Page 120 of A War of Ruin and Reckoning

“It’s true,” Willow yelled, running down from the quarterdeck. Why was her heart skipping a million miles an hour? Why did her instincts beg her to find a weapon?

Rory pursed her lips at his lack of response. “You’d better take her now before he boards this airship.” She peeled off the portal device on her wrist and tossed it. “He’s coming for this.”

His gaze flicked to Nero’s airship, then shrugged. “I’m not afraid of him. He’s next.”

She laughed. “Look, whoever you are, underestimating my father is not a smart thing to do.”

Blue fire seethed in the Guardian’s eyes. “Whoever I am?”

“Yes,” she replied, exasperated. “If you’re not here to take Willow down, let me get her to safety and then…” Her words trailed off as she stared at his face, then his feathers. Brows furrowing, she shook her head and blinked. “Cielo?”

“Speak that name again, and I’ll cut out your tongue,” he barked, suddenly off the gunwale and in her face. “My name is Cloud!”

Rory murmured, “Willow doesn’t deserve to die for my sins.”

“Cloud,” he bellowed, spittle hitting her face. “Say it. Say, ‘You’re nothing but a cloud in my head.’ Remember?”

Rory shook her head, dismayed. He searched her face for something he’d never find.

“I know you care,” Rory urged, pointing to Willow. “Or you’d have killed her by now. So fly her to shore before it’s too late. They’re almost done patching their balloon.”

“Care…” He canted his head like the bird he shifted into… that curious look the crow gave before it pecked out your eyes. “You bled that out of me, too.”

“You don’t mean that. She’s your kind—she’s one of you.”

“I’m loyal to no one.” Something stark appeared in his eyes. “Who else do you think fed information about the war to your father?”

Willow gaped. He’d betrayed his own kind… her father and mother… all for what? For revenge against Rory?

“Don’t look at me like that.” His upper lip curled at Willow’s expression. “As if you didn’t just raise an army of the dead.”

His wings suddenly disappeared, shifting through the leather slits of his jacket. A few tiny black feathers drifted behind. He started walking toward Rory, pulling daggers from his belt, dropping them.

Thud. Step. Thud. Step. Thud. Step.

It was a countdown, a ticking clock, a challenge—run or face your death.

I hope you run,his gleaming eyes said.I want you to beg as I feel your life slipping through my bare hands.

Willow couldn’t allow this madness to continue. The only constant she had in her life at Crystal City was Rory. She lunged for one of his fallen daggers with a hopeless plan. But stormy eyes slid her way. An instant later, Willow was on her back, staring up at the bright balloon. Ringing in her ears drowned out the engines. Dazed, she blinked, confused. Pain in the back of her head throbbed. Reaching with trembling fingers, she was relieved to find she wasn’t bleeding. He must have used magic, too fast for her to catch.

And now Willow was human. Lesser. She would be no match for him. Stifling a groan, she sat up and fought a wave of dizziness. Rory launched at Cloud, throwing vicious jabs, holding nothing back. Angry words passed between them through clenched teeth, but Willow couldn’t make them out. He was enraged. She was too—because he attacked Willow. But then Rory looked bewildered, tired, and on the back foot.

Use it.Her lessons were all Willow had left.Use everything, anything, even each other.

She picked up the fallen dagger, clutched the hilt until her bleeding palms wept, then charged at the dueling couple as they neared the port side. Cloud’s fist wrapped around Rory’s throat as Willow sliced toward his neck. He twisted and blocked, taking her blade on his leather gauntlet. The dagger glanced to the side, and so did Willow—right over the wooden taffrail.

Screaming as she fell overboard, Willow reached for help, for something to latch onto. Cloud’s free hand lashed out, catching her hand. Gravity yanked her down, almost ripping her arm from her socket. Her legs kicked.

Cloud’s panicked eyes filled with something like regret. His gaze darted between the two women he held—one like a noose, the other by the hand. Blood rushed to his head as he strained under their weight. A roar of defiance trembled. Black feathered wings exploded from his back, flapping manically as he propped his feet against the hull, trying to lever them both up.

“Let me go,” Rory rasped, smacking his hand that gripped her throat. Capillaries burst in her eyes.

“No!” Willow’s shriek turned into a wail. “Not her! Me!”

“You know it should be me,” Rory hissed to Cloud. “Kill me.”

His veins bulged in his temples. The strain was so much that he couldn’t speak. One more breath might make him slip.

---