Wynn cruised through the air like a smooth javelin toss. The Zevolra lagged a decent amount behind as Wynn landed, skipping on the layer of water over the pavement of Caster’s Court.

“How’d it go?” I screamed from Betty’s boney back.

“I don’t know! Mozer’s up in a bone crown on top of the Zevolra’s head! I hurled some fireballs, but I don’t know if it did much. Need to keep trying!”

The Zevolra soared over Nezura. Crowds of people screeched as Telyos repeated, “Everyone keep calm! The situation is in the right hands!”

Betty ran towards Wynn without my command and trembled. She grabbed Wynn with her boney arm and dragged her further away from the fountain.

“What’s the big idea, Max?” she asked.

“I don’t know; Betty just did it by herself!”

The Zevolra hovered over Caster’s Court, curling up its wings and plummeting below. It squashed the marble fountain, flattening Akara’s statue into dust and rubble. The debris flowed like a river from the heavy rain as the Zevolra lowered its head. Mozer grinned from behind the bone crown. “So you have a boyfriend? What’s his—”

Wynn hurled a fireball the size of a carriage wheel at Mozer, but it dissolved into nothing upon impact of the crown.

“Keep trying, sweetie.” Mozer chuckled. “This is hilarious. I take it the fate of Nezura rests in both of your hands? That’s laughable. Neither of you are worth your salt compared to the Nobles. Not that they have much more worth, but they’re a better challenge. Now come, girl, give me a kiss.” Mozer pressed his face against the bone crown and puckered his lips with widened eyes.

All I could think of was Uncle Leopold dying at Mozer’s hands.

“Do the spell!” Wynn commanded.

I couldn’t get it started. Mozer’s eyes. That face. Mozer haunted my psyche for many years, lurking in the shadows without me realizing it. It all resurfaced. Uncle Leopold died because of his tyranny.

“Max! The spell!” Wynn urged.

“I heard that.” Mozer rolled his eyes. The Zevolra leaped forward like a playful cat to crush us, but Betty clutched Wynn and sprinted away. The park quaked as the Zevolra landed.

“I owe you my life!” I yelled at Betty.

The Zevolra spun around with surprising speed and jumped up, taking flight into the air again. “Watch your city get demolished!” Mozer howled as the Zevolra flew downtown.

“No!” Wynn shot up in the air and blasted past the front of the Zevolra, shooting multiple fireballs at the bone cage, but Mozer was untouched. The Zevolra swiped with its left claw and grazed Wynn’s leg, causing her to spiral down.

Betty ran up to the edge of Caster’s Court to get a closer look. I feared the worst—Wynn was about to collide with the Bone Tower—but a gust of wind rocketed from her heels. She recovered and bulleted back up towards the Zevolra. Throwing her hands forward, she charged an enormous fireball. The blistering, miniature sun exploded into a stream of flames, coating the entire bone prison. Mozer’s shriek echoed through the city. The Zevolra groaned and flapped its wings backward.

“She did it!” Betty and I jumped in celebration, but my smile disappeared as Wynn fell to the ground. This time, she was lifeless. “Vlark! What can we do!” She plummeted, and just as she was about to disappear in the sea of buildings, she flipped herself upright and treaded in the air. The Zevolra steadied its smooth glide, but something caught its attention northbound. Wynn took it as a chance to fly away from the Zevolra and sped back to Caster’s Court.

“Thank goodness you’re alive! I was so scared!” I said, and Wynn collapsed in the two-inch layer of water covering Caster’s Court.

“I’m exhausted.” She grumbled.

“What happened over there? What got its attention?”

* * *

The Zevolra landed in front of the Nezura gate, standing in the wide-open field, holding its neck high. Mozer gazed below, smirking. Horses sprinted across the horizon. Lara and Holtmeyer led the two chariots in front with a battalion from the Silver Army racing behind.

“Well, Lara,” Mozer boomed, “seeing as the king is still alive, they should follow my command if they don’t wish to die! After all, they’re still my army!”

The battalion pulled out arrows and spears.

* * *

Telyos stood at the top of Skull Tower, staring through the window slit in the circular chamber. There was no mistake; he saw his sister at the forefront of the army, and his heart sank. Tears escaped the corner of his eyes. It was her. It really was her. He wanted nothing more than to hug her. Maya stood beside him in the chamber, watching the commotion as well. He turned to her and bowed.

“Maya, I have to go. I hope you understand.”

“Where to?”

“My sister has come, and I know Wynn told us not to do anything, but I’d rather die by her side fighting than sit here and watch.”

Maya bowed. “Of course. I’ll make announcements accordingly.”

* * *

Wynn pushed herself up from the ground and darted her eyes north. “Max, I’m not sure what’s happening over there, but the Zevolra is stationary. I’ve lost energy for any fire blasts, but I have an idea.”

“What? Anything!”

“I need some time to recharge, but I can fly us over there in the meantime. While it’s distracted, you have to pull off the bone-crushing curse on the crown. It’s the only thing I can think of. Mozer is invincible in that thing. That should be enough time for me to regain my spark.”

“Hold on! What do you mean, fly us over there?”

Without saying a word, Wynn took a deep breath and lifted Betty on her back while I was still on Betty’s spine.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Wynn soared into the sky with a gale-force coming from her heels. In an instant, the buildings in Nezura shrank, and I was hovering over the city with a bird's-eye view. The rain fell lighter the closer we were to the clouds. Wynn’s flight arched like a rainbow, and we were getting close to the apex.

“Are you crazy?!” I screamed.

“Get ready to focus! We’re about to descend! Then you have to crush that bone crown!”

***

“My beautiful Silver Army, you all know who your rightful commander is. Kill Lara and Holtmeyer! They’re nothing but traitors! And then come claim Nezura with me! Relish in the glory of the day we’ve waited so long for,” Mozer yelled from the top of the Zevolra crown. “I could’ve recruited you all for this battle, but I didn’t, saving your lives! You all owe me!”

Lara held up a sword sky-high as the Silver Army aimed their bows, javelins, swords, and throwing axes directly at Mozer.

“I think you see where their loyalty lies,” Lara yelled.

“Fine, go ahead, try it, attack me. Maybe then you can comprehend what you’re up against!” Mozer shouted.

Lara boomed, “3. 2. 1. Attack!”

The Silver Army unleashed their weapons, cutting through the rain, but everything bounced off the resilient bone crown.

“Okay, that’s enough of that. Now you’re going to learn why you made a mistake. I’ll make an example out of half of you.” The Zevolra lifted its massive claw and hammered it down over the infantry.

“Bone lance!” a voice cried out. A brilliant green spike of light shot across the field, flanking the Zevolra from the side. It struck the Zevolra’s arm before it could flatten the Silver Army. The monster groaned and recoiled until its back was against the gate.

“Are you kidding me? You can’t handle a stupid spell!” Mozer screamed.

Lara saw who shot the bone lance, and her heart dropped. It was her brother, Telyos. He stood by himself as his knees wobbled and he collapsed to the ground.

“Stay here!” Lara said to Holtmeyer as she sprinted to her brother’s side.

“Let’s give this another try!” Mozer commanded, but the Zevolra quivered.

* * *

“I’m going to have to crush the bone prison?” I yelped, arms still wrapped tightly around Betty’s neck with every inch of strength. The view was breathtaking, but I couldn’t admire the lime-yellow glow of Nezura on a rainy evening. I had to focus. I clutched onto Princess Nezalon’s crown for a moment.

We reached the top of the arc, and I swore I saw a glimpse of the sunset through a tunnel of clouds. Maybe I was crazy, but at that moment, something magical happened. It was like I couldn’t control my hands. I ripped out my uncle’s ivory blade from my pocket and clutched it.

The words burst through my mind like a raging river through a dam.

Death comes to those innocent and guilty

I concoct the spell of greatest responsibility

It should never be the first, always the last

Resort. Contort. Crush. And demolish.

Or a structure no more can prosper

The only method I should foster

It can break barriers or walls

But its intent is always for all

Unity.

Toting the thin line

Of death and life

I take in, I ensure,

Virtue in my conjure

I wet my brush in death’s goblet

The tip of the blade shined bright red, and I stabbed my hand, descending towards the Zevolra. The bone prison locked in my sight. Time stood still.

But this paint will create beauty in life.

This paint will create beauty in life.

A giant black cube zoomed around in my head, but it stopped just as it was about to knock me off balance. I saw Akara, Mr. Cole, and Uncle Leopold pushing the cube, causing the entire block to crumble. I stared at them in awe.

My head felt like it was submerged in muck.

“Uuuuuuuuuuu didddddditttttttttttttttt!”

Our descent felt like a slow pull underwater.

“Youuuuuuu diiiiiid ittttttttttttt!” It was Wynn's voice but deeper than I remembered.

“Huh?” I blurted, but my voice rumbled my skull, nausea and vertigo created a lovechild that turned my brain into a sloshing soup.

“Youuuuuuu diiiiiid it!” Wynn cried out, the world rushing back to normal. Physics, gravity, time, and speed all came back to what I remembered.

“What!” I yelled, and it came out perfectly fine, but I’d never felt so tired in my life. My body felt like it had been wrung out like a washcloth.

“Look!” Wynn yelled.

The crown’s spears cracked at the tip, the Zevolra let out a piercing shriek. The cracks expanded, jagged black lines invaded the crown, and spread throughout the rest of the body. It kept groaning, and Mozer screamed. The crown shattered like panes of glass, and the rest of the bones crumbled. The arms, the legs, the wings, the torso, the neck, and finally, the head all burst into shards.

Wynn gently landed Betty and me to the ground. Wynn collapsed upon setting foot on the earth, falling next to Telyos and a woman I recognized as the king’s assistant, Lara. I slid off Betty, landing on my back. Every muscle ached with dull pain.

Mozer stood on a pile of broken bones and stared at his army without a glimpse of fear. His lips curled crookedly from ear-to-ear as the infantry prepared their bows, spears, and throwing axes.

“3…” Mozer counted down.

Holtmeyer arched his brow and threw up his sword. “Attack!” Holtmeyer hollered. The infantry launched their projectiles. Not every single toss was accurate, but the ones that hit Mozer bounced right off, and he chortled.

Mozer wandered over to Wynn and me, still on the ground. I wanted to scurry away, but I didn’t have the energy. Betty grabbed Wynn and tried to pull her out, but Wynn batted away her hand.

“I have to stay! Pull Max away!” Wynn yelled.

Betty ran up to me and dragged me, but I said, “No, I must stay with Wynn!”

“Oh shut up, all of you. I’ll kill you off one by one. Don’t even worry about it.” Mozer towered over Wynn and beamed.

“Fight me!” Lara charged after Mozer and threw a flurry of punches and chops, but Mozer dodged each one, smiling. It was effortless for him.

“You’ve had your fun.” Mozer gripped Lara’s wrist and threw her to the ground with pulverizing force. “I want to kiss the Vyrux. Can you imagine the power in those lips? I’m salivating at the thought. I must have them.”

“Vlark you!” Wynn screeched, and Mozer’s grin stretched tightly over his face.