“Wait,” Casteel ordered, holding up a hand. Naill halted. “You hear that?”
“Please. Gods, help me!” the guard shouted.
“I don’t…” I trailed off as the sound reached me. The sound of something…scraping against stone.
All around, soldiers looked down as Delano and Rune crept forward, followed by several of the other wolven. They sniffed at the mist, at the deep cracks now wide enough to disappear into.
Naill bent, reaching for the guard when the man screamed. A burst of hot pain lanced my senses as the Atlantian jerked back and the guard disappeared. “What the…？” Naill rose, his hand still suspended in air.
Bitter fear stretched suddenly and coated the inside of my mouth. I spun to where the wolven on the ground below the Temple started slinking back from the cracks. They turned sharply and bolted, sliding sideways, their paws skating on the damp grass as they scrambled overtop of one another.
“I’ve never seen wolven run.” Emil unsheathed his sword. “Not from anything.”
“Nor have I.” Casteel pulled his sword free.
An Atlantian soldier’s terrified scream pierced the air as he was pulled into the crack.
“Something’s in the ground,” Emil announced.
“Not something.” Callum rolled onto his side, the wound…dear gods, the ragged hole in his chest still there, though no longer oozing blood. “The True King’s guards. The dakkai.”
“The what?” Kieran held his swords.
“It doesn’t matter what they are,” I said, closing my hands into fists as I tapped into the essence. “They won’t be anything for long.”
Callum smirked.
“And neither will you,” I warned, letting my will stretch out to summon the draken.
“Whatever they are, they’re coming,” Casteel yelled, the sound that reminded me of barrats scurrying over stone intensifying. His gaze swung to mine. “Take care of our men and women. We’ll handle this up here.”
The corners of my vision turned silvery-white as I nodded.
One dimple appeared before he braced himself. A heartbeat later, creatures erupted out of the fissure, nearly Setti’s size, their hard-shell skin slick and the color of midnight. They were shaped like the wolven but larger, and they…they were featureless except for two slits where the nose should be, and wide mouths full of jagged, sharp teeth.
Well, that was a whole bucket full of nightmares right there.
One of the dakkais leapt toward Emil, but his reflexes were fast. He plunged his sword into the creature’s chest. Silvery eather swirled down my arms as Casteel spun, cleaving the head off one as Delano leapt over a fissure, colliding with a dakkai that had gone for Malik as he helped Millicent sit up.
I turned to the soldiers below, relieved to see that Setti and many of the horses had been untethered and had made their escape as more of the creatures spilled out of the ground below. A burst of essence left me, hitting a line of dakkais. My stomach churned at the sound of breaking bones. They hit the ground but more quickly took their place. I walked toward the steps as the eather ramped up in my chest. Another pulse, this one stronger, swallowed the creatures.
“Incoming!” Naill shouted, grabbing Rune’s scruff and dragging him back as a shadow broke through the clouds overhead, falling over us.
A stream of silvery fire cut across the Temple floor, turning the realm silver as Aurelia swooped down, striking the creatures. Twin funnels of luminous flame pummeled the ground as Nithe and Thad arrived.
“Protect your King!” Isbeth shouted from the altar, head lifted, and cheeks streaked with black liner.
A shout rose from where the army of Revenants waited. They charged, a sea of crimson flooding the sides of the Temple. Nithe landed near the soldiers and then Thad as I caught sight of Malik fighting Callum.
“Shit!” Casteel spun, kicking a dakkai back. He leapt over the crack, grabbing me by the waist as he pulled me behind the pillar.
Casteel’s body pressed mine into the pillar as a volley of arrows rained down on the Temple floor and the grounds. For the briefest second, there was only him and his scent, and then that second ended. I flinched as burning pain scalded my senses, followed by screams.
“From the Rise.” Casteel’s breath hit my cheek. “Can you take them out?”
I peered around the pillar, getting an idea of how many were there as another barrage of arrows came. I jerked—
“Shut it down.” He palmed my cheek. “Shut it down, my Queen.”