Page 99 of Shadows of Destiny
Steel and iron clashed as swords and battle-axes clashed together. Many dark fae had responded to Cole’s call for help, but some had chosen the Lord’s side.
Brokk scowled at the traitors working for the man who had destroyed the Gloaming. He would do his best to ensure none of them survived.
One of the dark fae, a man Brokk vaguely recognized, gathered a ball of fire from a nearby torch and heaved it at Talon. The warlock ducked to avoid the flame before waving his hand at the ground and heaving dirt into the dark fae’s face.
Going in low, Talon wrapped his arms around the fae’s waist and propelled him into the ground. Straddling the man’s chest, the fae metal of Talon’s blade reflected the fire as he lifted it before plunging it through the fae’s heart.
Brokk swung his sword to batter back a warlock who came at him. Sparks flew off the blade as he twisted his wrist to pin the warlock’s weapon to the ground.
With the blade pinned, Brokk punched the man in the face, staggering him back before he pulled his sword free and drove it through the warlock’s heart. As the man fell away, more of the enemy rose to take his place.
The earth quaked as the giants approached, but they didn’t seem eager to jump into the fray as they took their sweet-ass time. With every pounding fall of the giants’ feet, Brokk left the ground before bouncing down again.
It didn’t make fighting with a sword any easier when his teeth chattered and he had to focus on not biting his tongue, but he ignored the approaching giants. Lunging forward, he propelled his sword through the heart of a dark fae before using it to sever the bastard’s head.
When he fought in the Lord’s war, he felt guilt over those he killed. Mainly because he believed they were right to fight against the Lord.
He felt no remorse now as he hacked through the Lord’s men. These assholes felt no regret over killing them. The Lord would ground anyone who survived beneath his feet, and these immortals were happy to help him do it. They would help the Lord see the realms in ruins and most immortals degraded to nothing but pathetic figments of what they once were.
No, there was no regret here. If he had his way, he’d see every last one of their enemy dead… including the giants. He didn’t care if the Lord had their queen; they’d chosen the wrong side.
Blood dripped from the end of his sword as he plunged it into the heart of another dark fae. It was the first time he’d ever used fae metal against one of his kind, and it wouldn’t be the last.
The unspoken rule about dark fae not using fae metal against each other had gone out the window when his enemy decided to wield it with such freedom. If they weren’t going to hold back, then neither was he.
CHAPTERSEVENTY-ONE
Brokk torehis sword free of the dying man’s chest as Maverick’s group emerged from the portal leading to Verdan and charged at the back of the Lord’s army. Two seconds later, Orin and Varo arrived with more dark fae and a smattering of light fae.
The light fae instantly recoiled, but, to their credit, they didn’t turn and flee. Elfie led them forward and into the fray as they sought out victims to help heal.
Niall emerged from a portal with his group, and, from a few feet away, Sahira arrived from a portal Lexi had opened on the cliff for them.Noneof the Lord’s men had expected this move as they weren’t used to someone opening portals into Dragonia.
When he first arrived, the Lord’s men had all convened on Brokk’s small group of troops, expecting they would all come from one area. They hadn’t anticipated their enemy splitting up to attack from different portals. Because of that, many of the Lord’s men were trapped in a circle, but that wouldn’t last.
The giants were nearly upon them.
Blood sprayed over Brokk’s face as a berserker crashed into Talon’s side, taking him down. Brokk sliced off the head of the powerfully built man but not before the berserker tore out Talon’s heart and crushed it.
A stab of regret pierced Brokk as he met Talon’s startled eyes before the warlock died. However, there was no time for remorse in this place and time. This was only the beginning; they would lose many more here today.
Brokk carved his way through a few more men, ducked a blade that would have sliced through his neck, and spun to avoid a transformed lycan. The creature leapt from the ground with its jaws wide.
As he evaded the bloodthirsty lycan, the last of their army arrived with Kaylia and Skog in the lead. The giants also converged on them, and, with a swipe of a meaty hand, one of the monstrous beasts sent ten of their army hurtling through the air like rag dolls.
The coopery stench of blood and the fetid aroma of death filled Brokk’s nose as the screams of the dying filled the air. He still had nightmares about those screams from the Lord’s war. Hearing them again set his teeth on edge, but those screams and the blood-soaked field didn’t slow him.
Turning to confront a berserker racing toward him, Brokk prepared himself to kill again. The naked man’s bulging muscles and the throbbing veins pulsing throughout his body and face were on full display.
If his red face, veins, and pulsing muscles were any indication, the man was entering berserker mode. He would soon unleash his immense strength on anyone unfortunate enough to be in his way.
With a chest the size of a small car, the berserker bared his bloody teeth at him. Pieces of flesh hung from those teeth. They hadn’t gotten bloody because someone punched this psycho in the mouth; this freak had torn out someone’s throat with his teeth.
Brokk smiled in return as the berserker released a guttural screech. The man was nearly on top of him when Brokk lifted his hand and waved it at the nearby fire consuming a body. The blast of flame shot up, caught on the berserker’s long, black hair, and flared up to engulf his head.
The berserker screamed as he beat at the flames. His shrieks cut off when Brokk cloaked himself in shadows, slid up to the man, and slit his throat. With the berserker out of the way, Brokk spotted the brilliant glow on the mountain.
His jaw dropped as awe filled him. He’d been there when Lexi released her shield to shine as bright as the sun. It was blinding then, but looking at it from down here was like staring at a golden star plucked from the sky and placed on the mountain.
