“The azi’s coming,” I gasped, my voice thick as sandpaper. I was seeing double, the throne room overlapping with my vision of the city of Kion on the horizon. “It’s going to—”
And then I felt it, the reason for the daeva’s anger. Underneath its wings, I saw the army, twice the size I knew Odalia’s army to be, spread out for miles around us.
And over half the army was visibly rotting. Strips of armor rusted on their bodies, and their faces were of those long since dead, decaying and desiccated. Those closest to the city gates threw themselves at the walls, heedless of broken bones and torn flesh.
“They’re dead!” I cried out. “All of them dead! It isn’t an army of soldiers at the city walls, Your Majesty. It’s an army of dead.”
“Impossible!” the empress said. “No one could summon that many—”
“Yes, they can,” Althy said with a grim smile. “The Puppet rune, wasn’t it? To do this successfully requires immense power.”
“Seeking stones.” Through the azi’s eyes, I saw soft globes of light wafting from among the corpses. “They brought seeking stones with them!”
“What’s a seeking stone?” Princess Inessa asked shakily.
“It amplifies an asha’s power,” Althy told her. “Whoever controls the corpses is channeling through them. Tea, how many do you see?”
I concentrated. “Seven.”
Althy grimaced. “A normal spellbinder would already be suffering from darkrot. No one can command seven stones at once and retain their sanity. Your Majesty, we must be prepared for the worst.”
“I am not leaving Kion and my people to these hordes of undead, Altaecia!”
I squeezed my eyes shut. To concentrate on two perspectives was draining, so I struggled to focus on the one where I could do some good. The azi purred when it felt me graze against its consciousness, opening its mind to allow me entrance. We headed straight for the undead horde amassing outside. They battered the city gates without mercy, and all three of the azi’s mouths opened.
The undead soldiers made no sound as they burned, consumed almost immediately by the blazing fireballs that slammed into them from overhead. We cawed in triumph and dove toward the city entrance. I saw the Ankyon soldiers manning the towers, fear etched upon their faces as death approached, the bravest of them shooting arrows at us in desperation.
I ignored their attacks and turned at the last minute, lashing out with our claws and ripping away most of the undead still hammering at the gates. I circled around and unleashed three more streams of deadly fire. The undead died again, lost in the inferno.
We next directed our ire at the pulses of magic amid the throng, at the seeking stones. I guided the azi through the air, using its winged body in place of my hand as it wove the Strangle rune in my stead. The rune shone large in the sky, and through the daeva’s eyes, I could see the telltale flickers of the seeking stones dotting the army below us. At my command, the daeva landed before one of the soldiers that carried a seeking stone, and the azi’s middle head snapped out to grab the glowing orb in its jaws before rising up again. I flew the daeva straight into the center of my rune, and the seeking stone exploded into oblivion. Again and again, we singled out the dead warriors, and soon, a greater part of the undead stopped, unmoving, until we put them out of their misery with more flames.
Dimly, I felt someone grab hold of my human body, attempting to shake its shoulders, and sensed someone pushing them away. “No!” Fox’s voice said, cold and clear in the confusion. “Let her be. She’s saving us.”
I swooped down and sprayed the men with fire until bonfires dotted the fields. We circled the city hungrily, awaiting more signs of movement, but nothing else stirred. The undead army lay smoldering. I sent my mind out, probing, but I was certain none of the seeking stones survived the onslaught.
A babble of voices erupted again, excited and joyful. I was more cautious, arrested by a sense of wrongness.
They are coming, the azi’s mind boomed, already reaching out to the horizon.
“It’s not over,” Fox said, voice brittle and bleak. “They are coming.”
It was not the dead that came in droves this time but the army of the living, in gleaming armor with polished swords, marching toward the city of Kion. From their flank streamed the flag of Odalia, flashing bright gold and red. Zoya might not be sure if the duke led this attack, but the presence of Odalian soldiers made a compelling argument for it.
“We need to leave now,” Kalen said, putting my own thoughts into words. “They will keep attacking Kion as long as we remain in the city. There is no more time, Your Majesty.”
“And what of Inessa?” Empress Alyx demanded.
“She will not be safe here. That is out of our hands. If the Faceless can infiltrate the palace, then she and Kance’s heartsglass will be safest by the Dark asha and the Heartforger’s side, wherever that may be.”
Mother and daughter looked at each other without speaking. Finally, the older woman reached out and hugged her daughter. “I should have let you make your own decisions,” she said roughly, unshed tears salting her voice. “Protect your betrothed’s heart, Inessa, and may the gods watch over you.”
Zoya spoke up, “I’d like to know how we are leaving the city, surrounded as we are.”
Wordlessly, Fox pointed toward the sky.
“Again?!”
“You can either stay or join us, Zoya. I won’t force you on the azi if you’re not comfortable with it,” I replied.
“You say, ‘comfortable.’ I say, ‘it’s a freaking flying three-headed dragon, you sod.’”
“I don’t think we have much choice, Zoya,” Shadi said gently.
The asha looked at her, squared her shoulders. “I did give my word, didn’t I? But you have every right to refuse, Shad.”
“I go where you go, Zoya. We promised each other.” The doe-eyed asha took Zoya’s hands in hers, and the normally abrasive girl blushed.
“I’m going,” Khalad said quietly.
“So am I,” Likh said immediately.
“I cannot.” Heads turned toward Althy. “Someone needs to stay and ensure the city remains protected after you are gone. Zahid and most of the Deathseekers are away from Kion, and among the other asha, I am the most qualified to take command. We cannot leave Ankyo open for the taking, Your Majesty. And I, for one, cannot leave Mykaela and Polaire alone.”
“But what about my daughter?”
“You will not find worthier people than them, Alyx. They have fought worse demons than I have and saved this city more times than you are aware of.” Althy smiled at us. “I trust them. Zoya, you know Daanorian, so I expect you to take charge.”
Zoya sighed. “I’m surrounded by heroes.”
I opened my eyes. “We need to get out of Kion. Tell them to open the gates for us and to keep as many men away from it as possible.”
“That will be difficult,” Althy murmured. “To leave the city defenses unmanned might provoke the soldiers to step up their attack.”
“They won’t,” I promised. “But whatever you do, don’t distract me. I want to keep my hold as tight as possible.”
Althy nodded. “May the Blade’s path guide your way, Tea. Protect the princess. I will do everything in my power to hold down the fort here.”
I clasped her hands. “Althy. Remember what I told you about the elder asha.”
“Tea…”
“Don’t let them near Polaire or Mykaela. Promise me.”
The asha looked troubled but nodded. “I swear it.”
“We will help them, Tea,” Rahim promised. “I am Tresean. It is in my blood to fight. And Chesh and all the rest—we will help protect the city with the empress and Altaecia until you come back. So you must come back!”