Page 32 of Celestial Shadows
My wings give me momentum.
I plunge my sword into the wyvern’s chest, but a thick layer of bone protects its heart. Wounded but alive, the wyvern sulks away to return to its master’s side. The second wyvern grips my shoulders with its claws and drags me across the ground. My fingers slip and the sword drops back to the dirt. I kick my legs and shove up to knock the creature off balance. The wyvern releases me.
Baron shadow walks over to a large orc, but I grab a dagger from his belt as he passes. The wyvern leaps onto my back. I spin at the last second before I hit the ground and bury the dagger to the hilt within its belly. A sputter of smoke belches from its mouth. And then it freezes into a petrified statue of scales and teeth. I kick it over and it shatters like delicate porcelain.
Pyre reaches my side and hands me my dagger. “Keep this with you,” he demands in a scolding voice. “If you want to throw knives, I suggest you take Aima’s daggers.”
“I had to protect Dragan!”
Pyre grips my chin, forcing me to meet his sightless gaze. “Whether you want to believe it or not, the future of the realms depends on your survival.” His thumb caresses my bottom lip. “I gave you the dagger for a reason. Please... be more careful.”
I press a kiss to his thumb and step away from him. “I promise.”
***
CAMBION
Plains of Reckoning
The screeches and caws of the demonic black birds are nothing compared to the dark souls of the Knights of Umbra. I block one sword, only to narrowly miss being gutted by another. Elioth is busy fending off the barrage of spells the mages bombard him with. One of the knights knocks me off of my feetand I land on my back beside a large stone. A hand grips the front of my shirt, yanking me behind the rock.
Theren.
My brother shoves my back against the boulder and dabs away the blood dripping from my nose with his sleeve. “How did he get you, Cambion? Elioth was supposed to be far from the plains until the rest of us arrived,” Theren asks. I bat away his hands and peek around the boulder.
“He was already here when I arrived.”
“Did he ambush you?”
“No, the soldiers weren’t harmed. Elioth took only me.”
“Why?”
“He tried to convince me to submit to the darkness and threatened...”
“Easy, Brother,” Theren says soothingly. He brushes my hair back and searches my eyes for something. “We aren’t frightened children anymore. He threatened you because he’s afraid. Stay strong, Cambion. We can beat him.”
“He’s so much stronger than I remember.”
Theren steps away from me and uses his blood magic to summon the Staff of Scorn. I press a hand to the shallow gouge in my side and mutter a healing spell beneath my breath. My head spins. Nausea rips through my core and I double over. Theren is there to catch me. A streak of crimson against his cheek seems so out of place on his perfect features. “Elioth showed me what happened the day you sent him to the Chasm.”
My brother flinches, keeping his eyes trained on our father as he speaks. “It was Morrigan who told me to use the book. If I’d known it was a trap, that she only wanted Elioth out of the way so she could get her hands on his book... I wouldn’t have done it.”
“Liar. You would have done it or something equally reckless. And you would have done it just to save me.” I reach out and gripTheren’s shoulder, bringing his gaze back to mine. “I can never truly repay you for all you’ve done to protect me. Perhaps if I hadn’t been so blind to your suffering, we wouldn’t be fighting in this war.”
“Dwelling on what could have been is useless. You’re my brother, Cambion. I need no other reason to do what I’ve always done and that is to keep you safe.” Theren claps me on the arm and charges Elioth when the mages are overwhelmed by the dark sorcerer’s power.
My legs are weak for a moment as the healing spell takes longer to seal my wounds. I grit my teeth and shuffle over to a pile of bodies, in search of a weapon. I need to provide Theren with backup. He’ll need it. A sea of demons parts as Variant drops from the sky. He uses a ray of light to send the shadow demons running and turns to face me.
“Glad to see you’re still alive, Cambion. But it appears just barely so.”
“I’m fine,” I snarl.
The angel snorts and shakes his head. A warm glow emits from his hand as he presses it over my slowly healing wound. The skin heats up until the pain leeches from my body. I shove him away, before catching myself. “I’m grateful for your aid, but Eilish needs you by her side more than I do.”
He nods. “Don’t forget to use the communication rings. It would be nice to know the two of you are still breathing.
Variant leaps into the air once more as the clouds begin to swirl. The magic charging the atmosphere roils, mingling with the lightning and thunder that shakes the ground from time to time. Each flash of light illuminates the battle beyond the clouds.
