Vin heard another holler, then sensed a life coming to an end. His broken arm and the bite wounds inflicted by a walking corpse ached. He took an involuntary step back, fearing, 'Did they find me? But my mind is secure, how?'

  The constant gossip of the nightmares was only a whisper in his head now, so they couldn't have known precisely where he was. Nevertheless, his past encounters made him nervous.

  The tree top ruffled, and a loud screech caused Vin to look up and see a large shadowy figure diving straight down. It didn't aim for anyone but crashed its body into a torch, killing its flame. After that, several more winged creatures dove into the camp, each taking out a fire and sinking the mortals into the forest's natural darkness.

  Just before all the light was gone, Vin caught a glimpse of one of the creatures. They were dark, red-eyed bats the size of a human. Each beast looked feral, flying wildly and hurling themself into the land, creating dirt explosions like a minefield. Ravenours scrambled to attack the monsters while they were grounded, but their make-shift weapons barely left scratches.

  Within a minute, all the light was gone, and the cold touch of void had enveloped them all. It wasn't a logical darkness. No, it slithered across the space, covering the living with a freezing, violating touch that made one's entire body shiver.

  Vin clutched his aching, broken arm, helpless to stop the shadows that wrapped him head to toe. When he was completely covered, he couldn't hear or see anything- like onyx-colored goggles were strapped to his face.

  He was blind. Deaf. Experiencing the truest form of darkness.

  He could only assume the god of the forest had been offended by their noise and light, disturbing the stillness they should have respected.

  Even with his senses impeded, Vin knew more people were perishing. He tried to create light with his spell of Marking, but the shadows only drowned it. Moments later, the living darkness showed him something.

  Nothing good.

  Amid the darkness, a man-like monster of pure shadows appeared. This thing saw Vin and immediately rushed him. He had enough Astral Ichor left to summon a sword and went in to kill the unarmed shadow. But, something was wrong.

  Very wrong.

  It just didn't line up. There were hundreds of Ravenours a second ago, but now he could only see a single shadow man?

  Vin's body exploded with restraint as his sword came to a halt at the creature's neck. He immediately pulled back and hurled himself out of the way of a powerful punch. A fiery anger warmed his body, angry at himself for letting his injuries hinder his senses. 'This is a Ravenour!'

  Their body had a generic, flowy form, making them impossible to discern as one of the half-dragons. Nevertheless, when Vin focused, he could sense their confused and frightened soul. Those bats weren't what was killing them; they were killing each other.

  Vin yelled out to tell the Ravenours, but not a peep. He could only avoid the enemy before him, each step pulling on and reopening his wounds with burning pulses of pain. Vin evaded another blow, but the slick leaves on the ground caused him to slip, and he stumbled. The powerful brute took advantage of his mistake and went for the kill.

  'I didn't want to do this,' Vin thought, prepared to thrust the sword into the confused man, who assumed they were fighting a monster.

  Vin could practically feel the blade entering their flesh until a brilliant flash of light erupted. Just as he'd hoped. Maeve had come through.

  "I knew you'd figure it out," he mumbled, squinting to combat the sudden shift in brightness.

  The living darkness silently wailed as it was assaulted by light. Vin and the rest of the Ravenours were freed from its clutches, and they could see their surroundings again. Even the person they were attempting to kill.

  Maeve stood shakily, hand in the air, holding an orb of merciful light. Her opponent was completely unharmed, while she had suffered a minor injury, indicating that she never tried to fight but cast her magic while avoiding them.

  "Sir!?" A Ravenour shouted, standing over Vin. They helped him up, questioning how he ended up on the ground where the monster was. With the shadows banished, everyone heard Maeve when she yelled, "Stop fighting! The forest is playing tricks on us!"

  The battle stopped; however, the damage was done. Several people had been beaten to death or on the verge of it. Kaelix wasn't far from Maeve, mounted on top of another member of the Scarlet Order. One who'd drawn their last breath. The General looked at his bloodied fist in utter dismay. It wasn't just him; many were appalled at what they had done, helping up the injured and begging forgiveness from people who had been their allies, friends, or family.

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  Maeve maintained the light as she limped over to Gideon and ensured he was okay. Evidently, he was tethered to Kane, who also realized it was an illusion. The ex-king, towering with two large dragon wings and horns, looked upon his daughter and nodded in praise of what she'd done. His face showed little emotion as he removed his royal fur cloak and laid it over the unconscious guard.

  Vin was a few paces away, gazing at the one-winged royal. He also wanted to go over and commend her, but it would have to wait. They found a temporary counter to the night, but the bats weren't completely deterred by the light. If anything, they became more aggressive and enraged.

  The red-eyed creatures went wild, flying sporadically and screeching so loud they emitted sound waves. Vin held his splitting head, harmed but still able to function. Maeve, on the other hand, buckled, her face twisting in agony. She tried to maintain her spell, but blood trickled from her long ears, and soon after, she wailed, clutching her head to block the noise.

  The magic was disabled, and the darkness swept back in, consuming the army and blinding them. They knew the shadow monsters were allies now, but they were still helpless to the attacks from bats who dove from the skies, ramming or biting into the flesh of the brutes.

  Vin concentrated on the souls around him, discerning Maeves. He reached her, kneeled before the half-elf, and hailed his archive of items. A pair of headphones materialized in his hand, and he hastily propped them over her ears.

  'Com'on,' he thought, grabbing her freezing face with his warm hands. The sides of her cheeks were wet with what he knew was the blood that dripped from her pointed ears. He frowned, 'I know it sucks, but we need you to fight through the pain.'

  As if sensing his dependence on her, she pushed forth. Maeve stood, and another brilliant orb of light banished the darkness again. The bats shrieked even louder, but the headphones curbed the effects of the high-pitched wave.

  The royal looked at Vin and nodded as if drawing strength from him. Holding onto the will to endure just a little longer.

  "Master!" Bonely shouted into his mind. Vin broke his gaze away from Maeve, snapped around, and swung his sword at one of the creatures that dived directly at her. His poor technique carried the blade across its solid chest instead of its head, and the bat beast crashed into him, sending him barreling away from their light bearer.

  Vin fought through the pain of his many injuries, rose, and dashed back to her defense. Another feral creature swooped toward Maeve before he returned, but a large, concrete man jolted in front of her. Kaelix prevented the attack. Not only did he stop the monster, but he wrapped his sole arm around its body and slammed it onto the ground. Tristen wasn't far behind, so Vin tossed the sword into more capable hands, and the pink-haired guard drove the blade into the beast's skull.

  'He saved Maeve?' Vin thought, peering at the savage General, whose eyes were sharp and murderous. Lethal, as if war and vanity were the entirety of his existence. Kaelix released the bat once it died and stood slowly, facing away from Vin and the princess as if uninterested in them.

  Without so much as a hint of malice, he swiftly turned and punched Tristen, knocking him down. Kaelix's eyes were shallow, morally unbothered as he snatched the sword from the young man and blasted the blade toward the human he'd disdained.

  'As if,' Vin thought, standing perfectly still. Neither he nor anyone associated with the Violet Order trusted the General. A familiar soul had been watching from nearby, and as soon as Kaelix acted, Hughton rushed in, and his sword clashed with theirs.

  Hughton was middle-aged and not as hefty as the vicious General, but he was a bonafide killer. The bearded man's lip flipped up in disgust as he examined the one-armed warrior with unsymmetrical scars on his face. "Perhaps I remove your other arm to even you out."

  Wrath spread across Kaelix's face, his scales seemingly scalding red. He roared, exerting a barbaric force that pushed Hughton back a step. The savage carried that heated stance into a wide arching swing that killed a bat that had snuck up on them. The monster dived in so fast that even Vin didn't see it coming, yet Kaelix did, even doing so while fighting with Hughton.

  "Now isn't the time!" Maeve shouted, all the fighters glancing at her momentarily. There were dozens of bats encroaching, all with a mindless dedication to one goal. No matter what, the light had to end.

  Two more of the beast dove toward Maeve, and Hughton and Kaelix dispatched of them. Tristen was furious, growling under his breath at the man who had struck him without warning, but he wouldn't leave the young royal's side at such a crucial time. Vin hailed a sword for Antsy, and the four of them, even though incompatible, defended their light bearer.

  Every now and then, Kaelix would shift as if about to attack Vin, but Hughton would glare at them, letting him know he was attentive. The only thing stopping another brawl was their shared goal of keeping Maeve alive. Even Kaelix wasn't so caught up in his revenge that he would allow her to die, as that would sentence everyone to their demise, even himself and the members of the Scarlet Order.

  Every Ravenour did their best to endure, and thanks to Maeve, they prevailed for the time being. But the struggle was exhausting. The waves of enemies were endless, and after an hour of a tireless skirmish, they slowed. Vin hadn't sustained any new wounds, but the old ones had been stirred and were bleeding freely. From the battle at the Sun Market to facing the undead to now, there was very little time to fully heal.

  Even the fierce Kaelix and Hughton became more worn; each creature that dived toward the young royal got closer and closer. Even worse, Maeve's mana was constantly depleting. She developed a heavy pant, her body sweaty and shaky. Any normal person would have collapsed from that level of magic usage, but the princess endured for her people.

  It appeared as if they'd just barely sustain. But then, the sky became filled with even more enemies out of nowhere.

  A riotous roar echoed. One that sent traumatic trembles through the bodies of all the battered Ravenours. Something much worse than giant bats was introduced to an already deadly situation. Vin's brows arched inward in anger when he heard a man from the outer army shout, "Elves!"

  He didn't think it was possible, but things somehow got worse.