Page 56 of These Fractured Bonds

Yareli took a look at her garment, coated in dirt and ash. She had dressed up like a doll—dazzling and cute—but now its beauty was tarnished. She had been silly to think she could dabble in leisure.

She bit her lip. “No.”

Raf handed a dagger to her. “Do you know how to use it?”

“I do. Can you spare another?”

She could tell he was assessing her by the too-casual look in his eyes, but he handed her the second dagger without question.

“Thanks.”

He adjusted his hold on his claymore and pointed at a narrow alley between two burning buildings. “We need to go one street over. Are you sure you can do this?”

Yareli’s eyebrow twitched.Cannotwant. Then, she remembered he had found her on the street, paralyzed by the wreckage she had witnessed. Even now, an underlying resistance to her resolve pulsed; it wanted her to run from the danger, not toward it. But if August was in the thick of battle, then she would be too. He needed to know more foes were coming.

“I can,” she said. “Let’s go.”

He nodded and charged into the flames. Yareli followed with her head low, pulling her shawl over her nose to help with the smoke. She ran until Raf stopped. He pointed up at a non-burning building. His claymore blinked out of existence, likely stored in a pocket—a device that stored it in a separate space outside of their realm. Leo had given her an abbreviated explanation about the magic behind weapon storage, and she envied its usefulness.

Raf squatted. “Get on. I’ll jump us up there.”

Once Yareli was securely on his back, he leaped onto the slanted roof. He set her down, letting go of her only when she could balance on her own. Her eyes widened at the sight that awaited them; it was a bloodbath. Between the raging fire and debris, bodies were strewn around, both Fae and nox creatures alike. She looked away from the couple of smaller Fae bodies that lay beneath larger ones.

An intense battle raged on between the two sides, but it was plain to see that the Fae were being pushed back by the waves of nox streaming into the streets. Howlers and grippers roamed the battlefield, but there were two other types she didn’t recognize.She scanned the village, searching for August, but she couldn’t make him out in the closer skirmishes. He had to be farther out.

Raf cursed. “They brought handlers and their rats.”

Yareli then noticed the rats and how they huddled around taller, humanoid nox creatures, which wore robes, giving the illusion of a magician. One of them shot a fireball from their hand. Not an illusion then; they wielded magic.

Another curse from Raf broke her concentration.

“I found First General Augrys.” He pointed toward the village center that Yareli had run from. “He’s occupied with a dancer.”

She squinted and attempted to make him out, but her human eyes could only see the dancer—a giant, slim humanoid nox creature. It stood taller than the Fae, and the glint of its blades looked like a tornado of steel. She could barely make out the blur of Augrys’s head—she assumed that was the sole figure battling it. A shiver ran down her spine.

It didn’t look good. It was all the more reason to find August to warn him. They had to retreatnow.

“We should move,” she said.

“Agreed.”

Movement on the left caught her eye. A swarm of rats surrounded a familiar head of white hair, and she inhaled sharply. Leo swung his axe, decapitating many in a single swoop, but they were quickly replaced by those in the back. Two handlers stood nearby, summoning more. Leo sent a spell toward them, but they deflected it with ease. He was vastly outnumbered.

“Do you see something?” Raf asked.

She pointed at Leo. “My friend needs help. Can I borrow your bow?”

Raf peered that way, handing his bow and arrows to her without hesitation. “You’re friends with Leo?”

“Long story,” she replied, her focus on the skirmish.

Yareli had an arrow nocked before she knew it. Leo kept up with the horde, but he wasn’t gaining any ground. He needed a helping hand, and she wasn't leaving the rooftop without giving it.

Determining the handlers’ summoning to be the issue, she pinpointed her target—the handler off to the right. It had jumped away from one of Leo’s spells and raised its arms to cast. The handler wouldn’t expect an attack from its left. She took a steadying breath. It was the furthest target she had ever attempted, but she didn’t necessarily have to hit. All she had to do was distract the handler enough to create an opening. Still, she took aim and prayed.

Yareli released the arrow. It shot through the field, racing through the air like a missile, and sank into the handler's shoulder. She relaxed her grip on her bow, feeling triumphant as Leo took notice and was quick to react. He hacked a path toward it and beheaded the handler in a smooth strike before it could recover.

His head shot upward, and Yareli swore he could see her, but his attention was soon taken away, swept away in the renewed assault from the remaining handler.