Migo crashed into the top of the shaman’s stone pillar. The shaman fell after him, but Migo caught the man in one of his paws. He squeezed, disgusted at the feeling of the man’s body crunching in his grip. Katsi’s scream drew his attention. He flung the body aside and looked toward her.
One of the stones must have made contact with her, for she was back on the ground. She’d summoned a wall of earth around herself, shielding her from the waheshi.
He finally scraped the last waheshi off his body as he dived after her, a wave of heat running down from head to tail. Fire erupted from his throat as he slammed into the ground. Several waheshi were engulfed by the red flames, their bodies sizzling into empty black husks.
But there were so many of them. Migo was surrounded by at least twenty as they all rushed toward him at the same time. Without Katsi’s lightning, he wasn’t sure if he’d get out of it. He managed to whack two with his tail and slash another one down with a claw, but at least a dozen made contact with him, tearing into his flesh.
Katsi dropped her earth wall in time to see him getting mauled. Her lips curled in a snarl and she pushed her hand out.
“Run!” He tried shouting. She needed to leave. She could survive. But deep down, he knew she wouldn’t leave him. She’d burn herself out before she let him get destroyed by the waheshi. Her muscles flexed as she gestured at the waheshi around Migo. In a flash of red light, the pain scoring Migo all around his body ceased as lightning coursed through the waheshi.
When the light faded back, Katsi was on her hands and knees. More waheshi charged for her.
Migo leapt toward her, shielding her body just before a waheshi would have collided with her, its claws scraping against Migo’s shoulder. He breathed his fire at them as more came, but there were too many. He grabbed her frail body and jumped, but waheshi from either side dug into his wings and pinned him down.
He looked down at Katsi in his paw. He’d failed her.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered, her lower lip trembling.
“No,” Migo roared, struggling to tear himself free. But it came to no avail.
His right wing crunched as several waheshi tore into him.
Sands, he was going to die. They both were.
Chapter forty
To The End
Ris Malrabia fell from the balcony, watching the rocks at the bottom of the cliff draw ever closer. Within seconds, she would collide with them, breaking her body in a way that could never be repaired.
Perhaps her charade would now come to an end.
She connected with the air and slowed to a stop just before clattering into the rocks. Yes, she was a stormcaller. She hadn’t ever used her power around her son. She knew quite well what he was capable of. Yes, her youth had been fraught with fear regarding magic, so she had suppressed it for years, but that fear had dissipated with time.
She floated back up toward the balcony.
Adrina had already restored it to its proper frame. She’d opened the door to the emperor’s room and was walking inside when Ris peeped up over the edge. All this time, she’d thought Adrina loved her son. It seemed they were all skilled at deception.
Ris withdrew her dagger and floated up behind Adrina. She wasn’t one to toy with others, but she tapped on Adrina’s shoulder.
Adrina shrieked and turned around, eyes wide, mouth dropped.
Ris shoved her dagger into Adrina’s heart, twisting the blade after it pierced through.
Adrina let out a staggered breath, the armlet dropping from one hand, the orb from the other.
Ris withdrew her dagger and pushed Adrina over. She fell to her back, gasping for breath as blood poured from her chest. Ris watched until Adrina stopped breathing, life ending with a final twitch of her leg.
One thing about killing someone properly was ensuring that they were dead. And Adrina… was dead.
Ris stooped to pick up the armlet. The orb… she’d deal with that later. For now, they needed to save Jehubal.
***
Hatan jumped down from the wall. “We have to go,” he said. “We need to relieve the north wall. Waheshi are already pouring through the city. Defending the palace will be meaningless if the rest of our people are dead. Don’t even think of stopping me.” Emil, Rivar, and Sinteya all trailed behind him.
“Sir,” Rivar said, “we wouldn’t dare. We only want to fight beside you.”
Hatan patted his rangola, Bahdin, and mounted up. “Let’s move.”
He was steering Bahdin across the courtyard when a deep pop resounded off the walls and seventeen people appeared in the middle of the space, including a few people dressed as nobles, but the rest of them were soldiers. Not only were there people, but there was also, strangely, a large, winged lizard among them. The creature took off immediately, jumping into the air without a second thought.
“Daraden!” shouted the shaman known as Jafir. He’d been assisting the other shamans with the potions.
“Jafir,” Daraden said, his voice dark. “You weren’t involved with Adrina?”
“No.” Jafir shook his head. “I’m only glad you’re here. She betrayed us.”
“We know,” said a woman from the new arrivals. “Distribute the potions. I need to get this to Katsi.” She held up a piece of jewelry. “Where is she?”
“In the battle,” Hatan said. “You are allies?”
The woman turned her sharp gaze at him. “We are here to help save Jehubal”
“Then you can come with me,” Hatan said. "I’m heading to the wall to reinforce them. Who all is with me?”
Most of the other soldiers rallied to Hatan, including some of the shamanfolk warriors.
