Page 147 of Feathers of Ash and Hope

“A few, sir.”

“Who?”

Please don’t say it. Don’t say it.

“Vaccari, Godwin, Summer…” He goes on, but I don’t hear anything else.

Of course, she’s in this fucking inferno.

Why is she so adamant about getting herself killed?

“Thank you.” My voice is so eerily calm, I don’t recognize it as my own.

I can’t think. I can’t fucking breathe, and still, my voice betrays nothing.

My eyes are on the smoke, the dark gray veil spreading while I watch. The chances of someone surviving this are very slim, but riders are still coming in.

Vaccari strides toward the rider I just left. There is still hope that Ara will land any second now, too.

She can do it. Some part of me knows it’s wishful thinking. But damn do I want it to be true—need it to be true.

My mind replays pictures of how I found her at the foot of the cliff, barely alive. I healed her and beat the odds. I can do it again.

But for that to work, I have to get my hands on her while she’s still breathing.

My eyes wander over the groups of riders, sorted by squadron. It doesn’t take me long to find squadron four of our division. Ilario’s big frame next to Mariel’s bright red hair is a dead giveaway, but I can’t findheranywhere.

The riders commanding elements gather closer to the fire, and I make my way over to them. We split the area into four quadrants, one for each division. The other centurions and I assign parcels to the riders present to get the fire under control.

I take the area right next to the gathering ground since there’s no way I’m leaving here without knowing Ara is back.

I throw myself into the task, cutting off the air and smothering the flames faster than they can pop up. The quicker we have it under control, the faster I can go look for her. The natural flames succumb at once.

The magic flames are harder to kill, but I don’t give them a chance, concentrating on one small part after another, slowly working inward. The fire wielder to my left and a water wielder to my right are doing the same.

Daeva circles above, keeping an eye out for Ara while I work. I try my best not to let my worry for her consume me, but the words of the stranger from a few nights ago keep circling in my head.

There are people after her and after you.

And then I do something I haven’t done in years. I pray to every god and goddess who might listen.

I simply don’t know what I’ll do if she’s gone.

Chapter

Forty-Three

ARA

When I blinkmy eyes open, the heat threatens to overwhelm me.

What happened?

I sit up, and the world turns around me in slow circles. My head throbs, and I have no idea where I am or how I got here.

Fire and smoke are all around me. I’m not even sure if it’s night or day because all I see is the light of the flames and the darkness of the smoke.

I rise slowly and nearly fall over twice before I manage to stand.

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