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  “Gather here!” Argus shouted to the Seraphim. They immediately obeyed. Kael watched the faces of the men and women. They appeared calm and composed despite their fear, and eager for Argus’s instructions so they might finally enter the fight. It seemed silly, but that made Kael feel better. If others were calm in the face of this storm, then he could be, too.

  Argus relayed the plan before dividing the Seraphim into five squads. As the names reeled off, Kael realized his name wasn’t called, nor was Clara’s, Bree’s, or Saul’s. When the other groups broke, the four remained standing about Argus, confused.

  “You four were a squad during the fireborn invasion,” their commander told them. “And by all reports you also performed magnificently assaulting the Crystal Cathedral. Given Bree’s importance, and Clara’s nobility, I have a different plan in mind for Phoenix Squad.”

  Kael glanced at his sister, saw her apprehension.

  “I hope you’re not planning to send us away from the battle,” she said.

  “Quite the opposite,” Argus said. “I want you four to fly underneath Weshern, travel along the far southeastern side, and then ambush the outermost edge of Center’s forces. After that, move from east to west raking the front line. You have complete freedom to choose your engagements. Flee deeper into unconquered territory if the numbers are too overwhelming. My hope is that when you encounter one of our five other squads, the surprise of your arrival, coupled with its ferocity, will tilt the scales in our favor.”

  He turned to Clara, and he spoke with surprising bluntness.

  “Should we somehow endure, and yet you die, I will stand before your parents and tell them in all honesty I gave you four the safest of tasks, to hit and run at your own discretion. If you wish to be more aggressive, that is on your head. Is that understood?”

  Clara stood up straighter, and she did not wither beneath that gaze.

  “Understood,” she said.

  “Good.” He turned the knob of his right gauntlet, arming the ice prism within. “I will be commanding the center force. I look forward to your joining us, should you survive that long.”

  His wings flared and up he went, taking lead of the other dozen Seraphs waiting patiently for their commander. Kael glanced among the four, excitement battling dread in his heart.

  “Well,” Bree said, and she cracked a grin. “Who’s ready to follow me to certain death?”

  “I’m sure as shit not,” Saul said. “But I’ll be right there if you change your mind and lead us to victory instead.”

  “To victory, then,” Kael said, and he raised an imaginary glass. “It’s better than the alternative.”

  The others smiled and raised their own imaginary glasses. It felt stupid and immature but they were a group now, alone and facing a war unheard-of since the time of Ascension. Bad jokes were better than tears.

  “All right, then,” Bree said. “Let’s go kill some knights.”

  Bree took the lead, Kael and Clara trailing just to her sides and Saul flying middle to form a wedge. They kept parallel to the distant forces of Center, their wings pushed to their maximum. The minutes dragged long and painful. Kael watched the conflict as best he could but they were too far away to see much except for when the cannons fired another salvo. The destruction looked like a plague slowly sickening and eating away at Weshern’s healthy surface. Within a day or two, nothing would remain.

  Marius would have us all dead than free of his rule, thought Kael. He would have preferred the Speaker sent Weshern crashing to the ocean instead like L’adim did with Galen. At least then Marius couldn’t pretend to be the righteous one.

  At last they dove over the edge, looped around, and flew toward the Fount while brown earth passed overhead. The white spray and twisting funnel would hide them should any patrols be keeping an eye belowground. Kael found it highly unlikely. If the knights were stretched thin trying to provide cover to all of their ground troops and war engines, Marius wouldn’t be able to spare more to patrol underneath the edges of the island.

  Closing the distance between them and the edge passed achingly slow, and yet still too fast for Kael’s taste. He kept his shield tight across his chest, taking whatever meager comfort he could from its presence. He might not be the lethal killer his sister was, but between his newfound speed and his shield’s protection he could keep her safe as she performed her skillful work.

  Bree banked upward, the dark brown earth above their heads hovering closer and closer. Kael armed his ice element and clenched his fists. There was no telling what awaited them when they curled up and around to the surface; they had to be ready for anything.

  Fly aggressive, Bree’s hand signals ordered the other three. Kael grinned. She wanted aggressive? Then that’s what she’d get. No one could fly faster than him.

  They made their way back over the lip of the island and were once again topside. Blackened grass flashed beneath them. Keeping low, they surveyed the surroundings, Kael spotting groups of knights dotting the sky far off to the west, forming an outer flank for the ground troops marching behind. Bree led them over a burning field, pushing through the heavy smoke. Kael held his breath and squinted his eyes, relying on practiced control to keep himself level and straight. A row of cannons manned by theotechs and soldiers rolled past on the other side of the fire. With their wings bathed in smoke, the soldiers would never see them coming.

  Clear sky greeted them on the other side of the burning field. Kael saw the cannons below him, the soldiers panicking at their arrival. He gave them no chance to react. Ice exploded from Kael’s, Clara’s, and Saul’s gauntlets, vicious shards ripping through the unarmed theotechs. Bree dove closer, twirling once before unleashing her flame. A roaring inferno washed over the first cannon, setting its wood frame alight and melting the thinner sections of metal. Kael broke from formation, his shield leading as the first frantic barrage of arrows cut the air. This time he imagined spheres of ice the size of his fist instead of lances. He curled his fingers to help shape the focal prism and then released his attack. They slammed down on the soldiers, the force of their projection plus the added speed of their fall giving them incredible power. The soldiers’ armor meant nothing, bones shattering and necks breaking as the ice struck.

  Saul and Clara brought down the second and third cannon, boulders of ice smashing them to pieces. Kael curled back toward formation, becoming Bree’s shadow as she bathed a large swath of soldiers in flame, her subtle shifts in direction keeping her safe from the few arrows launched in retaliation. As they rose back into the air, Kael lobbed a single boulder of ice. It smashed the final cannon, breaking its wheels and toppling it onto its side.

  “Let’s go!” Bree shouted over the wind. Saul and Clara resumed their positions, the four racing above Weshern like an arrow. This time they flew on a collision course for the nearest patrol group of knights, their wings glowing a brilliant gold as they rushed to protect their eastern flank.

  Three knights, four of us, Kael thought. We’re fucked.

  Not that Kael could feel sorry for himself. All of Weshern was in trouble, and the other squads faced off against far worse odds. Clenching his right hand into a fist, Kael steeled himself. He was a Seraphim of Weshern, brother of the Phoenix, and goddamnit he was going to make that mean something. A burst of silver light pushed him alongside Bree.

  Follow my lead, he signaled.

  Her confusion was evident on her face, but there was no time to explain. The knights were too close. Swallowing down his fear, Kael closed his eyes to focus on the light prisms inside his left gauntlet. He felt the three of them, two keeping his shield nearly weightless, the third pouring power into his wings. His mind clicked, the connection made, and then all three surged with energy far exceeding the original limitations of the mechanical designs.

  His shield led the way, brilliant silver light swirling behind him no different from Bree’s twin trails of fire when she wielded her swords. His wings were blinding, his speed incredible. The other th
ree formed a line behind him, unable to keep formation and still follow. Kael focused on the middle knight, careful to keep his aim absolutely steady. At such speeds the tiniest deviations could send him careening wildly. Wind roared against his face and ears despite the protection of the harness. Light flooded his vision.

  Stay on target, he ordered himself. Trust your shield.

  The knights were clearly baffled by his speed and they attempted to scatter while firing. Their aim was true, lightning and fire striking his shield only to vanish within the swirling light. Kael never felt the tiniest of impacts. Backs to him, they retreated three different directions. Kael’s center target still underestimated his speed. And why wouldn’t they? Knights wore the fastest wings of all the islands. No one could outrace them. No one but him.

  The middle knight curled upward, trying to gain distance so he could spin about and fire. Kael gave him no chance. He maneuvered his back and shoulders to shift upward, not chasing but intersecting. The knight glanced behind and saw his doom far too late to react. Kael shifted his thumb down and killed all elemental power to his shield right before impact. Its weight returned, every pound of it. Kael braced his arm and slammed into the knight, breaking the man’s body upon impact with the shield. Kael immediately reactivated the light elements and kicked away the corpse. It fell, accompanied by shattered pieces of golden wings.

  With the knights’ formation broken and the remaining two scattering, Bree’s arrival was that much safer. She raced after the knight on the left, her swords drawn and dripping with flame. Saul and Clara chased the other, weaving side to side while flinging shards of ice. They weren’t trying to kill him, only corral him away from Bree so she might engage one-to-one. Trusting his sister, Kael looped left and hurried after the other three. The hum of his wings was a roar in his ears, deep and satisfying. Kael found he barely touched the throttle, able to dull or flare the elements of his wings with but a thought.

  Is this what it’s like to be Bree? he wondered. Is this what it’s like to fly as natural as breathing?

  Saul and Clara fell farther and farther behind the knight, their wings unable to keep pace. Their foe knew this as well, and at last he looped through the air with incredible grace, setting himself on a direct course for the two Seraphim. Kael felt his heart skip a beat. He wouldn’t get there in time. His friends would have to endure on their own.

  Saul immediately formed an opaque wall of ice a dozen feet long, using it to screen their maneuvers. Clara broke left, Saul right, each releasing a wide spray of shards. They didn’t expect to hit him, only keep the knight dodging and to disrupt his aim. He did so, but with only the mildest of corrections. Kael held his breath as the knight broke after Clara and retaliated with small balls of flame.

  Clara shifted and spun, keeping her path unpredictable. Fire and smoke passed all around her, far too close for comfort. Kael urged himself faster, demanding even more speed from his wings, more than he thought he could control. The distance between them vanished at a heart-pounding rate. Clara’s dodging grew more desperate. The knight was close. Too close.

  Clara turned sharply, beginning a wide turn toward Kael. He shifted himself onto a collision course and raced through the air like a comet, streams of light trailing his path. Clara’s curl ended, she and the knight directly facing Kael. His approach surprised the knight, immediately sending him banking away. It wouldn’t be enough, and they both knew it. As Kael neared, the knight reversed course. They charged head-to-head, the deadliest of scenarios any Seraphim could find themselves in.

  The knight released a gigantic plume of flame, expertly placed so that Kael would have no way to avoid it. So he didn’t. Shield up, he pushed right on through, not feeling a lick of heat. The distance between them vanished in an instant. Kael didn’t try to hit him with a spear of ice, knowing his aim would be too poor and the knight’s reflexes too great. Instead he spread his palm and formed a wide wall of ice directly between their paths. They were so close, and flying so fast, neither would have time to avoid collision. It was a suicide tactic, a way to take a Seraph with him into the afterlife during a head-to-head battle … but Kael had no intention of dying. He lifted his shield and trusted it with his life. Light blazed around it. Powerful. Unstoppable. A chunk of the wall shattered into an explosion of shards upon contact, granting Kael his passage through.

  The knight had no such protection.

  Kael slowed his speed to a hover and turned. Gold wings guided the knight in a slow death spiral toward the ocean, the crushed body hanging limp in the harness. Saul flew to Kael’s side while shaking his head.

  “Holy shit, Kael,” he said. “Since when could you do all that?”

  “I think I always could,” Kael said. He patted his shield. “I think I just needed this thing to help.”

  Kael searched for his sister, remembering that battle wasn’t necessarily over. He found her flying his way, the fire gone from her blades. She must have dispatched the knight during his confrontation.

  Clara joined their group first, and Kael grinned to hide his lingering fear for her safety.

  “Nice dodging,” he said. Clara smiled only briefly.

  “I thought I was dead,” she said.

  It wasn’t meant in jest or humor. Kael didn’t want to imagine her fright as the knight had steadily closed in for the kill. Kael put an arm around her waist. No overconfident grin this time, only sincerity.

  “You flew well,” he said. “And you’ll keep flying well all day, you and me. We’ll survive this together, I promise.”

  She leaned her head against his shoulder, a singular moment of weakness before she pulled away.

  “We’re Seraphim of Weshern,” she said. “We’re not just going to survive. We’re going to bring hell to Center, won’t we, Bree?”

  Bree hovered up to join them, still in the process of sheathing her swords.

  “That we will,” she said, turning to Kael. She didn’t compliment him for his maneuvers. Didn’t even crack a smile. “Two to my one.” Her eyes twinkled. “I’ll have to try harder.”

  Exhaustion threatened Kael’s limbs, a headache lingered at the edges of his mind, and he wanted nothing more than to lie down and cry. He laughed instead.

  “It’s about time you had some competition,” he said.

  Kael froze. There, in the distance, faint but unmistakable. The others followed his gaze. Clara was the first to speak, and she didn’t try to hide the tears rolling down her cheeks.

  “The other islands,” she said. “They’ve come to our aid.”

  Clusters of green, yellow, and white dots speckled with gold. They’d arrive together from the south, striking the vulnerable back line of Center’s troops. Weshern’s seemingly hopeless task now had a chance of success.

  Kael nudged Bree’s side, and he gestured farther east, to where other battles still raged.

  “Lead on, sis,” he said. “We have a war to fight.”

  CHAPTER

  12

  The four Seraphs raced over the Weshern wheat field with Bree leading the way. Elements lit the sky before them, a battle already begun between a squad of Weshern Seraphs and a trio of angelic knights. Rows of Center’s soldiers formed protective lines in front of their cannons, dozens of bows at ready should the knights fall.

  Follow my lead, Bree signaled to the other three. They flew low over the ground, an eye on the aerial battle at all times. So far neither side had scored a kill. The Weshern Seraphim outnumbered the knights two to one, but they kept on the cautious side, lobbing shots from afar and swarming any knight who tried to push forward instead of retreating. Bree doubted that stalemate would last. Both sides were too skilled to avert bloodshed for long. But the ground army was vulnerable while the knights were distracted and, if luck was with them, also completely unaware of their approach.

  Bree’s fingers danced, relaying another message.

  Ground first.

  Bows were the most dangerous defense against the Seraphim’s
attack. The archers were set up facing the aerial battle raging to the north, whereas Bree led their small squad in from the west. She shifted their path southward, trying to remain unseen by keeping in the soldiers’ rear arc. All it would take was one man to spot their arrival. The difference between scattered arrows, and a prepared volley, was tremendous, and potentially lethal.

  Bree dropped even lower. Her gauntleted fingers brushed the tips of the wheat, using them to track her height and tilt upward if she ever dipped. She couldn’t see the army that low, but she didn’t need to. The cannons had devastated half the field with their barrage of elements before advancing during their steady march deeper into Weshern territory. The moment Bree entered the empty ash land they’d be arriving right on top of the army.

  Burned pockmarks passed beneath her, momentary gaps of nothing touching her fingers before the wheat resumed. Streaks of earth gashed by long spikes of ice and spears of stone. They should be just behind the army. So close, so very close.

  Bree glanced over her shoulder, eyeing Kael as an idea came to her. He was capable of tremendous speeds, no doubt in part due to the lightborn blood flowing in his veins. His shield also gave him protection unmatched in the history of Seraphim combat.

  Kael, she signaled. Take lead. We follow.

  Her brother never hesitated. Kael shifted higher, his shield shimmering white. His wings flared momentarily, and then he shot ahead, a trail of liquid silver light sparkling in his wake. Bree drew her swords as she pushed her own wings to their limits. The wheat field ended, becoming a black scar upon the land. Center’s army was positioned in the heart of the damage, advancing upon the nearby village of Angburg. Kael’s brilliant shield led the way. Bree felt immediate justification for her change of roles, for their approach had indeed been spotted. A volley of one hundred arrows soared into the air, carefully spaced apart to leave no room to dodge. But there was no need to dodge. Kael’s shield somehow seemed to grow larger, wider, a wall of protection for the other three to follow behind. Arrows shattered to splinters upon contact, accompanied by a bright flash of light.