I scowled, and he chuckled.
“Keep that face. That’s better, anyway.”
My eyes settled on the Sivrinaj skyline. The city that had kept me captive all my life, now captive itself. My kingdom, ready to be liberated.
I drew Vincent’s sword. As it always did, holding it filled me with a wave of cold strength that reminded me so painfully of my father’s presence, its power surging through my veins all at once.
I embraced it.
Nightfire rippled up the blade, my magic meshing with his.
You have teeth too, little serpent, he whispered in my ear, and Goddess, he sounded closer than ever. Show them that bite.
There, in that city, waited the men who believed Raihn and I did not deserve our crowns. They took this kingdom by force, because it was all they knew how to do.
I was tired of letting people like that tell me what I could be, or what the House of Night could be.
I lifted my sword, the streak of Nightfire blinding against the night sky.
“Let’s take our fucking kingdom back,” I snarled.
Raihn laughed. “I thought you said you didn’t have a speech.”
He spread those stunning wings and tilted his face to the sky. But before he could take off, I caught his arm.
“Be careful,” I blurted out, before I could stop myself. “He doesn’t deserve to kill you.”
Raihn’s eyes remained crinkled with an easygoing smile. But his hand lingered over mine, thumb rubbing back and forth.
“Give them hell, princess,” he said. “I’ll see you soon.”
I’ll see you soon. Such casual words, and such a deep promise within them.
We released each other, and a sudden gust of wind blew my hair back as he launched into the air.
My gaze settled back on the city ahead. Our target.
Behind me, a dull roar built slowly, like distant thunder, as hundreds of winged warriors followed Raihn into the night. I could feel Jesmine’s eyes on me, expectant.
I raised the Taker of Hearts, and charged.
56
RAIHN
The wind rushed around me, yanking my hair back. Beside me, Vale matched my pace, our warriors behind us, wings spread, cutting through the air. We were flying fast, headed straight for that castle, hedging our bets on how far we could get before Simon sent men out after us.
From up here, we could see the fleet in the distance, purple sails tinted blue beneath the moonlight, surrounding the coast of Sivrinaj. Distant sparks flashed through the darkness—explosives and magic hurled at the castle. Nothing that would bring down the city, but it was enough to create a distraction, splitting Simon and Septimus’s valuable attention and resources.
Far below us, Ketura and her men were reduced to a single wave of destruction. The explosions of Nightfire lit up the night with blinding bursts that drenched Sivrinaj in white, as the demons tore through stone and wooden barricades to free up paths to the inner city. It was, in a way, morbidly beautiful—like a hand sweeping through sand.
It was only a matter of time, though, before the Bloodborn forces flooded the streets to meet her. With the Rishan occupying the sky, she’d be forced to take the brunt of Septimus’s troops. She was ready for it. The crashes of unbridled chaos below shifted into the cacophony of battle, distant screams and clashes of steel mingling with the explosions and demon snarls.
She was evenly matched.
But not outnumbered. Not yet.
I prayed to the Mother it stayed that way.
Vale dipped close to me. “Highness,” he said, voice low and serious, and I didn’t even have to turn my head to know exactly what he saw by his tone alone.
We’d been rushing toward the castle, seizing as much sky as we could before Simon’s Rishan men would come to meet us. We’d made it far, now over the tall spires of the inner city—farther, honestly, than I had expected.
But the easy part had come to an end.
A wave of Rishan soldiers rose from the castle grounds like a thick plume of smoke—a rolling morass of wings and steel blotting out the stars.
My heart sank when I saw that wave of soldiers. Vale had only been able to guess at exactly how many Rishan warriors Simon had been able to accumulate. We’d hoped he was relying more on bravado and illusions than numbers.
This sight dashed those hopes. This was a real army.
Still, attacking by air meant we only had to deal with Simon’s limited Rishan forces. We’d prepared for this.
I scanned the lines, looking for the man I was really after—the only one I had to kill to end this, once and for all—but I didn’t see Simon anywhere in that sea of faces.