I ran to my sister, our hands clasping together and she looked to me, realising something was wrong as my Phoenix didn’t immediately rush to meet hers, the lasting power of the curse making me feel exhausted and weak. Confusion rushed through me as I found her eyes clear, bright and green, the black Star Crossed ring around them gone.
“What-” I started but a huge navy Dragon landed beside me with a guttural roar and electricity sparked off of his skin as he wheeled his head around to look at us.
“Dante,” Tory gasped, running to him and healing a jagged wound on his leg.
“Lance!” I called and he shot to my side in a flash, looking at me in dismay as he lowered the sword in his grip.
“We have to go,” he said urgently. “The Nymph army is here, we’re all going to die if we stay. You have to call a retreat before we’re overrun.”
“Me?” I scoffed.
“Yes. This is your army. They’ll only listen to you or Tory,” he said firmly, his eyes flaring with how much he believed that. I wasn’t so sure, but I guessed it was worth a try. I didn’t want anyone else dying today.
He reached out to cast a spell over my throat and I shared a look with Tory who nodded her agreement.
I tipped my head back to shout, the sound amplified tenfold by his magic. “Retreat!”
Hamish howled up in the stands, calling his friends after him as he led the way through a hole carved into the side of the amphitheatre as they turned from the fight and fled.
“My ladies, you must both leave this instant!” Geraldine came running forward with Max beside her and Seth shifting back into his Fae form at their heels.
Shadows swirled out all around the stadium as Lavinia tore through the retreating rebels, cutting them down with her ferocious power which seemed stronger than ever before, making the ground shake beneath our feet.
Lionel suddenly took off into the sky in his Dragon form, clutching one stumpy front leg to his chest as a hoard of Dragons leapt after him, shifting and protecting him as they flew over the crowd, releasing jets of fire from their lungs.
Orion threw up a shield and I pushed my magic out from me with an effort that made my legs quake, helping him protect us as Max, Seth and Tory all added their power too. Caleb shot out of the shadows towards us and we let him in just before the shield closed up entirely.
“Where the hell is Darius?” Tory demanded as Orion hunted for him in the stands.
“He’s not here. He went somewhere with Gabriel,” Seth said, casting some earth magic over his legs to cover his junk up with a pair of leaf pants.
“Come fair warriors, we must retreat so that we can live to fight another day!” Geraldine demanded.
Xavier whinnied at us from the sky as he swept overhead, his wings beating furiously, his horn bloodied and his eyes fierce.
Dante growled an order at us, jerking his head at his back, telling us to get on. We scrambled up onto his back and Orion clutched me against his chest as I wrapped my arms around Tory in front of me.
Dante took off into the sky while we all continued to shield him and I gazed down at the carnage below in complete despair. The amphitheatre was burning and the rebels were running for their lives. Rosalie Oscura howled as she led her Wolves away across the palace grounds with a huge golden Lion racing amongst the pack and a group of people clinging to his back.
Shadows consumed the entire stadium below in a display of power so immense it sent fear spilling into my chest.
“What has Darius done?” Orion questioned heavily, leaning forward to show me his left arm where the Leo mark no longer shone.
I gasped, clinging onto him and my sister tighter than before.
“I have no idea,” Tory answered, showing us the bare patch of skin on her arm where Lionel’s star sign had once been branded too. Hopeful tears filled my eyes as I prayed some good had come from this day.
A flare of power rushed through the handprint Lavinia had left on my bicep and I held in a gasp as I clutched it, biting my lip as the ominous feeling of the curse radiated through me.
Orion pressed his mouth to my temple then spoke in my ear. “Whatever she’s done, I’ll do everything in my power to fix it, Blue.” My heart squeezed as I leaned in to his touch, hardly able to believe we’d both gotten out of that pit alive.
Lionel roared, wheeling through the sky as he spotted us and took chase with Lavinia riding on his back and an endless expanse of shadows billowed out around her.
I swore as I threw all of my magic into our combined shield, ready to fight if I had to while praying we could outrun them.
Xavier flew beside us, his wings beating furiously as he kept pace with Dante and stayed within the protection of our shield.
Dragon fire spewed toward us as the Dragons loyal to him raced into formation at his back and we found ourselves fleeing from an entire army of them with only our combined shield standing between us and death.
“Get beyond the palace wards!” Tory cried in encouragement as Dante raced through the sky and Dragon fire bled over our shield, making it quake and rattle as we fought to maintain it.
The tingle of magic ran over us as we made it beyond the wards and I turned my head, seeing Caleb ready with a pouch of stardust.
Caleb threw the stardust into the air ahead of us and Lionel roared angrily as Dante flew us into the particles and we were tugged away by the stars.
Dante dropped several feet as we arrived in a different, blissfully silent sky somewhere far away from the palace and relief crashed through me as I clung to my sister and she gripped my hand tightly in return.
We raced up into the clouds with Xavier flying alongside us and Dante released a mournful roar which I felt down to the pit of my soul.
Tears blurred my vision for everyone lost today. And as we soared into the endless blue sky, I didn’t know where we were going, only that we couldn’t go back to Zodiac Academy. We couldn’t go anywhere that Lionel would find us. The Heirs had stood against him, we’d all shown our cards. And the Dragon King would have every loyal Fae and Nymph in Solaria hunting for us by nightfall.
We were all fugitives now.
And if any of us were ever caught, the price would be death.
