Free Golden by Melissa de La Cruz Page B

demanded.
    Nat shook her head miserably. “I don’t know. Didn’t she come through after we did?” But Nat knew she hadn’t. She had seen the Queen fall to her knees. It had taken all of Wes’s strength to break the Queen’s magic. There was no way he could have known what would happen next. He’d only tried to save her, to bring Nat with him, to save the one he loved. But to do that had taken all of his strength, and that power had torn the portal open, leaving it vulnerable to their enemies.
    â€œI didn’t know . . . I didn’t think . . . It’s all my fault. I did this,” said Wes, utterly stricken.
    â€œNo, I did,” she said. “You did nothing wrong.” There was no doubt in Nat’s mind that this was her fault; she had caused this. The Queen had forbidden her to enter. She had brought death to Vallonis. She, who had sworn to protect Vallonis, had as much as doomed the place.
    I am nothing but a pretender.
    A weapon.
    A monster.
    A tree exploded in the distance. The impact was so powerful that the sylphs themselves were tossed into the air by the force of the explosion.
    In the distance, a castle tower crumbled when a second shell struck its midsection. Now they watched as artillery fire lit the forest. Ancient trees burst into flame. Destruction surrounded them, once again.
    As the skies overhead filled with drones, as the winged horses of Vallonis circled and acrid smoke drifted through the sunshine, Nat knew this would be the last stand for the Blue. There was no going back from here as the two worlds were colliding and the corruption was far too great to hold back now. Maybe it was inevitable, maybe it was her fault, but nothing would have stopped this from happening someday.
    Even so, she didn’t mean to go down without a fight.
    If she was a weapon and a monster, she was their weapon, their monster. She didn’t pretend to be anything else. All she’d ever wanted was to come home, to be in a place where she belonged.
    â€œTell us what to do,” said Wes, his voice cutting through her thoughts. “Tell us how we can stop this.”
    He didn’t have to say it, because she knew what he was really saying.
You are not alone. This is our fight as well.
    Nat felt a rush of adrenaline and a fierce, angry joy. She motioned for the crew and the rest of the sylphs to gather around her.
    â€œIf we cannot close the gate, then we must defend it!” she cried. “We must defend our land! Sound the call, spread the word! To arms!”
    Wes threw her a sword and she raised it high.
    The sylphs were already in motion, meeting fire with blazing arrows of their own, diving through the air on winged horses while they called on lightning to strike their foes. Soon, it was difficult to see them in their cloud of smoke.
    Nat ran to the head of the charge as more sylphs and smallmen emerged from their homes in the forests and the mountains to join the battle. Wes grabbed a thick-bladed axe from a passing cart and tossed it to Shakes, stealing another for himself. Roark found a blade from the cart, while Brendon took one off a riderless horse left tied to a waiting tree.
    Liannan and Nat began to work their magic, and one by one, the people of Vallonis rallied to its defense.
    If this was the end of their world, they would not go quietly.
    Her blood running high, Nat threw herself into the fray. She had once been was the protector of Vallonis, and she had fought to save this place. Now Vallonis would fight at her side.
    In the midst of the sylphs was one who stood above the rest, who was taller than any other, and fairer, too. He wore armor that looked like steel, but it shone with an ethereal light, an otherworldly glow so intense it made Nat shade her eyes. He wore a cloak of purple, deep as dried blood, and his hair was the color of snow. He was drau. One of the formidable. The feared heartrenders of Vallonis.
    â€œRally to