A Court of Song and Shadow

Chapter 50

Do not allow father to know you are here.

That had been Rhysand's only demand, and I was about to break it--with the help of Mor. The boys had last seen me in Illyrian armor and believed me to be in the same legion of the foot soldiers.

How foolish of them to believe I would fight next to Illyrian men.

The three of them were scattered throughout the battlefield and I had no idea when the next time I would see them would be. I look down at my all white Valkyrie armor as Mor hands me the Valkyrie diadem to wear atop my braided hair.

Mor and I reach the hill that is mostly covered by trees, so we can see the battlefield--but nobody down there can see us. My heart drops at the vastness of Hybern's armies, his soldiers cover as far as the eye can see. Horrible monsters fly overhead of his army, and I cannot see where he stands amongst his army from this far away. I look on our side and see a considerable amount of soldiers, not nearly as many as Hybern's--but enough. I look to the empty area below, where the Valkyrie were supposed to be, my heart drops at the legion of Hybern soldiers across from that empty spot. Rhys, Cass, and Az were all speaking how that opening would be a problem in our flanks, but my father did not believe so. So I will make sure it is not a problem, even if I have to face an entire legion by myself. I finally make out where the King of Hybern stands and watch as he and the highlords walk away from trying to negotiate and raise the swords for battle, I nod to Mor.

Now.

She lifts up the Valkyrie's battle horn and blows, the sound casting over the entire battlefield. I pull my power from my siphons made from moonstone, all eight of them--my last gift from Kàra-- as I allow my shadows to begin to cover the clouds above where I begin to ride Sigrun. I kick as hard as I can as I leave Mor behind on the hilltop, knowing she will be safe until she finds her place on the battlefield. Every single soldier, on both sides, seem to turn to watch me. I do not let the nerves get the best of me as I jump off of Sigrun and hold my head up high as I stand in front of thousands of Hybern's soldiers, most of them laugh but some of them have the intelligence to look scared.

They should be.

I find where the King of Hybern stands, atop of a small hill surrounded by his generals. I unsheathe Arktos and I point it to him--a promise. Everybody seems to pause to see what I am about to do, and I smirk.

Good.

I want the world to witness that I can destroy anybody who stands in my way.

I sheathe my sword behind my back, and open my hands on either side of me. I close my eyes, and begin pulling the powers from my siphons as memories of the Valkyrie flood through me, a whole race of warriors--destroyed by Hybern just because he wanted to--and it was my fault. I had convinced the Valkyrie to join our cause-- and look where they ended up because of me. I will make him pay for everything he has ever done, even if it will be the death of me.

I open my hands and unleash my power along with an earth shattering scream, I think of how I felt when I misted those guards and use that feeling to place into my powers. Waves of shadows and violet power aim for the guards so quickly that they did not have any time to react. One moment, thousands of Hybern's stood in front of me and the next--

Droplets of ash and blood scatter through the wind where they just stood.

The battlefield becomes so quiet I can hear my own heartbeat, I fall to one knee as blackness begins to form in the corner of my vision and I feel my energy fading fast. The power that I unleashed comes right back to me--the siphons sucking it back in. I discovered I could do that only two days ago when I tested the moonstones out for the first time, and I take a deep breath as all of my power restores itself. I hear the King of Hybern command his army to charge, and I watch as the mortals and the courts of pyrthian crash amongst each other. I throw my hand out to Sigrun and my shadows wrap around her as they transport her back into the stables, I will not risk her life. I winnow myself in the legion where I knew Cass would be fighting because Rhys would be fighting beside my father and I knew I could not go there, and Az---I did not even feel Azriel on the battlefield currently.