Page 50 of Unseen Lord

When Elias and I crawl into bed, with Theo and Duke at our feet, it isn't for more romance, but the gentle companionship of his arms around me as I collapse into exhaustion is its own kind of comfort.

For the next several days, this routine repeats. We all pitch in, preparing the defenses of the castle, making sure the guards are armed and ready, making sure everyone has a job and is doing it.

And through it all we get birds coming in with messages from the other Realms. Messages of destruction. Death. Chaos. The storm is worsening. The castle is taking a beating. But we are near water, where Arias's powers are strongest. And we have defenses. If we go out to find her, we lose all advantage and become more vulnerable, and more likely to lose. Already the odds are not great.

The night the storm comes for us, I am lying in bed, head on Elias's chest, listening to the howling rain outside, when lightning cracks through the window, setting our bed on fire.

We jump out and dress quickly, sending Duke and Theo out to alert the others.

"She's here," I say, though, duh, that's pretty obvious.

Time to party.

Chapter 13

Iris

The sun risesover the mountains. Golden rays fall across the valley and rivers of Inferna, only to be dimmed by the gathering storm on the horizon. Thunder crashes in the distance. Lightning scars the sky.

I stand on the edge of a watchtower overlooking the land below, waiting for my new daggers to be completed, my black cloak and leather armor soaking in the growing rain which chatters like teeth around me. A massive army has formed off the shores of the lake surrounding the castle. Vampires loyal to Queen Aya. And they look ready to devour.

Our own army is small in comparison. A string of pebbles attempting to withstand a mighty wave. Some are too young to fight. Some too old. Some piss themselves at the sight of our foe. I am glad the Prince of Darkness will fight at my side, though at the moment Elias is away, checking on the craftsmanship of Kayla an Ace. His brother, however, the water druid, is here.

Arias hands me the Twilight Bow and I sling it over my shoulder. The ancient weapon glows silver in the dimming light, illuminating my surroundings, making me seem like some ethereal ghost amidst the darkness. I flex my hands, steeling myself for the battle to come.

A beast of lightning and thunder tears through the sky, screeching a terrible sound. A Thunder Bird. The spirit manifested in physical form. Its large, about the size of a full grown manticore, with large wings of silver and blue feathers that ripple with sparks. Its eyes are lightning bolts that sizzle in its hawk like head. It is a predator. A being of chaos. And it has come to end us all.

The Tempest sits atop her new spirit, clad in feathered armor so she looks an extension of the bird itself. Her black cape trails behind her, billowing in the brisk harsh wind. Her silver hair drifts erratically through the air. Her eyes are cold.

"Nice outfit," I scream over the thunder. "Did your pet there donate some feathers for it? It is twinsies day? I must not have gotten the memo!"

The Tempest—and I say the Tempest because I'm having a hard time seeing anything of Aya left—laughs. "You always have had a lovely wit, Iris. It will be a shame to remove that from the world. Yield the castle, hand over the bow, and cease your stand against me, and I may yet let you live."

I pause as if considering. "Tempting. Super tempting. But I'm gonna have to say, nah, Sis. Can't do it."

"Then we war! And you will all die!"

"Right, yeah, or… " I stroke my chin. "You know, this weather is really shit for that kind of thing. How about we duke it out over chess? Best of three games wins?"

The Tempest, hovering in the middle of her storm, does not look amused.

"No chess? What about a scavenger hunt? Or a dance battle?" I pause, waiting for her response.

"Nothing? Wow, tough crowd." I know I'm going to lose her soon, but I need my blades. Hurry up, Elias and Kayla. We're out of time. "A few more ideas, just to toss out there. Cook off? Best Rube Goldberg machine?"

"Best… what?" Now she looks confused and pissed. Awesome.

"Rube Goldberg machine? You know, a machine that takes something super simple and deliberately makes it waaay more complicated than it should be? That's right up your alley, right? What with this really round about way you're trying to… I don't even know what you're trying to do anymore. Do you? Cuz the Aya I knew wanted peace. Maybe she wanted it in a way I didn't agree with, but that was the end goal. This—" I gesture to her super nova form with her crazy bird. "This isn't the Aya I knew. And destroying the worlds and everyone in them isn't gonna get you shit, my friend. Sorry to be the one to tell you."

She cocks her head. "You're stalling."

I smile and raise my bow. "Yeah, but took you long enough to figure it out." And I unleash a flurry of arrows into her and the bird.

Lightning flashes around them and the arrows burst into flames, falling from the sky. Well, shit. That didn't go how I'd hoped.

She soars into the sky, roaring, holding her hands up, calling forth all the fury of the storm, and directs it into the center of the castle.

That's Ace's cue. He unleashes special lightning rod projectiles with trimantium cores to attract the lightning and catch it, in a manner of speaking. I don't know the ins and outs, that's his department.