“We understand, and we thank you.” Dominik offered her a bow.

  “Uh, I don’t understand, actually,” Kent said, raising his free hand. In the other, he still held the box Yasmi had given him.

  “I think they’re going to fly us down to the tree,” Xander explained.

  “Uh, what?” Kent took a step back. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I get air sick.”

  “And how do you know that?” Jalene arched a brow at him. “You’ve been air dropped by giant birds before?”

  “Close,” Kent told her. “My mother took me all over the galaxy for oracle readings, remember? I got sick every time.”

  “Explains the portal sickness,” Xander said.

  “And why you always looked so glassy-eyed when we were kids,” Jalene added.

  I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

  “What about Dominik?” Xander asked. “You called four birds. Not five.”

  Yasmi and Dominik shared a look.

  “I’ll go back the way we came,” Dominik said.

  “But that will take too long,” I argued. “And put you right in their path.”

  “Yasmi and her friends can’t carry me,” Dominik said. He looked at me, yellow eyes twinkling. “Don’t worry. I can run very fast without you slowing me down.”

  “I’m serious, Dom. What if you get into trouble?” I asked.

  “The only trouble will be waiting at the portal,” he said. “The Shadows know we’ll have to return there if we want to leave the planet, so that’s where they’ll wait.”

  I knew he was right, but that didn’t make me feel any better. It meant we were the ones in the most danger—and we’d have to remain there until Dominik made it back to open the way home.

  “We’ll hold them off until you get there,” Xander told him.

  “Keep her safe,” Dominik said, nodding at me.

  “Always,” Xander assured him.

  I sighed, knowing if I argued, all it did was waste valuable time. “Fine. We’ll see you down there,” I said finally. “But hurry.”

  “I’ll go now. It’ll also distract them so they won’t see you dropping in.”

  “You remember your way out?” Yasmi asked.

  “Yes, thank you for everything,” Dominik told her. Then he turned and disappeared the way we’d come in.

  When he was gone, I turned to Yasmi and focus on moving forward. “Yasmi, your idea is brilliant, thank you for offering to get us back down to the valley,” I told her.

  She gestured with her wing. “It’ll only get you to the portal,” she warned. “You have to get yourselves through it. Come on. We better hurry.”

  We took the same path we’d come down earlier, this time able to see much better thanks to our glow lights shining brightly from each of our chests. Halfway up the incline, Yasmi took another branch of tunnels, and the path became much more steep.

  I was winded by the time we reached the top, but it was nothing like the exhaustion from the way in. My muscles burned—in a good way. Every step that took us closer to the surface stirred my magic.

  At the top, the rock wall dead-ended, but I could see a small opening like the one we’d used to get in here. A narrow cut-out that could only be accessed at a certain angle. It was a wonder these birds could squeeze their giant bodies through that.

  Yasmi went first, and I could only assume it was safe outside when she didn’t return. We all followed her until we’d formed a single file line along the ledge at our feet. Beyond my toes, only a few inches of rock remained before a sheer drop that overlooked the valley below. The smoke still hung about, and I felt it already winding its way down my throat.

  “Can you see Dominik?” Jalene asked, craning her neck.

  “I don’t see anything,” Kent said, squinting through the smoky haze that rose lazily from the still-burning embers.

  I blinked away the burn in my eyes. “They’re out there,” I said quietly. “I can feel them.”

  “The ship is lower than before,” Xander said, deep frown lines creasing the skin around his mouth.

  I looked up, and my breath caught.

  The sleek metal ship hung so low I felt like I could reach right up and slide my hands over the undercarriage.

  “Shit,” Jalene muttered. “That is a hell of a dark cloud.”

  A figure passed between us and the ship, the wingspan wide and long—and orange. Phillipa swooped low before coming to perch on the rocky ledge above us. A moment later, two other birds joined her. One a pale blue and the other a dark brown.

  “All right,” Yasmi said. “Ready?”

  I wasn’t sure if she was talking to us or the birds, but it was Phillipa who answered. “Let’s just get this over with,” she muttered.

  Ignoring the bite to her words, Yasmi nodded. “Kent, you’re with Phillipa.”

  “Yippee,” Kent muttered, stepping forward cautiously.

  He hadn’t moved more than a step before Phillipa fell right off the edge of rock where she’d perched and swooped forward, Kent’s shirt caught in her bird claws as they both soared through the air.

  Kent’s scream echoed back at us through the fog.

  “Dear Goddess,” Jalene bit out. “If he doesn’t shut up, he’s going to alert the Shadows before they ever see us coming.” She stepped forward and looked at Yasmi. “Get me out there so I can slap him silent.”

  Yasmi’s smile was a little crooked. “Yorn?”

  “On it,” said the blue bird.

  A second later, he’d dropped off the edge of the cliff with Jalene in his claws. As she disappeared into the smoke, Xander’s fingers threaded through mine and squeezed.

  Yasmi looked up to the remaining bird. “As close to the portal as you can get, Staq.”

  “Done,” he said in a rough voice as Xander’s hand slid reluctantly free of mine. Above us, Staq spread his wings and stepped into the air, plucking Xander off the ledge with ease.

  Yasmi hopped up to take Staq’s place above me and, I barely had time to see Xander’s feet leave the ground before Yasmi did the same with me.

  My stomach flew into my throat as I was propelled forward. The sudden weightlessness left me dizzy, and I shut my eyes against the flipping of my stomach.

  The trip to the ground was like nothing I’d ever experienced. A sort of hand-gliding without the controls. I couldn’t see far enough through the haze to know where we were—or what waited for us down there. The others had gone silent which made me wonder if Jalene had caught up to Kent and smacked him like she’d promised. Picturing that took my mind off the terror of how high up I was—and how easy it would be for Yasmi’s grip to slip.

  By the time we landed, I was disoriented enough to be glad for solid ground. Even if it meant landing in the center of an ambush.

  The moment my feet touched the hard, cracked clay, Yasmi released me and swooped right back into the air again. There was a rushing sound as four sets of wings flapped and flailed, carrying the birds away to safety. Xander found me first, his attention on me rather than our surroundings.

  “Are you all right?” he asked quietly.

  I nodded. “Yeah. You?”

  He grunted something unintelligible, and I had a feeling he shared my opinion of our method of travel. Behind him, Jalene and Kent both faced away—their gaze locked on something beyond the plumes of smoke.

  It was darker now than when we’d arrived and I looked around, wondering if the ship hovering above had blotted out the light or—

  I froze.

  It wasn’t the ship darkening the horizon.

  It was Shadows.

  I hadn’t understood what a legion meant when Phillipa had said it before. But I did now.

  Xander caught sight of my expression and turned to see what had caused it. A second later, he stiffened and slid in front of me in a feeble attempt to shield me. Feeble because we were surrounded on all sides.

  The Shadows floated in place. None of them moved or spoke, and the silence stretched into an anticipation of something I couldn’t understand.

  “What the hell are they doing?” Jalene whispered. “They’re just standing there.”

  “Would you like them to attack now?” Kent shot back.

  “Shut up,” Jalene hissed.

  Neither of them took their eyes off the Shadows as they spoke.

  I looked to each of my friends and then back to the enemy. Already, the magic inside me was awake and coiled. It hadn’t taken more than a fleeting glimpse of the Shadows to call it up—and another blink to ignite it.

  Sparks shot from my fingertips. And I knew what I’d unleashed on Taryn would be nothing compared to what it would do to these monsters.

  “Alina,” Xander warned, and it took me a moment to realize it wasn’t the enemy that made him so nervous now.

  I looked down.

  Orange flames licked at my palms. Already, Xander’s arms were singed from the heat they put off. But he didn’t step away from me. If anything, he inched closer. “Don’t forget yourself,” he said.

  “Uh, guys. I hate to interrupt this encouraging and uplifting moment you’re having,” Jalene said, “But we have a serious problem.”

  “What is it?” Xander asked, tearing his gaze from mine to scan our surroundings.

  “It’s not just Shadows down here waiting for us,” Jalene said.

  “What else is there?” Kent demanded, peering into the mist that clouded whatever Jalene had just seen. “Aren’t Shadows the worst possible scenario here?”

  “Not quite,” Jalene said, her voice strangled.

  Her hand reached back and grabbed for mine. I dodged her, narrowly avoiding burning her with my growing flames. When she couldn’t find me, she stepped closer to Kent and wrapped her fingers around his instead. It was the one and only time I’d ever seen her seek him out and that alone was enough to scare me.

  Kent took a step forward, leaning in to the smoke to see what had Jalene so panicked. “What—”

  “Tharos,” Jalene whispered. She whirled. Her gaze snapped toward mine, her eyes wide and full of panic. “Tharos is here.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Through the pyres of lazily rising smoke, a figure emerged. He was taller than the Shadows, but his gait was human. Even from here, I could hear his heavy boots hitting the charred ground as he marched close enough to offer my first glimpse. I saw his hands first. Long, sharp nails, broken and dirty. His forearms were visible and lined with blackened veins running through pale white skin. His face was dominated by a sharp nose protruding from a dark cowl. When he finally stepped out of the smoke, I saw his eyes.

  Black as a starless sky.

  But it wasn’t the color that left me shaken and paralyzed. It was the void inside them. The nothingness they held. Just like the Shadows that emerged close behind him now. His legion.

  The flames in my hands snuffed out.

  My heart went cold right along with the blood in my veins.

  What was I doing?

  I couldn’t beat him—the most powerful force of darkness the galaxies had ever seen.

  He would eat me alive, this monster. Just like he’d done to my parents before me.

  “Alina Leone.” His voice was roughened but smooth.

  The softness was an illusion—I knew that like I knew my own name. He wasn’t here to play nice, but he’d pretend for a while until it no longer amused him. And I’d stand here and let him, because the sheer power dripping off his every breath was enough to mute the burning inside me.

  A warm hand slipped into my cold one. It sent a shudder of awareness through me, and I opened my mouth to offer a response to the monster who’d come here to face me—finally. But none came.

  “Don’t come any closer,” Xander warned. And then quietly, to us, he added, “We only have to hold them off until Dominik arrives and opens the portal.”

  The others nodded, struck silent.

  I blinked at the sheer will in Xander’s words. The unflinching fearlessness. How could he be so confident facing down a man made out of nothing but madness?

  “What’s this?” Tharos halted, and his Shadows did the same. He shot a look between Xander and I. “Your power means so little to you that your own subjects speak for you?”

  There was a cruel edge in his teasing, and Xander stiffened. He’d inched closer to me, and I felt his body tense now, coiling to spring. My own horror overwhelmed me at the thought of Xander launching an attack against this monster.

  He’d never win. He’d—

  “Alina, now would be a great time to show off some of those fire-throwing skills,” Kent said under his breath.

  “Or better yet, bust out that medallion and send this asshole into oblivion,” Xander added.

  Jalene didn’t make a sound.

  My tongue felt too big in my own mouth, but I forced a sharp breath in then out. And the words finally shoved their way up my throat and out. “You have no authority here or anywhere else in this galaxy,” I said. “You have claimed something that doesn’t belong to you on this planet and on many others, including mine. Your destruction and dark rule ends now.”

  Tharos laughed—a belly-shaking, ridiculous sound that had no place coming from inside such a horrible man. For whatever reason, it was the final straw in reawakening my temper.

  Heat sprang to life, warming my cold veins until I had to yank my hand from Xander’s to keep from burning him.

  “You think you’re the one to stop me?” Tharos asked through his laughter.

  I raised my palms and called the magic up faster than I’d ever let it come before. “No,” I told him. “But the magic will.”

  Flame shot from my fingers.

  Tharos barely moved his arm, and the fire bounced away, hitting a Shadow on his right instead.

  The Shadow screamed as the fire consumed him, burning him to ash.

  Tharos looked mildly impressed, but I barely had time to notice before the magic built inside me again—straining to get out from under my control.

  Tharos cocked his head knowingly. “A surprising display, but you have more, don’t you? Let it out, girl. Don’t hold back on my account.”

  More teasing.

  Like he knew exactly what might happen to me and my friends if I did what he suggested. Damn him.

  I scowled, the flames in my hands bigger and hotter than before. Kent and Jalene took a step away. Tharos flicked a gaze at them then gave another small motion with his arm. “Kill them all,” he said in a flat voice.

  The Shadows rushed at us.

  Xander reacted first, his glow springing to life brighter than I’d ever seen it. Jagged bolts shot from his chest, one or two at first, then several at once. It wasn’t long before the bolts flowed right out of his hands, two and three at a time. The Shadows approaching fell back as the light bolts stabbed into them, sending a surge of electric power through their bodies until they fractured from the inside out.

  One of the Shadows got close enough to nearly grab Jalene. Xander fired a bolt that landed square in the Shadow’s chest and the creature exploded into a million pieces.

  Tharos snarled, and his expression twisted. There was no trace left of the easy, teasing tone he’d used before. “Destroy them!” he screamed.

  More Shadows charged.

  This time, Jalene stepped up to meet them. Her glow shone bright and hot from her chest. I started toward her, intent on protecting her, but then her glow began leaking outward, coating her shoulders and throat with the same white light. It trailed down her arms until the white light shone all the way to the tips of her fingers.

  When the nearest Shadow reached her, she grabbed it.

  I gasped, remembering too well what happened to me when I’d let a Shadow get close enough to touch my skin. But instead of darkness consuming Jalene, her light transferred to the Shadow. The Shadow shuddered and screamed then dropped to the ground, writhing even after she’d let it go.

  She stepped over what was left of him and moved on to the next one.

  I covered her with my own bolts of flames aimed at two Shadows trying to sneak up on her from behind. It was nothing so powerful as what I’d done to Taryn, but it was enough. For now.

  Kent was the only one hanging back, his stance half-defensive and half-prepared to run as he watched the fight raging around him. “Kent,” I called, still aiming fire bolts at Shadows that got too close.

  “What?” he asked in a high voice, breathless and obviously panicked.

  “I need you to try to figure out how this works.” I took the medallion stone out of my pocket and tossed it to him.

  He fumbled and nearly dropped it before steadying the stone in his hands. “How do I—”

  “No idea,” I said, firing on a Shadow that had crept up behind Kent.

  The Shadow burst into flames and disintegrated, gone before Kent even turned around.

  I sighed. “But we have to figure it out if we’re going to hold them off long enough for Dominik to get back.”

  Kent nodded, his mouth hardening into a thin line.

  Beyond him, I could see Tharos watching me intently. Like he was waiting for something. Maybe for one of the Shadows to kill me—but the magic inside me was on a roll now. I was fast reaching the point of no return, but I couldn’t stop now. I couldn’t put it away or even call it back. Not until I’d killed every last Shadow here—and then destroyed the one who’d made them.

  I threw myself into the fight, desperate and focused and furious with the rage of vengeance burning inside me.

  On my left, Xander’s lightning bolts sent Shadows screaming into oblivion. On my right, Jalene had them writhing. But it wasn’t enough. There were too many of them.

  For every one that fell, three more advanced to take its place.

  I couldn’t afford to break focus and search the horizon for Dominik.

  Instead, I let the magic loose just a little more.