Page 98 of Oath of War
‘Little Flame, stop. We’ve won. You can let the magic go. Annika, please! Stop!’
Vahin’s roar thrummed through my mind, but I refused to listen. I embraced the aether, twisting it, revelling in the pain. My power burned, building, spiralling, until agony became my existence. I laughed like a maniac, reaching for more even after blood gushed from my nose and the air burned in my throat.
I raised my hand, squeezing it into a fist with a command that fractured the world around me.
‘Karvet.’1
Cracks formed on the cavern’s roof, spreading outwards, and vast chunks of the ceiling fell into the molten rock below. I withdrew my consciousness as the earth shook, the mountainside crumpling in on itself. Time seemed to slow as an explosion of dust and debris obscured the world while I watched numbly the destruction around me.
The dust settled and everything was silent. The Lost Ridge was no more, but I’d found no peace in the act of destruction and felt only the grief that tore my heart asunder. A gust of wind tugged on the loose strands of my hair, but I didn’t raise my head even after I saw a massive black paw settle before me.
‘Little Flame, let me in.’
Vahin nudged me gently, hot air from his nostrils prickling my skin. When I didn’t react, he lay on the ground, his massive head pressed against my body, just like a cat trying to get its human’s attention. The storm of aether slowed inside me.
‘Ormond, I don’t know what to do.’ The uncertainty in Vahin’s voice made me gasp for breath.
I’d killed a flock of rarógs and destroyed the mountain, but it changed nothing. I buried my face in my hands as a sob burst from my lips.
‘I do.’
Strong masculine arms encircled me as my Ursus knelt before me. He pressed me to his chest, rocking my body as it shook in the aftermath of grief and excessive magic.
‘If it helps with the pain, then let the world burn, Ani. Just do it; it’s not worthy of your tears. My love, my beautiful Nivale, I’m so sorry for your loss,’ he whispered as I buried my face in his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
‘Little Flame, let me help soothe your pain. Share it with me as you did before. You don’t have to face this alone,’Vahin’s voice rumbled in my mind as he coiled around us, creating a wall to protect me from the external world.
It was just the three of us, both of my Anchors’ skin glowing softly from grounding my power, and as time slowly passed, I let their love ease my heart so I could control my magic.
With tears rolling down my face, I finally let them in, the stream of aether thinning and fading away. I slowly stood up, my body protesting every movement, only to find Tomma’s condemnation. The betrayal in his eyes stabbed me in the heart as he turned away and headed towards his dragon.
‘Where are you going?’ Orm called after him. Tomma didn’t turn around, didn’t even slow down as he mounted Rashul, but before they shot into the sky, he finally spoke.
‘I’m going to Katrass. Your woman cleared the skies, so I’m going after the bastard who released the firebirds. I will return with their head ... or not at all,’ he said, and his dragon snapped his wings open, lifting them both into the air.
Orm sighed heavily before turning to his men.
‘I want two volunteers to follow him. The rest of you help with the aftermath. Take special care to search for any wounded. Annika’s spell may have won us the battle, but it wasn’t selective.
That was when I saw the scorched earth, rough ground, and carcasses of monsters. Between them were also soldiers caughtin the destruction I’d caused. But I felt nothing. No pain or remorse, only an overwhelming tiredness that numbed my senses.
‘Well said, brother. Annika, please join us at the camp. We need to plan our next steps. I didn’t expect you to be so ... effective,’ Reynard said with a twitch of his jaw.
‘That’s what you wanted from me ... to kill and destroy everything around me,’ I said to the king, ignoring his frown. ‘Enjoy your victory, Your Majesty, and leave me the fuck alone.’
‘Annika!’
‘Leave her alone, Rey!’
I heard the clashing of steel as I walked away but didn’t slow down, blinded by the tears I finally realised were falling from my eyes.
1.Shatter.
Aportal shimmered gently before me, captivating my attention. It had been several hours since the Lich King and his military leaders left. They’d dragged me here to witness their victory, the grand glory of the Second Necromancer’s War. As golems secured me to the wall, locking my wrists into the same iron manacles they’d used on me before, Cahyon promised to return victorious, with Talena’s head in one fist and Annika’s chain in another.
My surroundings were strangely calming. We were in a beautiful room with a glass ceiling supported by exquisitely carved columns. As I waited, the sky darkened, stars shining down and flooding the space with muted, cold light. Candles and torches were lit to brighten the room while human and Moroi servants prepared a feast, and next to me, on an ornate chair, sat a woman as beautiful as only a fae could be—a queen waiting for her king.
Only, she was far from calm, and I couldn’t stop laughing.
