“We need to get inside,” Saion said, breathing heavily. A dakkai had clawed the front of his chest. I saw that Rhahar was with him.
We turned, but there was no path to the palace—to safety. No matter which direction we turned, there were snapping jaws and flat, flared nostrils, heads without features, and bloodied claws.
Dakkais surrounded us.
“Damn it,” seethed Rhahar, dragging the back of his hand over his bleeding cheek. “Godsdamn it.”
“Sounds about right,” Saion remarked, lifting his sword as he glanced over his shoulder at me. “You think you can do that thing again? It’ll draw more, but it may clear enough of a path.”
“I…” I searched for the embers but felt no flare. No wiggle. Nothing. My gaze met Saion’s as my throat started to close off. I couldn’t feel them. I couldn’t—
A draken suddenly crashed into the Rise, cracking it and taking out a large chunk. Shimmery light cascaded over Davon’s body as he fell to the courtyard, shifting into his mortal form.
And then the air turned frigid. Our breaths puffed out in small clouds as tiny bumps rose all over my skin. Rhahar slowly turned to our right.
To where a Primal hovered, shadowy wings spread wide and body encased in wisps of crackling eather.
Mist poured from Ash,outof Ash. Primal mist. It spilled to the ground, full of churning streaks of essence.
The dakkais’ heads swiveled and lifted, lips peeling back as they sniffed the air. Scented. Traced.
Tracked.
“Shit,” Rhain breathed behind me. “Shit.”
Ash’s silvery eyes locked on me for a moment, and I swore I heard his voice like a whisper among my thoughts.
The dakkais took off, one after the other, heading straight for Ash, just as he wanted. For a moment, those silvery eyes locked onto mine, and I swore I felt him—a cool brush of tendrils against my cheek like I had felt the night he’d been in my bedchamber. A shiver of awareness skated over the nape of my neck.
Run, liessa. Run.
I jerked into Rhain as I stared back at Ash. His voice. I’d heard his voice in my thoughts—
A dakkai cut in front of Ash. He caught the creature by the throat, throwing it back as he strode forward. Another raced at him as a silvery glow pulsed over his body.
Real, potent fear pounded through me, even as the mist snuffed out a line of dakkais. Dozens clamored over the fallen. Ash would be swamped. Primal or not, he would go down. What I’d seen left of Ector flashed in my mind.
“No!” I tore free of Rhain and grabbed a sword. “Help him!” I shouted, but Rhahar and Saion were already on it.
I ran, slower than before, slower than I’d ever been, but I pushed on. I’d crawl if needed. I lifted the now-heavy sword—
A funnel of fire slammed down on the ground between Ash and me.Nektas. He cut through the dakkais as he flew low. And he wasn’t alone. Orphine was with him. She released a stream of flames behind Ash as she dove.
“She’s too low!” Rhahar shouted.
A dakkai leapt as she veered, digging its claws into her side. She rolled, shaking the creature off, but another landed on her. And another—
Something blotted out the stars, darkening the ground. My gaze jerked to the Rise. Shadows gathered along the top and spilled over the wall—shadows thick and full of solid forms. Bodies.
“The Cimmerian,” I panted.
They were still here.
Kyn was still here.
The wave of Cimmerian came fast and hard, feeding off the eather until a cloudy night descended upon us.
And then I couldn’t see anything. Not Orphine or Nektas. Not Ash.