I watched Nador's still chest for a moment. Crushed by jaws, pierced by teeth, and something had burned away much of the left side of her face and her left arm. Those weren't survivable injuries.
Didn't matter. She was already dead.
Don't panic, don't panic, breathe and stay calm. If there is a later, then will be the time to mourn.
I nodded toward the silver dragon still tearing through the upper tier. “Kai, too.”
“Oh, now the sarding hell what?” Ragan growled, his teeth bared. He limped away from the troll to stand next to Iefyr.
Kemi pulled her sword from the dying wyvern, then jumped from the beast's back and joined us. Breathing heavily, she whispered, “This isn't finished yet, is it?”
I looked up at the royal podium. The Fae King gazed down at us, unabashed glee etched into his wrinkled face. To his left, Rosnar Dannis and his companions groaned and cried as they writhed on the floor. In a couple days they would feel better than they ever had before, but for now, thanks to Nador's pysakee chocolates, their worst memories were giving them a little bit of what they deserved.
Gong. Thunder. Crash. Roar.
This isn't over. We're still going to die.
The ground quaked, nearly forcing us to our knees.
Crimson, talon-spiked tentacles poured from the monster gate. Dozens of yellow eyes peered from the shadows. Clawed feet burst from beneath the tentacles and the creature crawled toward the light.
“No no no no.” Kemi grabbed my arm and gasped. “No no, not that, not that, please not that.”
“What the hell is that?” I asked.
“Hedolar.” Iefyr clutched his bow tighter. “The Fae have a gods-damned Hedolar. How the hell did they capture a Hedolar? How did they get it here?”
Claws and tentacles and teeth and venom and all manners of death swirled together into a single form. Hedolar, Hedolar, far from the ocean deep. Rage and chaos and a pit of unrelenting hunger.
Breathe. Enjoy these breaths while you can. They'll be your last.
“What do we do?” Panic crushed both my body and my mind. The previous monsters were at least familiar in form. This thing was a horror my nightmares couldn't even have conjured.
“Nothing. We can't fight this and win,” Ragan said. His knuckles blanched to white as he gripped his axe in both hands.
“I can.” Rose stepped in front of us, her arm outstretched toward the Hedolar.
“Mom...”
Rose turned her head and smiled at her son. Her bruised and bloodied face was calm, almost peaceful. “Sweetheart, go tell your dad that I still love him. He won't believe you, but tell him anyway. Give my love to Cora and Roshan and their mates and babies. Then you go find yourself someone to love and don't let go of her this time. Die when you're old and sick of life, because I'm not going to let you die here.”
“Mom...”
Rose turned her attention back to the Hedolar and took a step forward. “You are still worth it, Ragan. Every pain, every sorrow. You're my shining star, and I've never regretted you. Love gives me strength. It gives you a future.”
A sharp beak and more taloned tentacles oozed out of the gate. This creature was massive and its tentacle span would easily fill the arena floor.
“Rose!” Iefyr shouted.
She ignored his call. She slowly walked forward, her hands held above her head and her lips murmuring an invocation only she could hear. She dropped the shadowwhip at her side. It sizzled, then extinguished into a simple silver rope.
The roar of the rhapsodic crowd became a muffled drone as violet-tinted shadows swirled around us.
“What is she doing?” Iefyr asked. Blood trickled down his cheek from a gash on his forehead. It gathered at his jaw and dripped upon his dusty shoulder.
Ragan shook his head. He looked down and away as tears gathered in his eyes.
“She's shielding us,” Kemi said. She leaned against me to maintain a safer distance from the spinning shadow wall.
Darker now, and darker still. I could barely see Rose through the shadows. She was only a few yards away from the Hedolar and tentacles whipped above her head like flags caught in a squall.
Darker, darker, couldn't see her anymore. Only shadows, only silence, only pain, and the bloodied sand at my feet spiraled into minute eddies.
Is this what death feels like?
The silence dropped into the hollow pit of my gut, then exploded into blinding light.
We fell hard to our knees. Our instincts threw protective arms around each other's backs and shoulders. Fetid, abrasive wind raked across our faces.
Something large and covered in hooked barbs flew over our heads and landed with a plop on the cadra corpse behind us. It was a tentacle, or part of one. The rest of the pieces slammed into the cage above and fell in seizing heaps upon the gravel.
The Hedolar was gone without being granted even a dying breath. The force of the explosion had rendered it nothing but twitching parts and bloody rain.
The crowd above the Hedolar gate no longer existed. Waterfalls of blood flowed from one tier to the next.
“What happened? Where's Rose?” I asked. My voice was distant and muffled. I heard little beyond the ringing in my ears, but a quick glance at the stunned faces of the surviving crowd showed me there was little to hear.
Kemi clutched my arm. “Shadow bomb. Warlock's most powerful weapon, but a self-fatal one. She sacrificed herself to kill the Hedolar.”
“She's dead?” I asked, my throat tightening.
No. No, no, no. Nador and Kai and . . . and Rose. Gone.
Kemi nodded. “She saved us.”
“She . . . I can't get my mind around her right now. Too much . . . too much . . . all of this.” Ragan stood and pressed his hands against the top of his head. He slowly rotated, his jaw tensing more with each pained step. “Mom. Nador. Where's the other elf?”
Kemi gasped, then jumped to her feet and ran toward the smoldering boar. “Kai!”
I shook my head and pointed at the raging silver dragon in the upper tier. “He took a blow for Kemi. I don't think he survived it.”
Iefyr shuddered and hugged his arms to his chest. “Nador saved me. Cadra was right on top of me, she lured it away. Tried to blow it up, but her grenade misfired. She was burning, but she kept fighting anyway and managed to sever two of the heads. I knew she was dying before the beast bit her, but I couldn't do anything. Watched it crush her chest. She smiled at me as she died.”
I looked up at the crowd. They were silent and still, collective horror upon their varied faces. “What now. We won. What now?”
The Fae King stood and glared down at cowering Rosnar, disgust on his gray face. He plucked the speaking stone from a table and held it to his own throat. “The winners may leave Parandor.”
The crowd remained silent, their lips trembling and their hands clutched into fists. The King dropped the stone back on the table. He sputtered his flabby lips as he sank onto his throne.
“No!” Kemi wailed from behind the boar. I already knew what she'd found.
Ragan wiped the tears from his eyes, but more rose to replace them. “Tessen, you're alive. You did well. Go to her.”
“Why me?” I asked. The question didn't make sense even as I said it. I should go to her. We all should. A loss this great couldn't be called 'winning'. My knees wobbled as I forced myself fully upright.
“Isn't she your girlfriend?”
“No. I barely know her.”
“Go to her anyway.”
I would, but I needed to balance myself first. I rested my hand on Iefyr's shoulder for a moment. He sat on the ground, breathing heavily and staring at Nador's still body.
“They're going to turn her into a lantern,” Iefyr whimpered. He wiped the back of his hand across the bleeding gash on his forehead.
“No they won't. We'll take her with us,” I said. I brushed my hand over his shoulders as I stepped toward Ragan.
Before I could say anything, Ragan reached forward and pulled
me into an embrace. My injured back protested, but I willed myself to ignore it. Ragan's tears fell on my brow as he kissed the top of my head.
I wrapped my arms around him and felt the rapid thump of his heartbeat. “Ragan, I–”
“I love you. Don't you ever try to rescue me again,” Ragan said, gasping through his tears.
“I'm so sorry. We tried to help and we lost them instead. I'm so sorry.”
Ragan rested his chin on the top of my head. “We can't do this right now. We need to get out of this damned realm. Go help your friend. I need to figure out how we're gonna get out of here.” He let go of me and turned around. He shrugged at Rosnar, then held up his hands in a gesture regarded as obscene in every realm of Bacra. “I'm still alive, you sarding asshole. Let us go.”
I didn't wait to watch Rosnar's reaction. Kemi was more important than the disappointment of a bloodthirsty, chocolate-cursed Fae.
My legs numb and burning pain ripping apart my spine, I walked around the fallen troll and the burning boar. Kemi was on the ground next to the wall, Kai cradled on her lap. She kissed his battered face through heaving sobs. Mournful Lenna looked down from the cage bars directly above her. Bronda was gone and the Fae from the upper tier were busy collecting their injured and dead.
I sat next to Kemi and laid my hand on Kai's shoulder. Guilt overtook me as my mind tried to figure out a way to make his death my fault. What if I'd taken on the boar myself? What if I'd dodged the hammer strike and been quicker about downing the troll? What if I hadn't accepted Kai's help in the first place? What if, what if, what if? Damn it. It didn't matter now. It wasn't my fault and it was too late to save him. He was gone, Rose was gone, Nador was gone, and I had no interest in damming the river of my tears.
Kemi gasped twice, then collapsed onto me. She rested her head against my chest as she continued to stroke Kai's face.
I couldn't think of anything to say to her, so I simply held her and kissed her hair. There was nothing I could do to make this better or easier for her, nothing I could do to bring him back. She'd feel the torture of his absence for the rest of her life. Her heart would fracture every time someone decided it was better not to speak of him—or worse, decide it was better to allow his memory to fade into dust. Maybe someday I'd tell her about Alon and we could exchange happy memories of our lost brothers, but that time was nowhere near. Right now Kai was still warm in her arms and all I could do was show her I cared.
“He wanted to pretend to be someone else for a while,” Kemi whispered, her voice choked and hoarse. “We'd never been allowed outside Anthora on our own before, and we both wanted to know what it felt like to not be recognized. Save one life, sacrifice others. It's all broken and I can't find anyone to blame but myself and the Fae.”
I stroked the uneven hair above her ear. “Fae, yes. You, no. You didn't do this to him.”
“Our father . . . ohhh, our father. Bacra crumbles into dust and the world falls apart. How do I tell him? Kai is . . . I think Kai was his favorite. He certainly was mine. Everything comes to pass now, and you and I are still alive to see it.”
A faint pop sounded to my left. I leaned forward to look beyond the burning boar. There was someone else in the center of the arena now, someone non-Fae and visibly distraught.
My spine screamed as I resumed my previous position. The troll's hammer strike hadn't been enough to kill me outright, but I suspected that something in my mid-back was fractured. The adrenaline of the fight was quickly fading, and that fade unmasked the pain. I needed to be careful how I moved until I got somewhere I could rest immobile.
“Everything is gone. I thought we'd die together. I don't know how to keep living without him.” Kemi's head drifted sideways until she was draped across my thighs.
I kept my hand above her ear and tried not to let the shift in weight torque my back. “One inhale and one exhale at a time until you relearn how to breathe on your own. One breath, one heartbeat, one moment, one day.”
“Do you have any idea what this feels like?”
“My little brother died a couple years ago. My half-brother, Ragan's son. I'll tell you about him someday later, when you're ready.”
“Will you stay with me until I'm ready to hear about him?” Kemi asked. She looked up at me, her blue dragon eyes red-rimmed and swollen.
“I'll try.” I didn't know what would happen next, but I wouldn't willingly abandon a friend who needed me. If she wanted me to stay close to her, I'd do what I could to stay.
I looked up to meet the gaze of familiar turquoise eyes. I recognized this elf, who had arrived at the arena far too late. I'd never before seen him with my own eyes, but I recognized him. He was younger than I had originally thought, no more than forty. Since elves could live past one hundred and fifty, middle age was still decades away for him.
“Liantor,” Kemi gasped. She let go of Kai and reached toward her eldest brother.
Liantor's angular jaw tensed as horror spread through his eyes. He nodded at Iefyr, who had come around the boar behind him, then handed the half-orc the carved wooden basket he'd been carrying under his arm. “Hold this for a moment, will you?”
Liantor crouched next to Kemi and set his palm over Kai's heart. He held still for several seconds, then withdrew his hand and wiped away a tear. “I'm too late. I came as soon as I found out what was happening, but I'm too late.”
“Take us home,” Kemi cried. She pressed her hand against Liantor's cheek and forced him to look her in the eye. “Lian, take us home. Please. Take us home.”
Liantor nodded, then tilted his head to look at me. His eyebrows knit, he asked, “Where's Shan's dragon?”
Shan. Liantor knew to call him Shan. They were more familiar with each other than the single interaction I'd witnessed had suggested.
I pointed toward the podium. “Cage to the right of the throne. Is the Fae King still up there?”
Liantor stood and narrowed his eyes. “Yes. Your half-Fae friend is busy staring him down. Stay here.”
Iefyr sat next to me as Liantor approached the podium. I shifted my eyes rather than my neck so I could inspect what was in the basket in Iefyr's hands. He was too far into my peripheral vision and all I saw was something red and rounded.
Tap. Tap tap.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Look for yourself,” Iefyr said, so quietly I could barely hear him.
“I can't. I took a hammer to the back. I'm feeling it now and I'm afraid to move. I think something's broken.”
Iefyr rocked forward and held up the basket. A flame-colored egg was nestled in layers of violet silk.
Tap tap. TAP. Tap tap TAP. Rattle.
“Iefyr, that's a dragon egg. Listen to it. It's about to hatch,” I said.
“Well, he'd better hurry up and take it back, then.” Iefyr returned the basket to his lap and leaned toward me. “I hear him. He's yelling at the Fae King, telling him an act of war has been committed and retaliation will be swift and severe. Lumin is screaming. I think they're trying to pry him out of the cage. Now the elf is commanding the guards to open the roof gate and let Lenna in. Who is this guy?”
“Crown Prince Liantor Lightborn.” I ran my fingertips down the line of Kemi's jaw. She breathed shallowly as she stared straight ahead.
“Oh . . . oh, no.” Iefyr looked down at the egg, then at Kai. “And he just lost his little brother. Kemi, I'm sorry. I didn't trust you before. I trust you now, wholeheartedly. I'm so sorry.”
Kemi blinked, but said nothing.
Lightning crackled in my chest, a suitable embellishment for the rising agony in my spine. Gray spots exploded in my vision. Just a few more minutes. If I could hold on a little longer I'd be reunited with Serida and one aspect of my pain would be over.
Tap. Tap TAP. Rattle. TAP.
“Grr-awk!” Lenna soared over my head and landed somewhere behind me. She was within the cage now.
The gray spots darkened to black. I needed to stay conscious.
T
ap TAP. TAP TAP.
“Tessen?” Iefyr's elbow nudged my thigh.
“Not now. Trying to breathe.”
Calm down, calm down, I'm almost there. My heart must have frightened you, but I'm okay now, I'm okay, I'm okay. I'll be with you soon.
CRACK!
“Tessen.”
Kemi's elbow dug into my thigh as she sat upright. “Gods damn it all, Iefyr.”
The black spots became shooting stars.
“Hey. He handed it to me. I didn't know that was going to happen.”
“Well, it's yours now.”
Lightning bolt. Can't breathe.
“Tessen?”
Stars explode, taste of fire. Light fades to black.
“Squeak!”
Chapter 45
The world smelled of lilac and jasmine and fresh linen sheets. Firelight flickered through my closed eyelids. Each of my hands rested on something warm. My left touched skin and my right touched scale. Stabbing, searing pain coursed through my back, but the rest of my body was embraced by soft comfort.
I slowly opened my eyes. Wheaten hair touched my shoulder. Shan was with me.
“Chirp?” Serida raised her head and flicked her tongue.
“There's my girl,” I whispered. My throat was dry, my tongue sandpaper. There was no longer a lightning storm living in my heart. “I missed you. Where are we?”
“Anthora,” Shan murmured. He slowly propped himself on his elbow and smiled at me. “Liantor brought you and everyone else from Parandor, then promptly fainted in the foyer. Don't move. Your back is braced but you shouldn't try to sit up on your own.”
“What's wrong with it?” I scratched Serida under her chin, then ran my hand along her neck to her side. She ruffled her wings and released a contented purr.
“Fractured spine, broken ribs, cracked shoulder blade. The bruising is spectacular. You're lucky you can still move your legs.”
I wiggled my toes and rotated my ankles. Everything seemed to be working. “That bad? I fought for a long while after I got hit. Not sure how. I knew something was wrong but I didn't feel much until after everything was over.”
Shan hung his legs over the side of the bed, then sat up. “You're not the only one. Ragan hobbled in here with a broken leg, a couple broken ribs, and some serious bruising. Princess Kembriana has a broken wrist and a burn on her thigh. Iefyr has a concussion and some great new scars. And a happy little newborn balefire dragon. She was supposed to be Liantor's, but now Iefyr is Bacra's first known half-orc dragonbound. Nylian isn't too happy about that, but nothing can be done about it now.”
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