She counted. There had been twelve on the patrol that attacked the scouting party. There were only eleven here. They had gone a man down to send back word, the fools. Or maybe they had been hoping for reinforcements to show up before they engaged—thoughts for another time.
Mave could barely breathe as the entire patrol unit entered the air, and one went to land in the mouth of the cavern.
“NOW!” Nevyn roared, jumping down and killing the Elvasi gryphon rider.
Blending with the chorus of answering roars, Mave leapt from her tree and assaulted the closest mounted Elvasi. Arrows flew through the air and hit others. The Elvasi were caught off guard. As she drew close to her target, she saw his eyes widen, unprepared for the immediate danger he found himself in. She unsheathed her morok and stabbed him in the chest in one fluid movement. Yanking her blade out, she kicked him, using it to propel her into a backflip as the gryphon tried to attack her legs to protect itself and its rider. The kick also sent her rider to the side, dragging the gryphon down with the dead weight.
She steadied herself in the air again and turned to see, just as quickly as it had started, it was over.
“Really?” she said, pissed off. “That was it?”
“We had double their numbers. They didn’t have a chance,” Nevyn said loudly. “Now, we need to move to a new location. Everyone, grab your packs, and let’s go!”
Several of the other Andinna flew in and landed inside the cavern, grabbing everything. Mave caught her bag as it was tossed to her, nodding a sharp thanks to the Andinna warrior who had grabbed it for her. The unit flew fast up the cliffside and reached the top, landing long enough to make sure their scents were easy to find.
“Any casualties?” Kian asked loudly. “Injuries?”
A chorus of nos followed. Everyone was fine, and their mission could continue. Mave understood why Alchan had put limits on their mission. If the force was weakened, there was no reason to risk the entire operation and some of his best warriors. Mave would honor the rules and wouldn’t balk. She wasn’t much in the mood for dying or losing any of the Andinna with them.
They ran into the forest at the top of the cliff, Mave in front. She was the fastest, and they already knew their fall back location, a game trail to the next cliffside they intended to use. She jumped logs and ducked tree branches as she ran, checking over her shoulder every few moments to make sure the unit was keeping up. Reaching the new cliffside, she jumped into the air and found her next hiding spot, watching all twenty-three following Andinna do the same.
“When did you get so fucking fast?” Mat asked, chuckling.
“I’m smaller than you. It’s not hard,” she smirked. “Do you think they’ll see their dead and decide to chase?”
“I hope so,” he said softly. “Or we can wait them out another night. They’ll come back to see if we’ve left, or if we’re a threat they still need to deal with.”
“They’re definitely going to come with more. Expect the next fight to be harder,” Nevyn added, jumping into the quiet conversation.
From their spots, they could see over the treetops. The Dragon Spine was tall mountains, small valleys, and sheer cliffs stacked on top of each other—perfect for this sort of warfare.
Mave waited, anxious to see if they would be followed. They were only half a day’s flight from the horses, but the Elvasi camp was even closer. Hopefully, they would see more to battle with soon.
It felt like ages. The red moon crept to the horizon. Dawn wasn’t yet coming, but it would soon.
“Where are they?” someone asked, obviously getting annoyed.
Mave waited, and finally, a large unit of gryphons and their riders came up and over the cliff. Some landed, probably looking for their trails. Most stayed in the air, ready to attack.
“There they are,” Mat said with a satisfied growl. Mave reached out and touched his shoulder, grinning viciously when he glanced her way. Mave was glad all of her males were warriors. They could be as bloodthirsty as her, and she knew Mat was skilled. She trusted him at her side, always. He was the first to fight by her side, and that bond between them couldn’t be broken.
By his returning grin, she knew she was right. He reached out and pulled her into a swift, hard kiss, ending it with that arrogant smirk, knowing she would be thinking about it for the rest of the mission.
No sex on the mission? Nevyn was going to have a hard time enforcing that one once they were clear of the Elvasi.
“How many?” someone asked softly. “Did anyone manage to get a count?”
“I figure nearly the same numbers as us. Twenty to thirty, but it’s hard to tell,” Nevyn answered. “Kian, what did you get?”
“Twenty-two, but I probably missed a few. They’re coming out to crush us. They don’t want us getting away like you and the rest of the scouting team.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Nevyn agreed. “Archers, at the ready.”
Mave made sure her body was loose. If she tensed up too soon, she would find herself cramping when she needed to launch an attack. Staying limber was important.
The gryphons drew closer and closer, tracking the scents left by their group. This time, Mave knew Nevyn wouldn’t wait so long to give them the order to attack. They needed to hit even harder with the numbers so closely matched. The more they killed in the first hit, the better off they were.
“ATTACK!” Nevyn roared, spooking the Elvasi as they realized arrows were coming for them.
Mave was one of the first to fly out of cover, followed by Matesh, Kian, and Nevyn. The arrows barely beat the Andinna to their targets. Not all of them were kill shots. Two Elvasi dropped, taking their overburdened gryphons with them into the trees. Generally, once the gryphon was free of the Elvasi, they ran from the fight. Mave hoped that continued to prove true.
She dove to one of the riders, glad for the advantage of being above them. She nearly hit the one when another gryphon barreled into her, and a spear just missed her, slicing the side of her arm. She stabbed sideways, hearing a screech in return, knowing she had hit the mount. It pulled away as she yanked her sword free of the muscle, tendon, and bone.
She could barely hear anything as the screeches and screams of warriors, soldiers, and gryphons filled the air—background noise but also the most beautiful music. Her blood came alive on her skin, dripping from her injury. She called on its power, strengthening herself. The next swing she took cut an Elvasi’s arm off. The next took his head and sent it down into the dark forest.
More riders came up from the trees, flying fast to fight alongside their troubled comrades. She dodged one soaring up and felt claws rake her thighs as the gryphon tried to grab hold.
“So, we finally meet on the battlefield!” someone called, laughing as the gryphon turned and halted. Fighting was going on all around them, but her eyes were locked on the rider and gryphon that had just tried to grab her out of the sky.
The gryphon, even under the red moon, was obviously a very unusual color. Gryphons tended to be natural tones, but this one was white—from fur to feather, it was different shades of white.
And its rider had cruel eyes and a victorious smile.
“I look forward to recapturing you, Champion. I didn’t think you would be so bold to come down here and pick a fight,” Prince Lothen said.
She started up for him, blazing fury rushing through her body, her focus only for him. She had to kill him. She needed to kill him. If she failed, she would consider this mission a loss.
She was bold? He was the spoiled monster thinking he could fly in her domain. The sky belonged to the Andinna.
Prince Lothen was going to learn that lesson.
She roared as she drew closer, but he pulled the reins of his gryphon and moved back as another came in from her side. Claws penetrated her side and shoulder this time, pulling her away from her target. She screamed in pain now, frantically trying to figure out how to get the beast to release her. A spear came down and stabbed her thigh.
Mave pulled on her blood’s power and channeled it into her own body—heal the injuries, strengthen the body, quicken the reflexes. Blood came out of her nose black, but she didn’t bother holding back as the blood magic deadened her to the pain, and she regained her senses enough to stab upwards into the gryphon’s chest.
Claws released her and she began to drop, falling as her body tried to repair itself with the power she had called upon. She spread her wings, trying to slow the fall just enough it wouldn’t be fatal when she landed. She luckily caught a draft and was able to flip over, putting her belly to the ground and angling to soar upwards again. The fighting above was vicious as the riders and gryphons clashed.
She looked for Lothen again, hoping to see the unwanted intruder, the man who didn’t belong in her skies. She found him coming straight for her, spear in hand.
She dodged his attack and tried for his back, but his gryphon was fast, realizing her intentions. She only barely escaped the vicious claws of the gryphon’s front paw.
“Sir! We’ve sustained casualties!” someone called out in Elvasi.
“Mave, we’re down six!” someone else screamed to her.
She and Lothen stared at each other for a moment. She growled, and he grinned.
“Kill them all,” Lothen ordered.
“Fight!” she roared, meeting sword to spear as she and Lothen reengaged. “This is my sky, Lothen. You don’t get to have it.”
“I’ve been flying longer than you will ever get the chance,” he taunted, using his gryphon to body check her. It knocked the air from her lungs, but she didn’t let that stop her from trying to assault him again. An arrow flew in and hit Lothen’s thigh, causing him to scream. She tried to attack him again, but his gryphon must have realized his rider was injured and took a defensive approach, moving away from her as Lothen pulled a small dagger and cut the arrow down short enough, it wouldn’t be a hindrance.
“Your prince is injured!” an Elvasi called, flying up beside Lothen. “Your general needs protection!”
The Elvasi pulled away from their fights, all flying to Lothen. Mave felt someone pull her back.
“Mave, we need to use this to get out,” Nevyn growled. “We’re not going to win tonight without losing more. If they want to be cowards and protect Lothen, then they can—”
“No! We can kill them!” she snarled. Another pair of hands grabbed her and pulled. She saw Kian, blood over his face coming from an unknown origin.
“They outnumber us! We need to go while we can! The mission has been a success. Let’s move!”
“NO!” Mave tried her best to pull away harder, furious they would declare this the point that the battle was over. She needed his blood. She needed to see the light fade from his eyes. For all the centuries of torture and abuse she suffered through, she couldn’t let him get away now.
She called on more power, but instead of a rush, it made her dizzy.
“Grab her!” someone screamed as her body decided to give out. “She’s bleeding out!”
Her chest thumped into another chest and arms wrapped around her waist.
She was conscious and furious, but her body wouldn’t cooperate as they flew from Lothen and his fucking riders. Mave was going to make all of them pay for this.
They landed at dawn in the valley where they had left the horses. Mave was slow on her feet, knowing the moment she was on horseback, she was going to sleep while she rode.
But she was still angry—so angry.
“We could have killed him!” she roared, shoving Nevyn as he released her.
“And more of us would have died. We’re at seven casualties and more severe injuries, including yours. We had to pull back. Now we know Lothen is one of the riders, and he’s willing to come out and fight. We can use that.”
“WE COULD HAVE KILLED HIM!” she screamed.
A large pair of arms wrapped around her as she swayed. She knew Mat’s spicy scent. It didn’t matter if there was blood, sweat, and dirt covering him. He always had that spice to him as if he rolled in them every night.
“We’ll get him before the end, love,” he whispered. “But we have to move. If he follows with a bigger force, our entire mission was in vain. We can’t suffer any more losses. We did well.”
“No,” she said, groaning but unable to call back the rage to fuel her. Her body couldn’t sustain it.
“Treat her injuries,” Nevyn ordered. “Kian, help him. I’ll help the others.”
Mat pulled her away from Nevyn, and Kian followed, grabbing her arms from the front.
“You’re bleeding internally,” Kian growled. “You’re bleeding black because you tried to pull too much energy to heal it while you fought. It looks like you were nearly eviscerated by a gryphon. You can’t keep this up. If you try, you’ll die.”
Her legs gave out as she looked down at her abdomen. There was no reason she should still be alive—none at all.
And that made her eyes feel heavy.
“She’s fading!” Kian snarled. “Lay her down so we can get to work!”
“Mave,” Mat whispered close to her. “Stay with us. Please stay with us.”
She didn’t have the power to.
She woke up on the path—not the field she had fallen in, where the horses were playing, or the cliffside where she had battled.
Mave woke up on a path in the eerily quiet forest. She struggled to get to her feet, feeling weak and sluggish.
Not this. Not right now. I can’t do this right now.
She started walking because her feet gave her no other option. She was being beckoned to battle once again, and there was no stopping the inevitable.
She stopped in the clearing and stared at the wingless Andinna. Mave opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
Are you going to kill me again? Or are you the last face I’m going to see before I actually die?
“I have no intention of attacking you,” the female said, her upper lip curled in disgust. “You look like someone has already done the job for me.”
Mave’s eyes went wide. She tried to speak again, but nothing came out.
Sighing, the wingless female waved her hand, and Mave felt something hard on her chest lift.
“Who are you?” Mave asked.
“Your worst nightmare and your most hopeful dream,” the female said, the disgust leaving her face and something enigmatic coming over it. “What’s happened?”
Mave felt a bolt of confusion, but she couldn’t resist answering this female. This female had a question, and Mave had to answer. Instincts welled up that Mave had never encountered before.
She’s more dominant than me. Or I’m imagining she is. She’s just a dream.
“We ambushed Elvasi gryphon riders. I was severely injured,” Mave growled, looking away from the female. “I failed to kill their prince before I was forced away from the battle.”
The female growled as well. “Yes. They have decided to try to claim our skies, haven’t they? We’ll have to do something about that.”
“Yes,” Mave agreed. “The Elvasi don’t deserve our skies.”
The female laughed.
“Do you really believe that?” she asked softly. “I see your heart, Maevana Lorren Amori. You don’t believe in a world that is black and white.”
“My name is Mave,” she snapped at the wingless Andinna. She ignored the other part, refusing to acknowledge her heart agreed with the sentiment. Maybe there were a few Elvasi who deserved to fly as the Andinna did, but Mave was too consumed with her rage at Lothen on the back of that gryphon to accept it. She wanted to crush the belief.
“A child’s name. No, your name, as written by the tatua on your skin, is Maevana Lorren Amori, daughter of two households, warrior…” The female sneered as she walked forward and reached out. Mave couldn’t move to stop the touch, the female’s fingers trailing up Mave’s arm from the elbow and around her back, down the other arm, stopping at the elbow again.
“Champion. Ch
ampion of what, though? There are different answers. You have been many things, but you forget you cannot escape the things you once were. They are as much a part of you as they once were and will always be. Overcoming them is not the same as escaping them. You will never erase the marks and scars they have made on your soul, just as you can never escape the scars they made on your body.”
“My name is Mave,” she snarled, trying her hardest to turn and face this woman. “Maevana was a little girl who was abused and kicked around by men like Lothen, and I’ll see him fucking dead one day. I’ll see all of them dead.”
“You are that little girl,” the female whispered. “Mave is just the embodiment of her rage. Mave is just a shield to protect the bruised soul. Mave is the sword that lashes out when something might harm the little girl.”
“NO!” Mave refused to believe those words. She would never be that scared, frightened child with no power ever again. Something painful pierced Mave’s heart through her back, and she looked down to see a blade.
The wingless female had gone back on her word and stabbed her in the back.
“But the heart consumed by rage is still weak. I’ve heard tales of a cold warrior, her gaze the same color as steel and her defenses impenetrable. All I see now is a weak-hearted warrior, consumed by feelings she’s never had to confront. The heart consumed by rage makes rash, dangerous decisions that lead to the deaths of those around them and themselves.” The blade was yanked out, and Mave fell to her knees. “The heart consumed by rage will never win the battles that must be fought. And it doesn’t deserve to.”
“Who…” Mave gagged on her own blood.
“If you need to ask, then you aren’t ready for the answer. I’m everything you wish you were and everything you fear to be,” the female growled before kicking Mave into the dirt and letting her die.
28
Matesh
The Enemy's Triumph Page 32