breath, was Larelle.
