by Lynette Noni
The condition Alex had given her mother and father was that she wouldn’t force them to return to Freya as long as they promised to do what they could to avoid seeing combat. They’d agreed to remain in the Medical Ward and help treat the injured as they were brought in, since Fletcher would be out fighting with the rest. His gift, Alex had learned, enabled him to produce a pressurised sound wave, and since it was capable of taking out the Meyarins by bursting their eardrums and thus debilitating their attacks, he was invaluable on the battlefield. His medical skills could be utilised afterwards.
… Presuming there was an afterwards.
Queen Niida had offered to stay with Alex’s parents, partly to provide a line of Meyarin defence should the Med Ward be infiltrated, but mostly because she wasn’t a fighter and was better put to use administering the laendra Kyia had made sure to bring with them from Draekora. D.C., too, had promised Alex that she would help with the wounded, self-aware enough to know that she would be a liability when it came to fighting immortals. Along with them, Queen Osmada, Gammy, Dorothy, Evie and Natasha were also going to assist in the Med Ward, as well as the family members of any other students who had sought refuge at the academy. Those family members had all been offered a choice—they could either join the fight, or help care for those who did. Many had agreed to take up arms, despite the force of their enemy. And for that, Alex was grateful, since she knew they would need all the help they could get.
Shaking away her plaguing doubts, Alex looked from person to person around the group at the base of the Tower, from the luminescent Kaysia and Lidael; to the yellow-, orange- and purple-marked Tork, Glyn and Eefi; to the charcoal-painted Mareek and Tibbs; and finally, to the shadowy Azalia, Saber, Shirez and Trell.
Alex’s eyes lingered on the last Shadow Walker when Trell caught her gaze and mouthed, “You got this?”
Understanding her question for more than it was, Alex couldn’t keep her lips from quirking slightly and nodding back. Of all people, Trell knew Alex was capable in a fight. Now she just had to win against a different kind of opponent.
Moving on, Alex’s gaze travelled over to Commander Nisha who was standing with King Aurileous and Queen Osmada, and beside them was General Drock, already cussing like a sailor under his breath, so low that only those with immortal ears could hear—much to their amusement. Jeera stood a short distance away, her hand locked with Blake’s, with an entire contingent of black-uniformed Wardens standing behind her. And behind them was part of the human army, the rest having been allocated elsewhere in Medora, along with yet more Shadow Walkers, Dayriders, Flips and Jarnocks.
Beginning to feel overwhelmed by the send-off, Alex turned to Roka, Kyia and Zain, each looking fiercely impressive in their Meyarin armour. The looks they sent her filled her with warmth, along with the promise in their eyes that they would get through this—or not—together.
Blinking quickly against the sting of tears, Alex finally cast her gaze upon the teachers who had become some of her biggest supporters during her time in Medora. On the walk over through the masses, she had already spotted Finn, Varin, Tayla, Doc, Luranda, Fitzy, Marmaduke, Administrator Jarvis and the librarian, all of whom were ready to fight for their school, to fight for their world. And now, she looked at the others, the ones who were more like friends than teachers, in one way or another. She looked from Karter and his crossed-arm scowl, to Hunter and his intelligent dark eyes, to Caspar Lennox and his grim but unwavering face, to Mayra and her determined expression, to Fletcher and his encouraging smile. And then finally, she looked to Darrius.
Holding her gaze, he quietly said, “I know I’ve given you cause to lose faith in me of late, since I’ve showed you nothing but doubt since Aven rose to power and Lena blocked my gift. But today, let me be the first to say that I believe in you, Alexandra Jennings. And I will fight with you—and for you— through this day, and all those to come.”
Breath hitching, Alex released Kaiden and D.C. and rushed forward, throwing her arms around Darrius. But it wasn’t just him who hugged her back—it was everyone nearby. Shouts and cheers arose, people echoing the headmaster’s words of unyielding faith, and when Alex pulled away from the all-in embrace, she had to inhale deeply before she could meet the eyes of those around her. Her teachers, her friends, her parents. People she didn’t know. People she loved.
Trusting that they all understood their roles in the coming battle, trusting that they were all united, trusting that they stood some small chance against impossible odds, Alex managed to summon up a smile, wobbly as it was, as she called out, “See you all soon.”
And then, after one last lingering glance at her teachers, at the allied leaders of Medora, at her Meyarin friends, at her classmates, at the assembled crowd, and lastly, at her parents, Jordan, Bear, D.C., Declan and finally Kaiden, Alex turned on her heel and strode into the Library, not looking back.
It wasn’t Aven who Alex went to meet—not yet.
She still had a few minutes until her deadline, and while she was cutting it close, there was someone she had to speak with first, someone she had to see.
Striding through the foyer of the Library while vaguely noting that the paintings on the walls hadn’t changed from when she’d last seen them prior to embarking on the rescue mission to Meya, Alex skipped down the next staircase and, upon reaching the bottom, called forth a doorway and stepped straight through to Draekora.
Xira was waiting for her on the island wasteland, just as she had mentally asked him to. Amazingly, even as she watched, wildflowers began to bloom again. The return of the draekons had brought life back to the islands, just as she had hoped.
Reaching forward to press her hands against his lowered face, Alex looked into his cerulean eyes and said, “You weren’t supposed to be here for this.”
“And where would you be now if I’d stayed away?” he returned, somewhat smugly. “Admit it, you need me here.”
“Of course I do,” Alex told him. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not terrified something will happen to you. If Aven uses Vae’varka—”
“I won’t go anywhere near him,” Xira interrupted. “I promise, Alex. I’ve already ordered my kin to remain in the air above the cities you believe Aven will strike. We’ll fight off the veeyons for you, keeping the skies clear and stopping them from attacking all those warring on the ground.”
Despite having already gone over this mentally, Alex’s features were pinched as she said, “They might not be as big as you, but there are so many of them. Way more than how many draekons came with you through the abrassa.”
“We only need to hold them off long enough for you to defeat Aven.”
Xira’s unquestioning faith in her had Alex leaning further into him for support.
“After their leader is no longer bound to him, the others will disperse,” he said.
Frowning, since she didn’t recall mentioning anything to Xira about the theory of Aven bonding with the veeyon leader, Alex asked, “Did you read my mind while I was sleeping?”
Unapologetic, he said, “I figured you wouldn’t have much of a chance to bring me up to speed.”
Alex’s frown deepened as she said, “If I manage to survive this, we’re going to have a very firm talk about boundaries.”
“When you manage to survive this, I’ll look forward to that discussion,” Xira returned. “Now introduce me to your Shadow Wolf so I can see for myself how your plan is going to work.”
Alex barely had to think Soraya’s name before she arrived in a burst of shadows and lightning. It was fascinating, watching draekon and wolf meet each other eye to eye, communicating on some other-creaturely level. Or at least, weighing each other up. Both bound to Alex, both immensely powerful in their own right, both determined to protect her.
When they finally looked at Alex again, it was Xira who said, “She’ll do.”
Soraya, in turn, gave a quiet woof, apparently echoing his sentiment.
“Now that we’re all friends,” Alex s
aid dryly, “I’m guessing we should get this show on the road.”
She stroked Xira’s scales once before running her fingers through Soraya’s silky coat.
“You know what to do, pretty girl?” she asked Soraya, and the wolf gave another woof.
“You’ve never used a term of endearment for me,” Xira grumbled.
Unable to keep her lips from twitching, Alex said, “I can call you ‘pretty girl’ too, if you want.”
She had to choke back a laugh at the look he levelled her. It was amazing that she was able to feel any humour around the knots in her stomach.
Just as swiftly as it came, her mirth fled. And with one final glance and a quiet demand that they both be careful, Alex reopened the doorway and stepped back through the Library, uttering a quick request for guidance through the labyrinth. Only then did she march purposefully along the corridors until she stood before the path that would lead her to Aven.
‘… we shall meet where this all began.’
That’s what he had told her. And Alex hadn’t needed him to explain. Because she had already known he was talking about Raelia.
The place where he had declared his feelings for her.
The place where he had learned she was mortal.
The place where Astophe had given the order for his exile.
Raelia was where everything had begun, and to Aven’s mind, it was where everything would end.
And so, with a deep breath, Alex summoned A’enara and stepped through the doorway, ready to face him for the very last time.
Thirty-Seven
Aven was waiting for her inside the mushroom-circled clearing, just as she had expected. But unlike her, he appeared surprised by her presence.
“I didn’t believe you would come,” he said, his shock giving way to pleased—if scornful—disbelief. “That was foolish of you, Alexandra. You had to know I would never hold to my end of the bargain.”
Alex said nothing.
Moving towards her with lethal grace, Vae’varka already in his hands, Aven continued, “As we speak, my armies are advancing upon this world. By sundown, the taint of mortals shall be but an unpleasant memory. And I won’t stop with Medora. When I’m done here, where do you think I’ll go next, Alexandra?”
Words Kaiden had said as he’d guided her through the future vision swam across her mind: ‘After having razed Medora to the ground, he seeks beyond it, fixing his sight on the humans of Freya.’
“You started all this,” Aven hissed. “And I made a promise to you once, do you remember?”
With him now alarmingly close, Alex sidestepped to keep some distance between them. As they both started to circle each other, the promise he was talking about replayed in her memory.
‘I swear by the stars that you and the others slain tonight will be the first of many. Of that you have my word.’
“Once I’m done with this world, with you,” Aven spat, “you can be sure I will not rest until I’ve wiped your kind from existence.”
Despite his words shaking her to the very core, Alex had to believe that, should that part of the vision come true, the Tia Aurans would at least step in then. Empress Saefii would have to take notice if Aven sought beyond Medora. She would rally her race and stop him, as had happened in the vision. Alex had to believe that.
“You can’t defeat me, Alexandra,” Aven went on. “I know all about your prophecy, just as I know where you’ve been for the last seven weeks and what you were seeking to accomplish.”
Alex had already known Signa had read the minds of Jordan, Bear and D.C., and anything he’d missed, Aven would have taken directly from D.C. through their bond. But still, she winced, at least inwardly. Outwardly, she gave nothing away, her face blank and unreadable.
“We both know you failed,” he said, his eyes glinting like molten gold. “We both know I’ve already won.”
His words spoke to Alex in a way he couldn’t have imagined. Because it wasn’t his voice that echoed across her mind this time, nor was it Kaiden’s. Instead, she heard what Niyx had told her inside the Gate of Lost Souls.
‘You’ve already won. You just have to believe it.’
Feeling the strength of his declaration wash over her, Alex met Aven’s fervent gaze and spoke the first words she’d said since arriving in the clearing. “I thought we agreed that the time for talking was over.” His eyes narrowed as she continued, “You think you’ve already won? Then prove it. Finish what you tried to do thousands of years ago—and see if you can kill me for real this time.”
As if breaking her silence also broke whatever was holding him back, Aven snarled out, “Say hello to your precious Niyx for me.”
And then he lunged.
In a blur of movement, he came at her with his lethal blade raised. He was faster than any immortal Alex had encountered, his strength augmented by all the Meyarin hearts he had consumed, making him an impossible foe. She had known coming into this fight that no amount of training could have prepared her to defend against what he had become. Not even Roka, the better fighter of the two brothers, would be able to stand up to the force of Aven’s stolen power. And yet, here Alex was, meeting his blade with A’enara in a fiery clash of black and blue.
He had fought her enough—in the past and in the present— to no longer be shocked by her immortal reflexes. As such, after she blocked his blade, he didn’t pause before swinging again, then again, and again. On his fourth bone-jarring attack, Alex staggered back and was barely able to pivot sideways when his blade rushed forward again, resulting in her left forearm being sliced open.
With a cry of pain, Alex only just managed to block his next attack, seeing the gleeful expectation in his eyes. He thought, having been struck by Vae’varka, that she would only have moments before the Harbinger of Death flooded its poison through her veins. But as she managed to keep meeting him strike for strike, his eyes darkened, flicking more often than not to her arm that was freely gushing blood.
More than ever, Alex was glad her friends had never learned what the Tia Auran armour was capable of, D.C. especially. She’d seen Alex don it during the academy Lockdown, but she’d never known why it was so important, since Alex hadn’t had the time to share. That meant Aven hadn’t been able to steal the knowledge from her mind, just as Signa hadn’t been able to glean it from the others.
“You should be dead by now,” Aven hissed at Alex as they continued circling each other around the clearing. Already she’d sustained more than just the cut on her forearm, but it was by far the worst of her wounds.
Panting, Alex replied, “It takes more than a little prick to stop me.”
The double meaning in her words was impossible for him to miss. And that might have been why, with a roar of outrage, he came at her with even greater fury.
Despite her cocky statement, Alex knew she was in trouble. While she was bleeding from multiple places, Aven didn’t have so much as a scratch on him. Meanwhile, she was struggling not to lose any limbs—or worse—as she blocked against his attacks, unable to offer her own in turn. He was too fast, too strong, too powerful.
But she’d also known he would be.
‘You got this?’—That was what Trell had mouthed to her before she’d left the academy grounds, because it was thanks to the female Shadow Walker that Alex’s plan had come together. Or at least, the first part of it.
On even footing, there was no way she could succeed against all that Aven now was. But she didn’t plan to fight him on even footing. And the next time she blocked his attack, instead of retreating again, she leaned forward and wrapped her free hand around his wrist, mentally calling for Soraya as she did so.
The wolf understood her role in this battle, and with a burst of light and dark, she appeared in the clearing, only to disappear again, taking Alex and Aven with her.
They came out at Graevale, with Aven stumbling from the unanticipated transportation. But he still managed to get his feet under him in time to meet Alex’s blow—the first offe
nsive move she’d yet managed to offer. He gained ground quickly, even amid the distraction of the warfare happening all around them. It was just like when Alex had last been there, the city square at the base of the Obscuria filled with Shadow Walkers and Dayriders who were battling Aven’s Claimed army of Meyarins and gifted humans. But along with the Medoran military and Wardens who were again on site to help the natives of Graevale, there were also Flips and Jarnocks, and a handful of the free Meyarins—all of the races allied against a common enemy.
As Alex battled Aven on the steps of the gothic cathedral, she saw Dayriders flashing here and there while calling down lightning, Shadow Walkers appearing and disappearing in surges of darkness, Jarnocks blowing their poisonous dart guns and knocking out anyone they managed to hit, be they Meyarin or Claimed human. The Wardens and Medoran militia were using swords and daggers coated in Hyroa blood along with their trusty Stabilisers, more often than not teaming up with the Flips, who Alex had never seen fight before, but now discovered were capable of summoning water and throwing it into the faces of their enemies, distracting them enough for others to take them down. On top of all that, the skies overhead were filled with veeyons battling draekons, fire meeting sludge, claws meeting teeth.
It was a frenzied mess, all of which Alex had no time to take in, since Aven was losing patience and becoming increasingly more hostile in his attacks.
He wanted her dead, and he wanted her dead now.
But she wasn’t willing to yield. And when he came at her again, over and over, Alex called Soraya, over and over.
Together the three of them moved across the world, with Aven attacking Alex relentlessly as they were swept from location to location. After Graevale, Soraya delivered them to Maroo, where Alex fought Aven atop the massive open tree trunk where she and Bear had met the Jarnock leaders before being overrun by their numbers.