Her raven landed on the man’s face.
The man screamed and fell backwards onto the sand.
“Nice shot,” called a familiar voice. Aydra turned, finding Dunthorne watching her, his foot against the chest of a man who was leaned forward towards him, his short swords crossed over the man’s neck. The blades sliced his throat, and Dunthorne kicked him to the ground.
Aydra’s brows raised. “You’ll show me that move later,” she told him.
Dunthorne grinned. “With pleasure.”
Behind!
Another bird calling to her diverted her attention. She whirled around and struck swords with the man over her head. He shouted as he blocked her advance. And when he pushed her backwards, her back caught against someone else’s.
“We should start every morning like this,” Lex called jovially to her.
Aydra almost laughed, and her sword caught the man’s throat then. “Blood. Adrenaline. Beautiful people fighting at our sides.” Her gaze caught Lex’s, and she grinned. “It’s the morning we’ve always waited for.”
Spear!
Aydra yanked she and Lex both to the ground suddenly as the thunk of the ballista being fired sounded in her ears. The bolt flew over their heads and went through the man that had been running at them.
The pair stood, watching the men who’s faces were pale as they stood frozen on either side of the great crossbow. The pair exchanged a short, raised brow glance, and Aydra twirled her sword in her hand.
“I think they want to die,” Lex said.
“We should oblige,” Aydra agreed.
The men quickly began to load another bolt. Aydra and Lex ran towards them, pushing back any men getting in their way. The men were faster loading it this time. Aydra had to duck once more as the spear came whizzing past her. She didn’t look to see where it landed this time.
Would you like me to take them? the raven asked.
This one’s mine.
Swords were drawn. The man on the left jumped from the weapon and met her on the beach. Their swords clashed left, grunts sounding as she battled him. She barely saw Lex join her, jumping onto the ballista and striking the lone man left on it.
The tip of Aydra’s opponent’s blade cut her cheek. Aydra stumbled, her fingers touching the sliced skin, and she felt blood trickle down her flesh. Her angered eyes rolled up to meet the man’s.
His gaze widened. Aydra’s jaw clenched as she gave him a deliberate once over.
The man dropped his sword, stepping backwards, and he fell to his knees as Aydra took one step towards him. Aydra kicked his sword away. His eyes closed, and he pressed his hands together, muttering words under his breath that she didn’t hear. She grasped him by his hair and pulled his head up to look at her.
“Who do you serve?” she demanded.
He opened his eyes, and his brows narrowed. “What—”
“I asked who you serve, stranger,” she repeated.
Behind!
Aydra swung her sword backwards without looking, and felt it hit flesh. The man’s head bounced onto the ground and landed at her feet. Aydra was still staring at the man in front of her. His eyes were widened at the sight of his companion’s head cut clean on the ground by his knees.
The sight of it must have sent some last minute surge of defiance through his bones, for his eyes rolled up, and he seethed, “Long live King Aeron of Mathis, ruler of Man,” before then spitting at her.
Her sword cut through his neck, and she let his hair go as the blood rushed out of his body. Her gaze met Lex’s on the ballista.
“Who the fuck is King Aeron?” Lex asked.
Aydra took a short glance around them. “What did he mean by ‘Man’?”
The battle continued to rage around them, and Aydra gave Lex a short nod. “Think you can handle that thing?” she asked.
Lex grinned. “Living the dream,” she said with a wink.
Aydra smirked at her. “Let’s finish this.”
Aydra ran from her side then. Her sword met and clashed with man after man as the sun continued to rise. Her birds dove and pecked the eyes of strangers, taking some down whole and eating them alive. She’d just turned her attention to a man coming up on her left when—
“My Queen! Your left!”
The noise of Ash’s voice made her cringe. She’d nearly forgotten he was there. She dove under the man’s parry, cutting his kneecaps, and then she sliced his head from his body just as Ash paused short beside her.
Aydra nearly sent the crows at him.
“You want to be useful, captain?” Aydra said, her sword pointed at his throat. “Kill the intruders and stop paying attention to what I’m doing.”
As to whether he listened to her order or not, she didn’t care. She turned on her heel and ran down the beach to the next kill.
Ash intervened a few more times, and each time she tried to run further down the beach away from him.
At one point, she battled a man in the surf, and one of the cannonstinger creatures had wrapped its lightning tentacles around her arm when she fell into the water.
The sand and sting of it made her blood boil.
So she made sure the man died a slow death by raven and crow peck.
Blood sprayed on her face with every kill, and she felt her hair coming undone from beneath the black fabric, the splay of her ginger curls growing with with every frustrated breath she took.
“Whoa—”
The noise of Draven’s voice didn’t startle her. She kicked her opponent to the ground and thrust her blade into his face before turning to Draven standing behind her. He moved the skull up so she could see his face, and he muttered, “Having some trouble?”
Frustration swelled through her, and she whipped the scarf he’d made her wear off her head. Her curls flayed out and over her shoulders wildly. Another man was coming at them behind Draven. She pulled an arrow through on her bow and it zoomed past Draven’s shoulder, making him flinch backwards as it went whizzing by him.
“Well—” her blade met
