The mountains were useful for cover. Aurora, the Ashtari, and the soldiers she had brought along were keeping an eye on the mages. It was almost time to attack. Not far away, the mages were riding along, not realizing what was about to befall them.

  Aurora had learned the names of the strangers and their leader; Arturo had brought fifty men, as it would have taken over an hour to bring all his soldiers. Besides, there were too many to try and sneak up on the mages. It still took twenty minutes—too long for her liking—but there was plenty of time. There was no chance the mages got out of the barrier before the attack.

  She also recalled where she met Arturo. Back in Moontani. Aurora had barely spoken a word to her, but she recalled the ruckus he had caused. Not important, I need to focus on the upcoming fight. she thought.

  “We should attack now,” Dorvan said.

  “Not yet,” Aurora said. The timing had to be perfect.

  “What are we waiting for?” Dorvan asked impatiently.

  “For our scouts to get a clear line on Talon. We’re too far to see, and I want to make sure we rescue him before the mages can use him as a hostage,” Aurora said.

  “Ah,” Dorvan shifted and squinted ahead.

  Five Ashtari had gone forward, portaling far enough ahead that the mages wouldn’t sense them, but they would get a close look at the army. There was so much cover that it was easy to hide. Luck had been on their side there. If this were an open field, things could have been far more difficult.

  “These mages won’t know what hit them,” Jarkin said with a grin.

  “We outnumber them. This should be fun,” Harone said.

  Aurora ignored them and glanced at Arturo. There was something about this man. Why did Corvin want Arturo to come along? She had asked him, and Arturo shrugged, clearly hiding something. No matter. So long as he doesn’t get in the way. The soldiers would be helpful against the mage’s soldiers, though the true battle would be among the power users.

  A portal appeared five feet above them, and two Ashtari came out. Leenkorn and Judia landed. “Report,” Aurora said.

  Judia brushed her brown hair out of her face. “Talon is on the back of a wagon, tied down and naked. I couldn’t get too good of a glance, but I saw his face, and he’s in pain,” she said.

  “What?” Lewis said, his jaw dropping. “They're torturing him?”

  “How could they do that to a king?” another Ashtari said.

  Aurora pursed her lips. That wasn’t good. Talon may not be mentally stable, which could be catastrophic if he killed one of the mages once he was freed. No king would take being tortured lightly. She could only hope he would be in control once rescued. That was a problem she would deal with after the king was rescued.

  “It’s time then,” Aurora said and stood. The other Ashtari were ready. They had to be. “We’ll go with the original plan. Surround the enemy and attack from all sides. Try not to let any of them escape, and try not to kill any of the mages.”

  Chesmarn snorted, “You kidding? These mages are torturing him! They deserve to die!”

  “If we kill one of them, the mages will retaliate. With hostages, we can deter Mortham Tower from bringing all their might against us. If we kill them, well, I don’t think we can withstand all the mages,” Aurora said. She wasn’t a fool; there would be casualties in this fight. She could only hope there were few losses on both sides.

  That shut the Ashtari up. One small problem fixed. “Try to take out the mages fast. The fewer there are, the easier it will be to overwhelm them with the power. If there’s enough of a gap, we can block them from accessing the power and end this farce,” Aurora said.

  “We’re ready,” Dorvan said.

  “Arturo, you’ll focus on the soldiers. I don’t want any of you going after the mages; it’ll end badly for you,” Aurora said.

  Arturo gave her an odd smile that she didn’t understand. What was amusing about her statement? “I would prefer to avoid the mages as well,” Arturo said.

  Satisfied, Aurora looked at the mages. “Let’s do this then.”

  Talon was positive his entire back was full of splinters. Everything he had worked for was over. It was an odd acceptance that had come over him since his maniacal laughter a few hours ago. His father would be disappointed in him. He had become arrogant. That was a fact and an error he couldn’t undo. If he had listened to Corvin, he would have had a backup plan, and this situation would have never happened.

  Now all he could do was await his fate at Mortham Tower. How long could he last before the mages broke him? How long would the School of Power last? There was no doubt in his mind that the Ashtari would be slaughtered. The numbers might be there, but none of them had the years of training the mages did.

  Sorry, father. You wanted me to lead the defense against the invaders, yet I won’t be able to do so. Our family name is ruined, and we shall never rule again. That was painful to acknowledge. The mages would instill someone else on the throne of Azzellia, and the once-great nation would crumble under Harold’s rule. Their resources would be stripped and sent to Eshil Domain. His people would suffer because of his mistakes. Why did it have to end this way?

  Opening his eyes, Talon stared at the blue sky. He didn’t know how far they were from the barrier, but this could be one of the last times he saw the sky in all its glory. Was this normal? Did everyone who realized their time was coming to an end appreciate something simple like the sky?

  Then it happened. Talon felt the power all around him. At first, he thought all the mages were doing something, but he noticed the power wasn’t coming from them but from every direction. There were dozens of power users surrounding them. He wondered if there were more mages, but the reaction of the mages told him otherwise.

  “We’re under attack!” one of the mages yelled, and the wagon came to a halt.

  The soldiers unsheathed their weapons, and the mages grabbed the power. Talon saw a portal to his left, and an ashen-haired woman came out. Then everything started at once. Power users began fighting, and a large man with a huge sword came charging at the troops the mages had brought.

  Metal clashed on metal, and the screams of battle erupted. Explosions were going off as the power was utilized. Some of the mages were uttering something or asking where these power users came from, and then he couldn’t understand what was being said as the fighting grew more intense.

  He saw a mage get blasted apart. Blood splashed the ground, and the mage's arm landed near Talon, who couldn’t help being shocked at what he was seeing.

  Two mages were standing by him. Zelena shot him a dirty look. That was the last thing he saw because a moment later, something lifted her off her feet and sent her into the wagon. The other mage, whose name he didn’t know, collapsed, though he didn’t see what hit her.

  Something strange happened, and Talon felt renewed strength enter his body. The invisible wall that stopped him from accessing the power was gone! Not wasting a second, he reached for the power, feeling it flood his cells with enormous strength. It was like giving water to a dying man. All his fears were replaced with confidence. He was free!

  “No w-” the enemy soldier screamed as Arturo’s sword cleaved through the man. Blood and guts splashed the ground, and the body landed in two different spots. He ducked an axe swing and slashed the soldier from the groin up through the heart.

  These soldiers were skilled, at least far more than the bandits Arturo had fought since starting his army. Achillion wasn’t too far away, striking down soldiers left and right, an army of his own. Jen was swinging her dual blades beautifully, blocking and slashing an enemy in the throat.

  Tarmon was a bit more cautious, utilizing the power and his sword skills to take down foes. He stabbed someone in the chest and dodged another strike before cutting down the man. Arturo felt his armor grow cold as a nearby mage tried to use the power on him.

  This was the most chaotic battle he had ever been a part of. Nothing came close to this, not even his time in the Crystal Syndicate. Dust filled the air, along with various holes in the ground as explosions went off everywhere. There were fires in random locations. Arturo was sure of one thing; he didn’t like fighting with power users involved.

  A few mages took down a couple of Ashtari. One Ashtari had a gaping hole in his chest and collapsed. Arturo watched as the surviving Ashtari screamed something and took down two mages with some sort of strike that split the mages into various pieces.

  A couple of mages struck an Ashtari with something invisible that sent the man reeling backward, with a large gash across the power user’s shoulder. The mage was taken care of a moment later and collapsed from another invisible attack. A fire blast hit the ground next to Arturo.

  Arturo turned to see lightning coming right at him. There was no time to react, and he closed his eyes, only to feel his armor heat up slightly and then return to normal. The lightning was gone, absorbed into his armor. The mage who had attacked him looked at him with shock before being blasted by air.

  An Ashtari caught his eye. Arturo couldn’t focus for long, there was too much fighting to be had, yet he swore that he saw Dorvan Minishota, but that was impossible. What would his friend be doing out here? How could he wield the power?

  I’ll have to confirm later. Arturo thought as he deflected an arrow. He had other matters to worry about, especially when a fireball came blasting toward him, only to be absorbed by his armor.

  An explosion came from his left, followed by a large dust cloud. Arturo covered his mouth and saw shadows moving. Two soldiers came at him, and he blocked their strikes, then kicked one of them in the kneecap. He heard the sickening crunch, and the soldier screamed.

  Arturo swung his sword and cut through the screaming soldier and his buddy with one swift move. Their bodies landed on the ground. This was insane; he couldn’t tell who was winning this battle.

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  There was no time to contemplate what was going on, not entirely. Arturo ran through a dust cloud and cleaved through a couple more of the soldiers. The first fight he had with a bunch of power users, and he had a feeling it wouldn’t be his last. More soldiers came rushing in, and he engaged. All he could hope was that the Ashtari would do their part to take care of the mages.

  Dorvan strained with all his strength, barely keeping the mage from breaking his shield. Next to him was another Ashtari, Badarus. There was one mage, and he was single-handedly pushing them both back.

  The last time Dorvan had felt like this was back when Arindall was attacked. He could feel parts of his shield cracking from the unyielding pressure that the mage was putting on them. If nothing changed soon, the shield would break, and both he and Badarus would be taken out.

  Sweat was dripping down his face. “D-Dorvan,” Badarus gasped, his right knee slammed into the ground while both of his hands remained outstretched.

  “Yeah?” Dorvan replied, feeling his arms starting to tingle. He put more of the power into the shield.

  “I’m… giving you an opening… Attack once you see it,” Badarus said.

  An opening? How? Dorvan wanted to ask but gritted his teeth instead. He could only hope Badarus's plan worked. He had known this fight was going to be tough, but he was still surprised at how strong the mages were. He and four others had taken down a couple of mages until this one, who had attacked when the other Ashtari had split off.

  Badarus stood, his broad shoulders visibly shaking. He took a few steps to get in front of Dorvan. “Don’t… screw this up,” he said.

  Before Dorvan could say anything, Badarus refocused his power in front of him, and the shield protecting them both shattered. Dorvan felt an immense pressure begin to push against him, but he felt something reinforcing him, keeping him going. It took him a moment to realize that Badarus was using everything he could to take the brunt of this pressure, giving Dorvan the chance to attack!

  Cuts were beginning to erupt all over Badarus, and he began coughing out blood. Dorvan focused everything he could into his right hand. He outstretched his hand and lightning flew from his fingertips.

  The mage's smile of triumph quickly disappeared as he realized what was happening. The pressure faded altogether, but it was too late. The lightning hit the mage’s chest, sending him flying a dozen feet before landing on the ground, where he did not move another inch.

  Badarus collapsed, filling the ground with his blood. Dorvan quickly rushed over and flipped the fallen Ashtari on his back. He almost vomited. The Ashtari’s face was covered in blood. There were various cuts all over.

  If only I could heal. Dorvan thought, though he doubted he could save Badarus even if he could. There was too much blood, too many cuts, and the Ashtari was unconscious. He could feel the power all around, with other mages and Ashtari fighting for their lives. It was foolish to hope there would be no casualties, yet he had naively thought it was possible.

  This was a battle between power users, and it was more horrifying than he could have ever imagined. No amount of training could have prepared him for this.

  Dorvan stood. “Rest well, Badarus,” he said. He hadn’t known the Ashtari long, but he felt like he had lost a friend. Wanting to do nothing more than run away, he did the opposite and ran to help his fellow Ashtari. The battle raged on.

  Talon saw his rescuers then. Ten Ashtari were around him, each in a defensive stance as the ropes were cut from his wrists and ankles. He rolled off the wagon and grunted, his breathing coming in gasps. Even the power couldn’t stop Talon from feeling the pain. He coughed and tried to stand, only to fall over into the arms of an Ashtari.

  “Your grace, are you all right?” the man asked.

  Instead of answering, Talon utilized the power to allow his body to ignore his wounds by flooding energy into him. He pushed the Ashtari off of him and stood, albeit wobbly. “I’m fine,” he said roughly. He wouldn’t allow his Ashtari to see him in a weakened state. Despite his wounds, there was nobody here who could match his power.

  Despite his insistence on being fine, one of the Ashtari brought him his clothes that had been in the wagon. Talon put them on, with great difficulty as the simplest move sent a wave of pain across his entire body. Once he was dressed, he looked at the battlefield.

  He watched a large man with a sword cleaving through soldiers like they were butter. Talon wondered who he was but quickly looked for the mages. A quick assessment of the battle showed it was going the Ashtari’s way. He saw a silver-haired woman handling three mages at once, attacking in so many directions the mages could do nothing but crumble against her power. He had seen her for a brief moment a few hours ago; perhaps he hadn’t gone insane. She was the second-strongest power user here; of that, he was certain.

  Soldiers were lying on the battlefield, crying out for help and bleeding out. Many were missing limbs. Talon saw a blast smack Falcon in the chest, sending him into a nearby boulder, and he slumped to the ground. He could feel the mage was still alive, which disappointed him.

  Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Talon stumbled forward. “Sire, we can handle this,” one of the Ashtari said.

  Ignoring him, Talon kept moving and saw one of his torturers. Zelena, who had crawled out of the wagon and had blood running down the side of her head. Simply looking at her filled him with rage; oh, how he would get his revenge. Zelena was bouncing back and forth, erecting a barrier to protect herself from attacks from the Ashtari. She was easily handling two of the Ashtari who had descended upon her, but she wasn’t aware of him.

  Utilizing all his power, Talon focused on the barrier protecting Zelena and closed his fist. The barrier shattered like glass, and he sent a powerful force at her. He felt the impact of his invisible punch slamming her in the back, but he wasn’t done. As she flung forward, she stopped abruptly as he gripped her with the power. He lifted her ten feet off the ground and slammed her into the ground. That would break some bones. A large smile spread across his lips as he debated doing it again but stopped; he didn’t want to kill her, not yet. She had to suffer more after her companions were taken care of.

  Morphan and Daloria turned to him, realizing he was free, but were unable to do anything as Talon cut them off from the power. Their faces paled as they clawed at the invisible wall preventing them from using the power. Talon felt his smile widen even further. Stopping someone from using the power after they held it was hard, and two was said to be impossible, and yet he had done it with ease.

  Talon focused on their minds and knocked them unconscious with the power. Those two would suffer later on as well. He wouldn’t give any of these mages quick deaths; oh no, they would suffer for their crimes against him. Only when he had broken their spirits would he end their lives.

  The Ashtari defending him were doing a great job stopping any mages from getting close. Talon was a bit disappointed but said nothing. There was no point in chastising his power users for doing their job. Besides, he could barely move without wanting to collapse.

  The mages' soldiers were falling like flies. Some of the Ashtari were knocking some of the soldiers out with the power, and the mages were dwindling fast. Over half of them were incapacitated in some way. Talon saw Asagara on the ground with blood streaming down the side of his face. He looked confused as he looked at his hand, which was covered with blood. Not far from him was a group of six mages, all slumped together.

  Some of the mage’s army started to drop their weapons and run. None of them made it far. Any who got far away from the large man’s army were taken down by the Ashtari. Talon had never seen a battle between power users and was shocked at how chaotic it was. The battlefield was filled with dust and holes were littered all around them. He could feel the power in the air as if he were breathing it in.

  Talon felt something coming from his right and barely got up a defensive barrier as a fireball exploded. The heat washed over him. Ten mages were coming after him, launching lightning, fire, and other attacks. It didn’t take him long to realize the mages weren’t trying to incapacitate him; they were trying to kill him!

  Luckily, the Ashtari reacted quickly and began converging on the ten mages. Most of their attacks never made it to Talon’s barrier, and twenty more Ashtari arrived, all converging on the mages. Then there was silence. Talon was breathing heavily, and his entire body was trembling. Sweat was dripping down his face, and his vision was starting to blur. He was pushing himself too hard, yet he refused to rest.

  Talon refreshed his body with more of the power. His vision returned; his breathing steadied itself. This wouldn’t last long, but at least he could focus a bit more now.

  The mages were being moved by various Ashtari, and the silver-haired woman came up to the group around Talon. “Think we got them all,” she said. Out of all the Ashtari, she didn’t look exhausted.

  Talon saw the dark red eyes and was convinced this Ashtari was blessed by Tarmella herself. That was what they said about red eyes and silver hair. She was very powerful for someone with roughly a year of training. The strongest power users throughout history had red eyes and silver hair. Unless he was recalling something wrong, she would surpass him someday, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

  “Bring me the leader,” Talon said.

  “On it, your grace,” one of the Ashtari said.

  The silver-haired Ashtari looked at him oddly. Talon wondered what she was thinking but quickly forgot as he saw Asagara being dragged over to him. The man was awake. His blood boiled at the sight of the mage. This man had done things to him and would suffer the consequences. This was a mage he couldn’t allow to live. The others wouldn’t get off so easily.

  Asagara looked up, and his eyes widened with fear. Oh, how it felt good to see the fear on Asagara’s face. It would have made Talon smile if he weren’t so angry. “For the crimes you committed against a king, I sentence you to death,” he said, his voice cold as ice. He raised his hand, getting ready to slice the mage in half. I need to kill him. This one doesn’t deserve to live a second longer. It was best to kill this one quickly. “Then I will move onto Zelena and who knows how many more.”

  “Wait!” Someone yelled, moving in front of him, blocking him from killing Asagara.

  “Get out of my way!” Talon roared and summoned more of the power. He could overwhelm the silver-haired Ashtari with ease. “Who do you think you are?”

  She kneeled, causing Talon to lose concentration, and the power almost left him. “My name is Aurora Sinclair. I mean no disrespect, your grace,” Aurora said, her head bowed.

  “You have a funny way of showing it,” Talon snarled.

  “Sire, if you kill any of the mages in cold blood, you will start a war with Mortham Tower. I don’t think we’re ready for such a fight, especially with the invaders coming,” Aurora said.

  “Get out of my way,” Talon said.

  “Sire, please, listen to reason. I get you’re angry. If you won’t listen to me, then strike me down,” Aurora said. She never moved from her spot, head bowed, waiting to see if he would deliver the strike.

  Talon almost struck her with the power but stopped himself at the last second. What am I doing? She and the other Ashtari just saved my life. Besides, she was right. If he executed any of the mages, Mortham Tower would come down on him. Even if his Ashtari could win, the cost wouldn’t be worth it.

  His anger was being overridden by common sense. With great effort, Talon forced his anger away and let go of the power. Without proper control of his emotions, he didn’t want to do something he would regret. “You’re right,” Talon said.

  To her credit, Aurora didn’t act like anything happened and only looked relieved. “You don’t have to kneel; you did well,” Talon said and stumbled. He found himself leaning against the wagon he had been tied to.

  “I can have someone heal you,” Aurora said.

  “Not yet,” Talon said. “First, I want to know who orchestrated this rescue.”

  A few of the Ashtari paled, but Aurora was the one who answered. “I did. I was the only one who left to check and see what was going on, and I accept full responsibility.”

  “Then I owe you my life; thank you for disobeying my foolish order,” Talon said. The other Ashtari relaxed, clearly, they hadn’t forgotten his earlier command. Aurora looked calm as if she knew there had been nothing to fear. A smart woman. “Now bring me a healer.”

  “Tol’Solie, come here,” Aurora said.

  A young woman stepped forward and walked up to Talon, who lifted his hand to stop her from getting too close. “Look me over before you heal me and tell me how long it would take to fully heal me,” he said.

  Tol’Solie nodded and stretched out her hands. Talon could feel her probing him with the power, locating all of his injuries. His back had dry blood crusted all over, and the splinters were fairly deep. It took her a couple of minutes before she removed her hands.

  “I can heal all your wounds now, but you won’t be able to move for a couple of days. You have many injuries, and some are internal, though nothing life-threatening,” Tol’Solie said.

  “Well, we can’t have that,” Talon said.

  “I can half-heal you. You’ll be tired, but you will be able to move. You’ll feel much better than you do now.”

  “Do it,” Talon said.

  Without hesitation, Tol’Solie raised her hands and started waving them around. Talon felt the familiar mist cover his body, and the pain started to fade. His various cuts started to close up, and the splinters began to come out of his back. She stopped, and he wanted to tell her to keep going, yet stopped himself as he felt his body tremble. Exhaustion was creeping up on him fast.

  Without saying anything, Talon stood straight and was glad to feel much better. He may be tired, and there were dull aches all over, but he could fight. Now it was time to deal with another problem.

  “Aurora, send some Ashtari to escort the mages to their prison. Have another tell Qidan what happened and then come back. Be quick; we have a battle to fight,” Talon said.

  “As you command,” Aurora said and started barking orders at the Ashtari.

  Talon watched the Ashtari move efficiently, taking her orders without question. It was clear who was going to be a leader from this batch of Ashtari. Aurora Sinclair; he would have to keep an eye on her, for she would be a great asset, one he would utilize.