Battle of Illaria: Book Three of the Illaria Series

by Dyan Chick

  I glared at Max, knowing that if I didn't fight back, he was going to kill me. Reaching down inside me, I found my ice. Pure adrenaline ran through me, helping me to make faster decisions, less thinking. Time was moving too quickly for me to question what I was doing.

  Blue flames rose into my palms, cold raced through my veins. Forming the flames into a ball, I threw them at Max.

  He sent up a shield of bright orange fire. My ice was absorbed by his flames.

  "You'll have to do better than that," he said.

  I was vaguely aware of the battle raging around me. The other sorcerers were attacking Max's friends, but my focus was only on Max. The edges of my vision blurred as the Darkness tugged at me. It would be so easy to give in. So easy to let it guide me. It could help me win. It could help me defeat Max. I hesitated as a vision of Max burning alive flashed through my mind. Just accept it. You deserve to defeat him.

  No. I won't give in. I took a deep breath and pushed back against the Darkness, sending it from my mind. Max took advantage of my internal struggle, throwing a fireball at me.

  I crossed my arms in front of me, calling to the Arctic Fire in the same way Celeste had taught me to create a shield. Nearly transparent blue flames rose in front of me, blocking the fire. Spreading my arms wide, I released the arctic fire that had been protecting me out in front of me, sending it toward Max.

  He dropped to the ground to avoid getting hit and was back on his feet before I could take advantage of his moment of weakness. He was faster than me, more experienced than me. My breathing was heavy and I had never trained for a battle like this. Teeth bared, I threw another round of arctic fire at him.

  The ground rumbled under me, shaking. Arms extended, I tried to maintain my balance but lost. Rolling over to my front, I pushed myself back to standing but the damage had been done. Orange flames caught my eye too late for me to do more than try to dodge them. The fire caught my hip, spreading in a surge of screaming pain up and down my side.

  I dropped to the ground and rolled, extinguishing the flames. Crying out in pain, I laid there on the ground, unable to move. The smell of burned flesh filled the air and I knew most of that came from me. Tears streamed down my face as I tried to push myself back up.

  Max grabbed my chin and looked at me, his nose practically touching mine. "Everything would have been so much easier if you had just done what I asked." He pushed me down to the ground and cracked his knuckles, smiling at me.

  Wincing, I tried to call on my powers, to do something. I raised a hand toward Max, hoping to find anything to push him away. Even just some wind. Something to buy me time to call out for help. My gaze was fixed on Max and his was on me. He lifted his hands, ready to end my life. My vision blurred as I fought to stay conscious.

  Max turned away from me, and I moved my head in time to see someone with a sword run into view. Without hesitation, the newcomer thrust the sword into Max's chest. Max turned his gaze back on me, eyes wide. He dropped to his knees, then fell forward, pushing the sword further into his chest.

  My head swam, and my vision darkened. I couldn't fight it anymore. Everything went black.

  44

  Ashton

  Ashton dropped to the ground, not even pausing to remove the sword from Max's chest. He slid his arm under Etta's head. Her trousers were burned, exposing the blistered red skin that spread from her chest to below her knee. Steam was rising off of the wound in the cold. Ashton didn't know what a burn this bad from sorcerer fire would do to a person. She needed help.

  Yancey knelt down next to Ashton. "Is she breathing?" The guard's face displayed signs of panic and Ashton believed his sincerity.

  Her chest rose and fell. She's alive. Heart pounding, he looked through the mass of bodies engaged in battles all around him. "She is, for now. We have to get her out of here." Ashton looked around, he had to find Celeste. Her orb was the only thing that might have enough power to heal Etta's wounds.

  "I'll take her," Yancey said. "I can get her somewhere safe."

  "She needs Celeste, find her." Ashton's tone made it clear that this was the only option. With a nod, Yancey stood. He pulled his sword from its sheath and ran into the fray.

  Everybody seemed to be so caught up in their own fight that they hadn't yet noticed the fallen royals. Hurry, Yancey. It wouldn't be long before Max's supporters saw him on the ground. Would they leave without their leader or would they try to avenge him? Ashton didn't know what their plan was so he had to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Taking a deep breath, he called on a shield spell, wrapping the two of them in a bubble. It would keep out any weapons thrown at them but wouldn't stop somebody from charging at them. It was the best he could do right now.

  "I'm so sorry, Etta." Ashton pushed her hair away from her forehead. He glanced over toward Max's fallen body. He would have to burn it so the king couldn't claim him. Ashton took a step back as the reality of what he'd just done sank in. He looked down at the fallen body of his teacher, his friend. His vision blurred. He'd killed Max. Heart racing, he fought to swallow but couldn't. How had it come this far? They'd talked about it but he never thought he'd be the one to do it.

  "Ashton."

  The sound of his name pulled him back to reality and he turned to see Yancey with a breathless and bloody Celeste.

  Her eyes fell on Etta and she dropped to her knees. "No," she said. She reached out a hand and rested it on her chest, feeling the weak beat of her heart. "She doesn't have much longer. We need to get her out of here."

  Ashton lifted Etta, cradling her against his chest and passed her off to Yancey. "Go, help her."

  "Come with us," Celeste said.

  He shook his head. "I've got to call for retreat. Take her to the bookstore in Canton. I'll come when I can."

  "Don't do this, Ashton. Don't be the hero."

  "I have to," he said. "Now go. Save her. You're the only one who can."

  Celeste blinked away the tears that had pooled in her eyes. She nodded then reached her hand out to grip Yancey's. The guard shifted his grip on Etta so he could better support her. A cloud of gray smoke rose up around them and they vanished.

  Ashton took a deep breath and looked around. The noise from the battle rushed into his ears as if he had been inside a vacuum while worrying about Etta. Things were moving too quickly. Sorcerers were engaged in combat against each other. The dead were rising from the piles of bodies on the field. A dragon lay on the ground, unmoving.

  They'd lost. There wasn't anything else they could do. He needed to call for retreat. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the glow of a fireball. He ducked just before it could hit him, then spun around to face his assailant.

  Her hair was wild, forming a tangled main of red around her pale face. Green eyes flashed with hatred. "How could you?" She screamed as she launched another fireball at Ashton. "You owe everything to him."

  Ashton dodged her fireball and ignited his own flames in his palms. Her aim was poor. She hadn't been training long enough to be a threat. He could finish her in seconds, but he hesitated. If what Saffron had said was correct, the princess was pregnant. Despite everything, could he really kill Max's child?

  Nora charged at Ashton, letting out a scream as she did. Ashton extinguished his flames, then caught her in his arms. She twisted, trying to pull out of his grip. "Let me go, you bastard."

  She called to her flame, and Ashton jumped from the heat. It would take a lot more fire than that to harm a fire sorcerer, but the surprise was enough to cause him to loosen his grip. She broke free and ran toward Max's fallen body. With a look of pure hatred aimed at Ashton, she wrapped her arms around Max. Gray smoke circled her as the two of them disappeared.

  Relief flooded through Ashton. He wouldn't have to burn the body. Then fear gripped him. Max had just left in the arms of the king's daughter and she now had the sword. What did that mean for them? Stupid. He knew he should have just burned the body. He couldn't worry about it right now. It was time to end
this battle.

  Checking to make sure he wasn't under attack, he lifted his hands in the air to launch red sparks over the field. It was the signal to retreat. There was a shift on the battle field as people noticed the sparks. The momentum reversed as the soldiers and sorcerers began to flee.

  A roar cut through the human sounds of battle and retreat. He froze. He knew that sound. Fingers trembling, Ashton turned to see the dragon, color drained from its once red body. The grayish beast's eyes were milky white, dead. The massive creature rose into the sky, letting out another roar that sent Ashton's heart into his stomach. The dragon opened its mouth and emitted a bright green flame across the battlefield. Cries of pain rose from those in the flame's path. Living and dead alike, crumbled to the ground, unmoving.

  As the monster flew away, the king's sorcerers began to disappear in clouds of smoke. The members of the king's undead army stopped what they were doing and walked toward the castle.

  It was over. They had lost.

  He turned around to where the other sorcerers had been fighting against the Order of the Dragon. Two figures were still engaged in combat, despite the call for retreat. He recognized the blonde curls and ran toward Saffron. Just as he neared her, a dark cloud descended on them. Reaching his hands around his throat, he struggled for air. Blackness descended upon him and he felt his feet leave the ground.

  45

  Etta

  Every part of my body was screaming. Everything hurt. My eyes were closed and I was afraid to open them. Did I die? Was this what it was like? Voices in the distance only added to my state of confusion. I couldn't make them out clearly enough to tell who they were or what they were saying. My mind replayed the last thing I remembered: Max. Was he really dead?

  Cautiously, I moved my fingers. They felt like they were moving. I tried my toes. They felt like they moved, too. One, two, three I opened my eyes, then squeezed them shut again. It was so bright. I tried again, squinting this time. I was in an unfamiliar room lit by a single candle. Looking down, I noticed that I was on a small cot. My heart started pounding harder in my chest. This wasn't a familiar place.

  Grunting, I tried to sit up, and found that I couldn't.

  Footsteps raced toward me. I turned my head, at least I could do that.

  Relief washed though me as I saw Celeste come into view.

  "What happened?" I managed.

  "Max burned you," she said.

  "But don't worry, you're healing quickly." She pointed toward the end of the bed. I looked down by my feet and saw that the purple orb was resting on my bed.

  "You're going to be okay," Celeste said. "You're safe."

  "What happened to Max? To everyone?" I asked. "Where am I?"

  Celeste took a deep breath. "Max is dead. Ashton killed him."

  Tears streamed down my face. "He’s really gone.” I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the pillow, taking in a deep breath. After everything, Max was dead. I should be relieved, but I struggled to find any. He had tried to kill me, and I still struggled to celebrate his death. I looked back over at Celeste. "Where's Ashton?"

  She looked down.

  My heart seized. "No, no bad news, Celeste. Tell me something good, please."

  "I don't know where he is." She looked at me, forehead wrinkled in concern. "I don't know where anyone is. I had to get you out of there. It's just me and Yancey. When you're healed more, we can move you to Gallia."

  If she wanted to take me to Gallia, we were running away. A lump rose in my throat. We'd failed. "The king?"

  "He lives."

  "And he's stronger than ever." Yancey was standing in the doorway.

  Celeste glared at him.

  "It's true and she'd want to know the truth," he said.

  "Help me sit," I said.

  Yancey and Celeste exchanged glances. I glared at them.

  Stationed on either side of me, the two of them helped pull me to sitting. I clenched my jaw and held back from screaming in pain as they adjusted me. I looked down at the left side of my body. It was still red and swollen. It looked bad. I couldn't imagine what it had looked like before.

  "How bad is it?" I asked.

  Celeste climbed up on the bed next to me. "Your burns?"

  I shook my head. "The war." Neither of them looked like they wanted to tell me anything. "Tell me. Or I'll find someone who will."

  Yancey frowned. "We've lost almost everything. We don't even know who survived yet."

  "How long has it been?" I asked.

  "You've been asleep for two days," Celeste said. She lifted the orb. "This saved your life."

  I rubbed my eyes, wiping away the tears. "Two days? And we haven't heard any news?"

  "Nobody knows where you are," Celeste said. "Except for Ashton."

  My stomach twisted and a wave of nausea passed over me. If Ashton knew where we were, he should have come for us by now. I knew things weren't going well for us, but he was loyal and he'd want to see if I was okay. He'd want to see if Celeste was okay. I didn't want to say my fears out loud. I'd already lost too much. "How could we have gone through so much, just to lose everything?"

  "We'll find a way, Etta," Celeste said.

  "How?" I asked. "What's the point? All I do is get people killed. Maybe I should end this."

  "Don't you do that," Celeste said. "Don't you give up on me. We've been though too much. Too many people are counting on us. There's still hope."

  "Where?" I asked. "Where will we find hope?"

  The room fell silent. Nobody had an answer for me. How could anything fix this? We had nothing to offer the people. It seemed like every time we went after the king, he grew more powerful.

  A strange tapping noise filled the room. I turned my head toward the door, but didn't see anybody. "What is that?"

  It grew louder. Celeste moved closer to the orb, bending down to stare at it. I couldn't move closer but in the silence, I could now tell that the noise was coming from the orb. Without warning, the purple glow vanished, revealing the dragon egg at the center. The tapping grew louder and the egg moved on the bed.

  I stared at it, holding my breath as we waited. Suddenly, the tapping stopped. Then a thin crack began to spread down the egg. It was hatching.

  <<<<>>>>

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for spending your time in Illaria! Want to know what happens next? Join my Newsletter for an exclusive sneak-peek at the first chapter of Book Four of the Illaria Series.

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