“Do you recognize the symbols on her skin?” Ruby asked.
“No,” the jinni replied slowly. “This is not magic I know. But it is dark. She will be grateful for death.”
The jinni gently pressed the apothecary’s eyes closed.
“Move the body,” I murmured to two guards behind me, “we’ll bury her later.”
They nodded, moving past Ash as he climbed back up onto his bull-horse. The witches retreated behind me.
“I’m sorry, Ash,” I stated. I was sorry that he felt her death so keenly, but the fact that she had been put out of her misery came as a relief. The jinni queen was right.
He nodded, not really hearing me.
We carried on our march. If the armies had been subdued before, it was even more the case now. I didn’t hear so much as a whisper as we rode on, the footsteps behind us heavy and dull.
This wasn’t good.
“Ash,” I said, breaking the silence, “I know you probably don’t want to, but we’re nearing the cove and morale is low. Abelle’s terrified them. I think you need to say something. Something that will remind them what they’re fighting for.”
“I think you are the better man to do it,” replied Ash.
“I realize you’re upset about Abelle—”
“That has nothing to do with it. They’re your armies, Tejus. They want to hear from you.”
I glanced over at him, not understanding his reluctance to make the speech himself—he was their emperor, and until recently I had been the most despised creature in Nevertide.
“Everything’s changed,” he murmured, smirking, as if he’d read my mind.
In the distance, I could see the curve of the road where the passage to the cove began. It was now or never, and if Ash wouldn’t do it, someone had to.
“Fine,” I snapped. I spun my bull-horse around to face the oncoming men and women who followed our lead. Most of the sentries and guards looked troubled—only GASP seemed to be focused, their experience no doubt lessening the horror of the appearance of Abelle.
“Armies of the six kingdoms,” I called out. They all stood to attention, and a thick, anticipatory silence settled over the crowd. I paused. As I’d said to Hazel, words were never my strong point, and years spent focused only on my own selfish needs left me feeling unequipped for rallying the brave men and women that would be fighting by our side. I looked at Hazel. She gazed back at me, not even a flicker of doubt in her eyes. She trusted me. She believed in me.
“I know you are frightened. I know that your homes and your families have been destroyed. I also know that before the entity brought his evil to this land, things were not much better. In a moment, we will march out to the cove, and face our enemy head-on. When we do, don’t think of the Nevertide you know now—think of one that could be, with a fair and just emperor”—my eyes lighted on Ash—“a queen who will love you, lands to be re-grown and to flourish. Think of that as you fight. Think of that as worth a life. Think of that as your promised victory.”
For a split second nothing happened, and then a roar went up. It was deafening, and my first reaction was to think that the entity had arrived, but I realized soon after that it was cheering—weapons held aloft in salute, steel clashing against iron.
The crowd died down. A moment later, the long, drawn-out blow of the battle horn reverberated through the air.
No sooner had the last notes of the horn drifted to silence than dread unfurled in the pit of my stomach. It had come. Like a thundercloud, the shadow moved swiftly over the land from the cove, blocking out the sun.
“A new Nevertide!” Ash bellowed, unsheathing his sword and holding it aloft as we charged toward the darkness.
Hazel
The mass of shadow was upon us so quickly I hardly had a moment to mentally prepare myself. I had been so moved by Tejus’s speech, a wave of love and admiration had felt like it was bursting inside of me—only to be doused a moment later by the onslaught of the shadow.
The bull-horses reared, the trees darkened as the black form divided and spread out on all sides of us, trapping us on the path.
“Hold your positions!” Tejus roared at the armies. “Ministers, barrier at the back!”
I turned just in time to see a barrier rise up into the air, only a few feet away from the final line of the army—the jinn and witches were there, as well as some of the fae and the more novice members of GASP. The shadow slid up the wall of the barrier, but it couldn’t pass. Now we only had to face an attack on three fronts—all of which were lined with guards and the deadliest members of GASP.
The shadow was thicker than when I’d seen it last. It was no longer just visible on the ground and the bark of the trees, but mist—cloying, dense—creating a veil around us.
“Ride to the back, Hazel,” Tejus commanded me forcefully.
“You need me here,” I replied, unsheathing my dagger. “The last person to underestimate me was Queen Trina,” I reminded him firmly.
Before he could reply, the shadows surged toward us. Tejus attacked, his sword slicing through the gray and black air. As soon as his blade made contact, a body formed from the mist—ashen, gray, with a face that would have looked human if it wasn’t for the colorlessness of it. The creature lifted an arm, swiping it through the air. It only gently brushed against Tejus, but his robe tore and the skin on his sword-shoulder shredded.
With a bellow, he lunged at the creature again, sending his blade right through its chest. The creature howled in agony. As soon as Tejus’s weapon had made contact, it had glowed with a brilliant white light that seemed to burn it from the inside. A second later, the creature burst into reddened ash, floating up into the air and then vanishing.
Before I could try to make sense of what I’d just seen or feel a sense of triumph that the immortal water had worked, a loud scream erupted. A guard was tossed like a rag doll up into the air, and then almost entirely consumed by the mists.
All around me I could see the shadow growing closer, hear the dying screams of the guards as they were picked off one by one. Even more disturbing were the creatures themselves; every time the shadow approached, a sentry, vampire or werewolf would make contact, either by sword or tearing into the gloom with exposed claws or fangs, revealing the true form of the creatures: their gray bodies, tattered loincloths wrapped around their waists, their eyes black sockets that glared down at us.
“What are these things?” Ash yelled, slicing through another ashen body.
“I…have…no…idea,” panted Tejus with effort as he swung his blade into the darkness.
Suddenly, the shadow retreated. It crept back into the forest as quickly as it had emerged, lying in wait, wrapped around the trees and bushes, the armies of the entity watching us—waiting for something. We all looked at one another in confusion.
“Witches, jinn – down to the cove!” Tejus called out, knowing that our reprieve would likely be a short one. A group of the jinn, led by Queen Nuriya, along with Ibrahim, Corrine and Mona and a group of ministers, all hurried to the front of the line.
“Take the long route,” Tejus commanded, “try and stay out of the shadow’s way.”
Before they could move, a voice entered my skull.
The armies of the six kingdoms, the voice slurred, as if the name was an insult. It was the entity—the same voice Tejus and I had heard when we were following Benedict in the Hellswan castle. My body froze, my eyes darting ahead in the distance and either side of the forest—where was he?
You have met my children, I see. The voice continued, twisting into my brain so that I couldn’t shut it out. I looked over to Ash, Tejus and Ruby, double-checking that they were hearing what I was. They were. I could see them growing pale, Tejus glowering with barely repressed fury as the entity once again infiltrated our minds. The witches and jinn had frozen.
You will all die today, at their hands. But you will be written in the history annals of our time…the sentries who lost their lives when they tried to d
efend a land that wasn’t theirs.
Out of the gloom, a figure appeared, walking toward us on the road.
“Jenus?” Tejus exclaimed, his voice a rasping whisper.
The mists cleared slightly, and Jenus stood before us. His eyes were entirely black, just like the creatures we had just fought, but his body was solid and whole. He still wore the robe he’d been wearing in Memenion’s dungeons, soiled and filthy.
Look, Tejus of Hellswan. Look at what your brother has given up in his devotion to me, the entity gloated, a low rumble of laughter following his words.
Jenus’s mouth didn’t move—neither did any part of his body as he stood, staring at us. I realized that there wasn’t any of Jenus left, just an animated corpse for the use of the entity. It was revolting, and I turned my face away in disgust.
Before you are all ended, I wanted to tell you who you fight for, the entity continued, who you follow into battle—blindly being led by men who are just as corrupt as me.
A vision started to form in my mind, definitely not put there by me.
Is he mind-melding with us?
The vision started to become clearer, showing Ash in the kitchen of Hellswan in his servant’s clothing, standing above a pot of liquid, looking around the room before pouring an unmarked vial into the concoction.
Your emperor is an emperor-slayer, the entity hissed.
Next we saw Ash walking with a tray of food, heading for the quarters of the old emperor. I heard mutterings coming from the sentries behind me.
The vision flickered and another replaced it. It was Tejus and I, our first kiss at the banquet—the image playing out in slow motion, our lips meeting, my flushed skin.
The commander of your armies loves only his once-human girl, and will leave this land the moment he gets the chance.
The vision changed again, showing Nevertide, but burnt, broken. Fires raged throughout the forests, the fields scorched, homes and castles nothing but rubble.
This is the Nevertide they promise you. The Nevertide to come. If you fight today, you fight for nothing but ashes and dust.
The visions ended abruptly. Tejus had lunged forward, his blade aimed toward the base of Jenus’s throat. Jenus batted the sword aside easily, grabbing Tejus’s forearm and causing him to drop the sword. It clattered to the ground. Tejus staggered to the floor, grabbed the blade, and swiped it across Jenus’s lower body. Jenus flew back just in time to avoid impact. In my mind I heard the entity laughing.
Tejus rose, this time focusing on the shadows that were starting to re-emerge from the forests. I joined him, holding a broadsword in one hand, my precious dagger in the other.
I glanced back to the armies of Nevertide and GASP. They too were fighting off the approaching shadow, and my mom leaped into the gloom. As she landed, one of the creatures formed, and she buried her mouth in its neck, tearing at the ashen flesh. The white light appeared, and the creature combusted into ash. My great grandpa, Aiden, was wielding two swords at once—not even bothering to use his claws as he annihilated the oncoming shadow, his face fixed in a deadly grimace. Micah and Kira were working as a pair; one leaping up, one attacking down—tearing at the ashen flesh from both ends. Bastien joined them, and soon they were creating a widening circle where the shadow refused to approach, backing away to attack somewhere else.
“Hazel!” Tejus yelled.
I turned to see part of the shadow inches from me. I lunged with my dagger, lifting the blade upward as the creature’s face emerged from the mists. A second later, and it was gone. Without any time to think, I began to battle another, faintly repulsed once again by how easily my blade slid in, and astonished by how real the flesh of the creatures seemed to feel, just the same as Queen Trina’s.
I could still hear the screams of the guards and ministers, but they weren’t as frequent. I glanced over at Tejus. Even in the midst of battle, danger on every side, he was watching me. He smirked, plunging his sword into another member of the entity’s army.
“Showoff,” I managed, taking out another one.
A roar of fury distracted me suddenly, and I turned to my left, seeing Ruby alone, a little way off from the rest of the army. She was battling one of the creatures, but the shadow was starting to form around her.
“Ruby!” I cried, trying to warn her.
I rushed forward, but Ash got there first—leaping forward toward the gloom that was encroaching on Ruby as she battled. He swiped his sword once, slicing through one of the creatures, but out of nowhere, the shadow lifted him up—a hand appearing out of the mists and raking though his torso.
“ASH!”
I watched, feeling like the movements of the land and everyone around us had just slowed down. Ash’s body twisted in the air, his blood already seeping through his robes, and then landed, crumpled onto the ground.
“ASH!” Ruby screamed.
Ruby
No.
NO!
I dropped to the ground, ignoring the shadows that surrounded us, growing closer by the second.
“Ash?” I rasped.
He looked up at me, and all I became aware of was his warm brown eyes fixed on mine, not betraying pain or fear, but just the same steady look he always gave me that let me know I was loved.
“Ash?” I repeated, praying that he would talk to me—say something so I would know he was going to be okay. I looked down at his body. My throat tightened, and my entire body felt like it was plummeting down into the earth like a dead weight. He was soaked in blood, the opening of his robe revealing the torn flesh beneath his shirt. The cuts were deep.
Too deep.
“Hold on, Ash!” I cried, looking around for something to compress the wounds. He would bleed out if I didn’t get him somewhere safe. Not knowing what else to do, I tore off my own top, pressing it against the wound.
“Ash, please speak to me,” I begged, keeping one hand compressed on the wounds, the other cradling his head. I kept looking back toward his eyes, making sure they didn’t glaze over or flicker shut.
“Sh-Shortie,” he croaked, his breath rasping.
I smiled with relief, my own tears running onto my lips. I knew the danger was far from over, but at least he was fully conscious—that was something.
“Ash, Ash. Don’t you dare die on me, okay?”
Slowly, with a low groan, he moved his hand up to his chest and placed it over mine.
“You and I? We’re not finished yet.” He smiled.
At his words, I felt a strange sensation in my chest, a dull ache—like my heart was literally ripping inside of me. The thought of losing him suddenly became too much to cope with. I just couldn’t. I wouldn’t go on without him.
I looked up, taking in what was happening around us.
Tejus, Hazel, Derek, Caleb and Aiden were fighting off the shadow—they had surrounded Ash and me, creating a sword-wielding barrier between us and the entity’s army.
“We have to get out of here,” I whispered to Ash.
I looked back desperately toward the crowded ranks of the army. Every one of them was completely caught up in the fight, especially the witches and jinn. Most of the bull-horses were either being used by battling sentries or had already met the same cruel fate as their riders—but there were a few of them left.
There was one riderless bull-horse, standing in the middle of the path, whinnying in horror as guards, vampires and other supernaturals surrounded it, all battling furiously.
“Ash.” I leaned down toward him. “I need to leave you here for a moment, okay? But when I’m gone, you need to keep the pressure on. Can you feel where I’m pressing? You need to do that, okay?”
He nodded, and both of his hands came up and pressed my top against his chest. With a sob, hardly daring to leave him for a second, I ran toward the bull-horse. My small size in comparison with the sentries was for once helpful. I was able to push my way between them without too much trouble.
“Ruby!”
My mom whirled into my pa
th, her expression horrified at my appearance—I realized I was streaked in blood.
“It’s Ash!” I cried before she could say anything, screaming at the top of my voice to be heard over the sounds of battle. “I think he’s dying. Help me! Please, please, help me!”
She grabbed the reins before I could reach out and touch them, and then wrapped her other arm around my waist, holding me up against her. Barreling sentries and vamps alike out of the way, my mom dragged both the bull-horse and me through to the front of the armies.
Tejus, Derek and the rest of the vampires moved out of the way for us, continuing to hold the shadows back from Ash’s body. My vision blurred as I realized that his arms had gone limp—his hands were no longer tight over his chest.
“NO! NO, NO! MOM!” I screamed, rushing toward the ground. She grabbed me, pulling me away from his body.
“Up on the horse, Ruby!” she roared.
“NO!”
“LISTEN TO ME—up on the horse!”
My mother bent over Ash’s body, picking him up in her arms as best she could and carrying him over to the bull-horse. I scrambled up on the saddle, ready to take him.
“To the immortal waters,” she breathed, “it might help. Don’t stop.”
She handed me his body, and I sat him up in front of me. He was out, stone cold. But I could feel the slight palpitation of his heart as his back rested against my chest. There was still hope.
“Look after yourself,” my mom yelled furiously from the ground.
I nodded, spurring the terrified bull-horse into action with a sharp kick. It reared up, and I unsheathed my sword, ready to fly through the black mass.
They would not touch me.
In this moment I was invincible, the enemy nothing more than it had first appeared—shadows and dust.
The bull-horse leapt into the gloom, and I swiped my arm tirelessly, moving faster than I thought was possible. A scream tore from my lungs. It echoed in the gloom, my battle cry—my voice in the darkness that promised vengeance and pain to those who might stop me.