There was a sense of urgency burning through me as we fought our way down to the third level. Looking farther down, I saw the thick frost walls that the Dhaxanians had put up, blocking access into the city from the first level. They’d isolated several daemon squadrons from the rest of the army, and, with the help of Manticores, Adlets, and rebel Imen and Maras, they’d managed to kill most of them off.

It didn’t help that there were still Maras loyal to the Lords down here, but my crew and I had cut off plenty of their heads along the way. I estimated at least a hundred, maybe a hundred and fifty Exiled Maras left in the city. The streets and market squares were littered with bodies, blood glazing the cobblestone and smoke coming out of partially torn-down buildings.

The daemons were launching rounds of stones and flaming projectiles into the city and past the Dhaxanian frost, in a bid to destroy Azure Heights’s structures. It was the daemons’ way of telling us that we couldn’t hide behind the ice forever.

The daemon army roared at the bottom, hitting their meranium shields with their swords. Blaze flew over them and delivered fiery jets at them, while the daemons scrambled to move their ballistae and get him with the massive steel arrows. Unfortunately for them, the dragon had learned valuable lessons back at Ragnar Peak. However, one dragon wasn’t enough to destroy thousands of daemons at once. It was only a matter of time before somebody shot him down.

Things were eerily quiet on the second level. The front part of the neighborhood had Manticores, Adlets, and Dhaxanians lined up and aiming their crossbows at the frost walls below. The infirmary was partially demolished, with clouds of dust billowing out. Our crew spread out, picking up bows and quivers and crossbows from the fallen rebels. The Imen were putting up a good fight, but they’d also registered the largest number of casualties. It broke my heart to watch them point their arrows at the frost walls, while doing their best not to look back and get glimpses of their fallen comrades.

“What’s happening here?” I asked one of the Dhaxanians.

He pointed at the frost walls. “Those won’t hold for much longer,” he said. “We’re not giving up on this level yet. We’re looking to bottleneck the daemons once they break through the frost, before we retreat up to the third level.”

I nodded firmly, then pointed at Scarlett, Patrik, and the others. “You’ve got us here, too. Whatever you need, you tell us.”

“We could use a couple more of those dragons,” the young Dhaxanian replied with a smirk.

“They’re on their way,” I said. “The shield is down. It’s a matter of minutes now. But, until then, we need to hold out here.”

“What happened to the infirmary?” Jax asked, frowning as he stared at the ravaged structure.

“Catapults,” the Dhaxanian replied. “I just hope your people got out of there first. We can’t spare anyone to look for survivors now. We’ve lost dozens of our own and—dammit, it’s coming down!” he shouted, readying his bow.

I followed his gaze and froze. A large crack stretched from the top to the bottom of the ice wall, just where it encompassed the main road into the city.

Jax motioned for Patrik to keep the crew in their positions. “Get ready, Druid! Cover the allies! Hansa and I will check the infirmary!”

Patrik replied with a nod, then moved toward the main road, joined by Scarlett, Fiona, Caia, Rayna and Idris, Ryker, Wyrran, Peyton, and their rebels, as well as the Adlets. The daemons were smashing swords and axes against the frost wall. Soon enough, they were going to breach it.

“Oh, no. Heron!” Avril screamed.

She darted from my side and headed for the infirmary, where chunks of stone started to move. Jax and I followed. My heart jumped into my throat as fear clutched me. Harper had told us about the switch, which meant that if Heron was there, so was the swamp witch.

“How do you know he’s there?” I asked Avril.

She jumped over a pile of rubble and feverishly started digging through the ruins. “I caught his scent!” she replied, her voice trembling. “Heron! Heron, can you hear me? I’m coming!”

Jax and I joined in and started pulling the rubble back, looking for Heron and the witch. To my surprise, we found Velnias first. He was unconscious and severely wounded, but still breathing. It took both Jax and me to pull the big guy out.

We found the floor beneath the debris. It was covered in daemon bodies and coagulated blood, dirt, and dust. I caught a glimpse of a hand, its fingers long and its skin pale. I prayed to the Daughters that it was one of ours and that its owner was still alive.

Avril kept digging through the rubble, tossing large stones aside like they were made out of paper. The adrenaline was coursing through us all as we kept clearing the front room of the infirmary. I got the second guy out. It was Nevis, and he was severely wounded as well. Next to him was a burly, dead daemon. Jax turned the horned head around for me to see.

“That’s a high-level warrior,” I breathed.

“Look at this,” Jax muttered, picking up a piece of a broken sword. There were swamp witch symbols engraved into the blade, much like the ones we’d seen on Shaytan’s sword. “Soul-eater.”

I gasped, then checked Nevis from head to toe. “Oh, dear,” I murmured, discovering a nasty wound in Nevis’s shoulder. The broken tip of the daemon warrior’s soul-eating blade was lodged in there, the symbols still glowing yellow. I pulled it out and tossed it to the side, then put pressure on his wound. “I’m out of healing paste!”

Jax fumbled through his pockets and found another satchel. He brought it over, giving Nevis a concerned frown. “How is he?”

“Unconscious and with his soul probably in tatters, but alive,” I muttered, spreading the healing paste over his shoulder wound. His armor had partially come off, the white silk blouse beneath covered in blood.

Nevis stirred and groaned. His eyes peeled open. Jax bit into his wrist, drawing blood. He pushed it against Nevis’s lips. “Drink, friend. You’ll be okay,” he said.

The Dhaxanian prince looked at us both, then nodded and drank some of Jax’s blood.

Avril yelped. She’d found Heron. Jax left me with Nevis and rushed across the piles of rubble to help her. Nevis and I watched as they pulled Heron out, then Lumi. Avril took care of Heron, while Jax helped Lumi back to consciousness. They were both okay, just dazed and severely cut up. Nothing that couldn’t be healed with some vampire or Mara blood.

Relief washed over me, and I shifted my focus back to Nevis.

“What happened?” I asked him.

He grunted from the pain and forced himself into a sitting position.

“They were holed up in the infirmary,” he replied, slowly looking around. “Daemons started coming in. Lumi’s protections weren’t permanent, and she needed to finish her incantation to take down the shield. Velnias, Heron, and I fought the daemons. Sienna and Tobiah, and Dion and Alles, plus a few others, had taken positions outside.”

“Those daemons were from Shaytan’s private guard,” I said.

“Well, they got more backup quickly after that.” Nevis scoffed. “Lumi took the shield down. I moved to freeze everything but got attacked by a considerably large daemon. The bastard had come from the first level. He’d broken through our frost with his stolen swamp witch magic. What’s worse, he had a nasty blade. Whenever it cut me, it drained my energy. It got to the point where I couldn’t make any ice, at all. I was reduced to fighting him physically. Then there was the blast. I’m guessing catapult?”

I nodded. “Yes. As for the fiend, he’s dead. And his sword was a soul-eater. I’ve only seen this on Shaytan’s blade earlier,” I replied. “It drains your soul whenever it hits your sword. It’s a lot worse if it cuts through you.”

Nevis’s eyes grew wide with outrage. “Are you telling me that horned bastard ate my soul?”

“Some of it, yes. I’m so sorry.”

“They’re okay!” Jax confirmed, prompting me to look at them. I smiled at the sight of Heron, Velnias, and Lumi fully conscious.

“Hold on!” Nevis barked, visibly infuriated. “He ate my damn soul! My frost! I can’t…” He shook his head slowly, raising his hand and staring at it. “I can’t make any ice. I’m… I’m powerless.”

“Come on, let’s get you up and worry about your frost later,” I said, then put his arm over my shoulders and pulled him up. “We need to get you all out of here and onto a higher level.”

I heard Avril gasp. “Oh, no…”

Both Nevis and I followed her gaze. She cleared more rubble from the southeastern corner of the infirmary, revealing Dion and Alles. They were both dead. They’d been crushed by the broken walls. I instantly teared up.

“What about Tobiah and Sienna?” Heron asked, looking around.

He stilled, spotting something under a large chunk of stone. He rushed over and pulled it back. Jax quickly came to assist him. They cleared the spot, then got Tobiah and Sienna out—the daemon had shielded the young Mara with his body. They were both severely wounded, but they would eventually heal.

“We need to get them all out of here,” I said.

We could all hear the daemons roaring. They were seconds away from breaking through the ice wall. Nevis cursed under his breath. Velnias managed to stand.

“They’re coming through,” he muttered, frowning at the cracked frost.

“Well, I certainly can’t help at this point, since a daemon chomped on my damn soul!” Nevis snapped.

“Hey! Calm down! We’ll figure something out,” I shot back firmly. “Before anything else, we need to get you all back up there. Especially you, Nevis. You’re injured and weak.”

“Both of which haven’t occurred to me since I was a little boy,” Nevis muttered. “The perks of being friends with you people, I suppose.”

Heron chuckled. “Well, he’s still snappy, so that means he’ll be just fine.”

Nevis gave him a deadly stare. Heron was unimpressed. He picked up Sienna, while Velnias took Tobiah. Avril took care of Lumi, and Jax came back to Nevis and me. We got away from the infirmary and were headed back up the road leading to the third level, when the allies’ shouts stopped us in our tracks.

“Get ready!” one of the Dhaxanians said.

I glanced over my shoulder and groaned. “Ugh, they’re about to break through.”

“We need to move—” Jax didn’t get to finish his statement, as Corrine appeared out of nowhere, right in front of us.

I gasped. “What in the ever-living—” I started, but she cut me off.

“I cannot tell you how glad I am to see you all here,” Corrine said, beaming with joy.

“Good grief, you’re real,” I breathed.

“Corrine! You’re really here!” Avril exclaimed.

“There’s no time now,” she replied. “Take these. One for each.”

She handed us a handful of gemstones. We each took one, as instructed. I put one in Nevis’s hand, while Jax and Heron did the same with Tobiah and Sienna.

“What are these?” I asked, frowning at the small crystal in my palm.

“Your way out,” Corrine replied. “Ibrahim, Shayla, Arwen, and the Daughters are here, too, doing the same with all the survivors and innocents. It’s about to go down here, but we need you out first.”

“Wait, what?” Avril blurted out, somewhat confused.

Corrine smiled. “Sweetie, it’s time to go. Your parents and friends are waiting out there in the field. We need to get everyone out because there are dragons coming.”

“Oh. Dragons. Plural…” Velnias murmured, his eyes nearly popping out of their orbits.

“Wow, you’re a big guy,” Corrine exclaimed, looking him from head to toe with an appreciative smirk. Velnias couldn’t help but grin, all of a sudden flattered.

“I don’t look my age, I know,” he replied.

“And you’re not an enemy, either,” Corrine concluded. “I see lots of your people trying to kill mine down there.”

“Not something I want to see happen again, rest assured,” Velnias said.

Corrine clapped her hands once. “Okay now! Everybody out, while I get the others!”

“Out where?” I asked, but quickly got my answer when she snapped her fingers.

One by one, my crew disappeared. Poof. Like clouds blown away by a sudden gust of wind. I lost all sense of time and space. For a split second, everything went dark.

I’d been decomposed into the tiniest of particles, soon to be reassembled elsewhere.

I was out of Azure Heights. Away from the war.