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CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
The army of bones held still as soil continued falling. They waited for orders.
They waited for me.
Their Queen.
“Protect what is mine. Destroy the crimson soldiers,” I hissed, eather pounding into each word as my will poured into my army. “Destroy the crimson draken and those who came from the sea, then return to your rest.”
All across the field and into the forest, the army swept forward, and dragons rose into the air, their bones creaking and grinding together. Their roars were deeper, more guttural, sending a wounded Diaval fleeing toward the eastern mountains.
The screams that came brought a smile to my face as I rose, essence crackling from my fingertips. Across the field, a wave of red was falling into the grass, littering the ground.
A flash of crimson-and-gold snagged my attention. My gaze shot to the ruins of the Temple. I caught a fleeting glimpse of Kolis’s silhouette right before he slipped through the half-crumbling archway of the old Temple.
I walked forward, a burst of eather rushing through me as Diaval dove through the thick clouds, releasing a stream of fire that pounded the field, igniting everything in its path, killing both crimson and black soldiers alike.
Rage exploded in my gut. My vision narrowed on the draken, the realm fading into a red haze of fury. Instinct took over, and I inhaled, pulling eather from the realm. All across the field, tiny silvery dots appeared and pulsed. They raced toward me in a flash, joining the crackling essence gathering around my palm as I stepped forward. Thrusting out my hand, a spi
The fu
Diaval hovered in the air, letting out a roar that shook the trees.
Smirking, I lifted an arm and extended my middle finger. The wings of a bone dragon scattered the dark clouds.
Diaval twisted in midair, but the bone dragon was fast, tearing its claws into the draken’s back. I only winced a little at his scream of pain. My attention shifted back to the Temple. I shadowstepped to the archway.
In the shadowy interior, a crimson god stood before me. He was tall and slender, with hair as blond as mine and eyes the color of citrine. He smiled at me, and it was like Kolis’s. Fake. Cold.
“Who are you?” I asked.
The god bowed slightly. “Varus.”
“Oh. You.”
He straightened, the smile turning smug. “You’ve heard of me?”
“Barely.”
Varus frowned.
I shot forward and gripped the god by the throat, then turned, throwing him through an opening between the pillars. His shout of surprise faded as he plummeted to the field below. The army of bones would take care of him.
Footsteps echoed through the entire Temple. Within seconds, the decaying halls were filled with Kolis’s soldiers.
One smirked, withdrawing a dull white sword. “You shouldn’t have come alone.”
“She didn’t,” came a deep voice behind me, his fresh citrus scent sweeping over me.
I smiled, and the god’s grin faded.
“Was that just Varus?” Ash asked, handing me one of his swords. “Being thrown out of here?”
“It was.”
He chuckled, his hand grazing my hip as he stepped forward. I thought I smelled the faint scent of his blood, but it was passing. “I assume there’s a reason you’re here.”
“Kolis.” I looked to my right when the gods charged. “He’s playing hide and seek. Are you injured?”
“Of course, the coward is. And no, I’m not injured,” he said. “By the way, there are a whole lot of dead people doing a whole lot of killing out there.”
“Good.”
The soldiers surrounded us, and my grip tightened around my sword, the blade an extension of my will. Breathe in. They attacked at once. There was no time to think or feel fear in the chaos of blades. Hold. Blood sprayed the failing walls as I sliced through one god and then another. I fell into the madness, barely feeling the bone-shaking blows, my sword clashing with others. I no longer felt the echoes of death, or maybe it was just so constant that I had finally tuned it out. Breathe out. Back-to-back with me, Ash fought with deadly precision, his movements lethal. Hold. I cut down a god, cleaving his body in two, and stepped over the mess—
A blow co
Ash spun with a snarl, shooting forward. He caught the fist and shattered each bone with one squeeze. The god howled, dropping to his knees.
“That wasn’t nice.” I pushed forward, spitting out a mouthful of blood as I drove the sword through the god’s throat.
Ash released him, letting him fall back, then turned toward me, his features hard.
“I’m okay,” I said at once, stretching out my jaw to ease the throbbing there. When I turned to kick a god back into the sword Ash held, I saw that the side of his tunic was torn, and the ragged edges were soaked, darkening the material. Two gods raced at us, weapons raised, and concern immediately flooded me. “You lied! You are injured.”
“I didn’t lie, liessa.” With a swift turn, he struck with both swords, cutting down the gods simultaneously. “I was injured. Briefly.”
“You bled,” I growled, spi
“I was distracted.” His sword sliced through leather and bone as I dropped to my hands and knees to avoid the sweep of a sword. “By a certain wife who decided to go onto the battlefield.”
Pressing my lips together, I rocked back on my knees and kicked out, sweeping the god’s legs out from under him. “Sorry.”
“Uh-huh.” He bowed, driving his sword down through the chest of the god I’d knocked down. Thick lashes lifted. Eyes streaked with silver met mine. “The next time you do something like that,”—he yanked the blade free—“I’m going to spank you.”
My skin flushing hotly, I spun, shoving the sword back. A strangled grunt told me my aim was on point. “Was that supposed to be a threat of punishment?” I darted to the side, slamming my elbow into a crimson god’s stomach. “If so,”—my blade pierced armor and tissue—“it’s getting the absolute opposite response.”
“I know.” His voice was a sensual growl as he turned, throwing a shadowstone sword. It caught a god in the head. “I can taste your arousal, liessa.”
I started to respond when I spotted Kolis at the end of the hall, ducking under another archway. Another dozen crimson-garbed gods poured out.
“This is getting really a
As I slid under a wild swing, I pictured Thierran in my mind and summoned him. I trusted that he would keep a low profile until we had Kolis cornered.
Ash and I carved a path through the Temple hall, leaving a grotesque carpet of bodies behind. More soldiers loomed ahead, just another wave crashing toward us. But we were the rock that would break them apart.
As we neared the archway, the air crackled around us. I spun, letting out a shout of warning.
Kolis materialized directly behind Ash, descending on him in a heartbeat.
Ash spun, pulling his sword back and plunging it deep into Kolis’s chest. The impact knocked the Primal of Death back several feet before he caught himself.
Looking down at the sword’s hilt, he laughed and grasped it.
I pushed forward, and Ash flew toward him, slamming his fist into Kolis’s jaw. I didn’t make it very far. An arm snagged me around the waist as Kolis staggered and then steadied himself. He pulled the sword free. The blade shattered, and he vanished again. Suddenly, I was moving through the air—
I smacked into a wall with enough force that my spine would’ve broken if I’d been mortal. Still, my immediate concern was the lives I carried within me as I fell forward. Primal or not, the impact had rattled every part of me and stu
Ash’s head cut toward me when I landed on one hand and my knees. I looked up through several loose curls to see Ash coming for me.
The air behind him warped, and Kolis appeared again.
“Behind you!” I screamed.
Kolis’s lips curved up, and Ash turned. The true Primal of Death was on him in a heartbeat, gripping the front of Ash’s tunic and baring his fangs. I shoved up off my hand, desperate to intervene.
“Oh, look,” Kolis spat. “The bitch is already on her knees.”
A roar left Ash, shaking the ruins as he jerked forward, bashing his head into Kolis’s. I started to rise, but a boot co
A hand clamped down on my throat, lifting me roughly to my feet and then off them.
Varus stared up at me, his once smooth complexion torn open across his cheeks. “Payback’s a bitch,” he snarled.
There were only a few seconds to consider how strong the once-entombed god was before I was suddenly flying into the darkness.
In those brief seconds of weightlessness, I wasn’t thinking about myself or Ash. I was thinking about our children. I managed to twist my body so my upper back and shoulders took the brunt of the impact, a heartbeat before I crashed into the floor with enough force to knock the air from my lungs and crack the stone beneath me.
Fuck.
That hurt.
A lot.
A wall suddenly exploded, and Ash and Kolis came through it, sending chunks of stone flying in every direction. By the grace of the Fates, only the smallest pelted me as Ash and Kolis rose toward the pitched ceiling.
They were both in their Primal forms, a blur of shadows and crimson, clashing with the force of colliding stars and exchanging blows with their fists and eather.
An uncomfortable sense of déjà vu swept through me as they fought, and pain swept up and down the length of my body in waves.
“You still think you can defeat me, nephew?” Kolis’s laugh carried the scent of stale lilacs when he threw Ash to the floor. “I am true Death.”
Ash landed in a crouch, his pure silver gaze briefly meeting mine. I willed my stupid legs and arms to move. The pain was quickly fading, but all I managed to do was the lamest thing ever. I gave Ash a thumbs-up.