Page 101 of Wings of Betrayal

“Ready?” Kyle asks as he walks over to me and straps yet another sword onto his back.

He looks ruthless, my deadly fated mate.

I let out a long breath, my mind wandering to thoughts of my last encounter with lost ones. “I think so.”

He grasps my hand, and I spot Em across the room dressed head to toe in black leathers, watching us as she straps various weapons to herself. Can she sense our mating bond, too?

She narrows her eyes at me, and Kyle leads me outside and back into the chaos.

We head around to the front of the castle, and my breath catches at the sight. Hundreds of guards, all in uniform, stand prepared for battle.

“That’s the Zarquon army,” Kyle explains. “A small portion of it, anyway.”

Kyle heads over to his parents, who are in a deep discussion with whom I guess is the commander of the army.

As we draw closer, the commander continues to explain the situation. “We have set up a perimeter near the southern border, but they aren’t attacking. They have formed a line and are just hovering there, as if waiting for a command of some sort.”

Zeta eyes Apollon. “We need to go now. We mustn’t wait and risk them getting into the city.”

“It would be a bloodbath,” agrees the commander. “Our focus must remain on ensuring the lowest possible casualty count we can. We all know the ramifications of death at the hands of one of those vile creatures.”

Apollon scratches his chin. “Okay. We will follow your lead, Commander. Let’s move.”

The commander heads over to his army to debrief them on the plan, and everyone else prepares to fly out.

Kyle grabs my face between his hands, stealing my focus. “You ready for this?”

I search his face, sensing his strength and power, and I know he’s ready. But am I? I’ve fought lost ones before, but this is different. This is a war.

“I won’t let any harm come to you,” he assures me. “Ever.”

I pull him against me, embracing him one last time before we have to go. “Just worry about yourself. I’ll be fine.”

The sight of flapping wings catches my eye as the Zarquon army takes flight and heads toward the southern border. Kyle’s parents then follow suit, along with many other archangels.

I release my white wings, and Kyle kisses me before he takes to the skies. With one deep breath, I follow along, my white wings a stark contrast to the sea of black wings surrounding me.

There must be thousands of angels in the skies. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

We fly for about ten minutes, and then the Zarquon army descends.

And then I see them.

A sea of white, lined up, waiting. But for what? For us to land so they can attack? Gods above, there are thousands and thousands of them.

The army forms a line to create a barrier between the lost ones and the city, covering the lush fields of rolling hills and grass in a blanket of black. Many of them remain in the skies, though, prepared for whatever the lost ones have planned.

Kyle swoops down and lands near the back by his parents, and I land next to him. Several archangels eye me, curious to see an angel from Silanthia amongst them, I’m sure. They can most likely sense our new bond.

Kyle links his fingers through mine as we wait for a signal.

A deathly screeching sound echoes over the hills.

Hundreds of lost ones come barreling over the hills, many of them in the skies, and they join the thousands of other lost ones already waiting. They charge toward us, crashing into the frontrow of our army, who attack with brute force, though it’s hard to see much from back here.

Kyle grabs my arm to get my attention. “Be ready!” he yells, giving me a stern look. “And stay near me, okay?”

I dart my focus around the battle raging before me, and Kyle gives my arm a shake.

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