Avoca winked at Cyrene as she came back to her feet. “Ceis’f and I found out they’re protective of their wings.”
“Noted,” Cyrene said. Though she winced at the mention of Ceis’f. He still remained out of reach before Malysa. The longer they fought, the more unlikely it was that she could save him. If it were even possible.
You will pay for that, the injured Voldere roared.
Cyrene just tipped her head at Avoca and felt the weight of the bond strengthen between them. Sarielle added the weight of her magic and the protection of her spirit magic to the binding. Then they were both running toward the Voldere and not away from them.
Cyrene pulled in her spirit magic tight. Then she sent a shot of energy toward the injured Voldere. It flew back a dozen paces, slamming into the balcony railing and crumpling the age-old stone. The thing dangled helplessly without the use of its wings as Avoca descended on it.
The other saw what had happened and launched into the air.
Cyrene didn’t know if it was running or preparing a counterstrike. But she had no interest in letting it do either. Certainly not get away.
She reached deeper into her well of energy and felt how little she truly had left. She had used a lot to release their blood magic, break the curse, and then heal Kael. It had been a calculated risk. One that she was paying for now.
Still, she pushed her spirit energy toward the beast, raking the blast down the expanse of its wings. It screamed mid-flight. Tried desperately to correct itself, but it was too far over the side of the building. It couldn’t gain momentum, couldn’t slow down or stop, or even hope to reach the railing. There was nowhere for it to go. She watched as the thing plummeted down, down, down. Until it landed with a crunch a hundred feet below on the stone steps of the castle.
When she turned back around, Avoca had the head of the other Voldere in her hand.
“I really don’t like these things,” Avoca said, tossing it toward Malysa. “You can keep it.”
“Good point about the wings,” Cyrene said. “Made that one easier.”
“Anytime.”
Cyrene and Avoca turned as one. Their movements so similar that it was perfection. This was how she had always envisioned them fighting together. How she had seen them in their Bound ceremony. They’d been on horseback in the Hidden Forest, heading for Eldora, hunting Indres, as they were on their way to see Avoca’s mother, who had been dying then, as she was now. And, though Cyrene and Avoca were in a different place and time, it felt the same. Finally, it felt how she had always thought it would feel. This bond like nothing else in the world. Complete synchronization, complete trust. And Sarielle to bind it all together.
Malysa didn’t look concerned in the least. “I’ll have you know it took a long time to make one Voldere, and you have killed three of them now.”
“Five,” Avoca corrected. “You forget the two that Ceis’f, Dean, and I took out before finding you.”
Malysa pursed her lips. “Five.” She shrugged. “No matter. There are seven more of my pets terrorizing your army as we speak. That is enough to level a city. Let alone a ramshackle army.”
“You can hardly call my army ramshackle,” Cyrene said. “When I have the might of Eleysia, Aurum, Tiek, Tygh, the Network, the Doma, and all of the Indres, which my alpha has returned to our side. That is enough to win a war.”
“You’ll need something more than that if you think you stand a chance against me.”
Heavy footsteps interrupted their conversation. And then, suddenly, Dean and Kael burst out onto the terrace. Both of them had their swords withdrawn. They looked worse for wear. Dean was rumpled and breathing heavy. Kael’s left arm was hanging limp at his side as if he didn’t have full control of it. His face was white as a sheet.
“Reinforcements,” Malysa muttered. “How quaint.”
“We’re here to stop you,” Kael said, gallantly stepping forward.
He brought his sword up to Malysa, and she flicked him aside as if he were nothing. Kael stumbled a step, not used to the force of her magic or him not having any. But he recovered quickly as they all moved toward Malysa.
Malysa cackled at Kael, ignoring the rest. “You?” She ran a critical eye over Kael. “You hardly pose a threat at all anymore. You have no magic.”
“Didn’t stop me from killing Merrick,” he spat back.
Malysa actually stalled at that. “Merrick is dead?”
Cyrene took her chance. With Malysa distracted, she brought herself in close, using Shadowbreaker to thrust flames toward her. Avoca was at her side, swirling the flames hotter with her own fire.
Malysa came back to herself and dodged their blows as if she was toying with them. She kept her gaze on Kael and arched an eyebrow.
“Yes, I no longer have magic,” Kael cried, coming in to back up Cyrene and Avoca. “I’m no longer under your influence. It felt damn good to finally get rid of the bastard.”
Malysa used a sword of darkness to parry Dean’s first blow and then whirled to take Kael’s. “Merrick was my first creation,” Malysa gritted out. “You will answer for his death.”
Kael pressed in close, breathing hard from his injury. “I look forward to killing you for what you did to me and my ancestors.”
“What I did?” Malysa said, throwing her arm down and pushing the sword out of Kael’s arm. She reached forward and seized him by the collar, bringing him close. “Oh, poor boy, you did it all yourself. You think it was my influence that turned you into the person you are today?”
Kael beat at her chest, but she didn’t let him go. Dean sliced toward her but was deflected. It was finally Cyrene who managed to get a hit in that had Malysa drop Kael.
But she continued on anyway, “That is what you tell yourself. But, deep down, you know. You know what you did and that you’d do it again if given the chance. Remember when we killed that poor girl who was infatuated with you? Little Jardana.”
Cyrene winced at the name. Jardana had turned up dead, but she hadn’t connected it to Kael. But it made sense. He’d had a connection to her at the time. The blood magic was stronger that way.
“You wanted to do that,” Malysa said eagerly, staring down at him as he rose again to his feet. “Kill the sniveling lackey who begged for your affection. It felt good.”
Kael narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t want to. You forced my hand.”
“I wasn’t holding the knife.”
“You were holding my mind,” he growled.
Avoca and Cyrene moved in for another attack. Malysa threw up a shield between them. It took concentration to bring it down again, but another one replaced it almost instantly. Malysa just walked right up to Kael with a smirk on her face.
“You let me. You were festering with jealousy and obsession and anger. You wanted what your brother had. The one who wouldn’t let me in. But you did. Your father knew that the day he gave you the book. He didn’t think that you could lead. He thought you had the stomach to kill. That’s all.”
“My father loved me,” he spat, not backing down from her taunt.
Malysa raised an eyebrow. “Did he? Then why didn’t he put you on the throne? Why give you the book? Your brother was always stronger. He was always more loved. Everyone wanted him more. Even Cyrene.”