Page 74 of A Sky of Storms
“Do what?” I asked, cleaning the blood from just above his ear. Ace hissed, glaring at me murderously.
“Did I hurt you?”
“No,” he grumbled. “Don’t be all soft and shit. Just clean and patch it already.”
I smirked but didn’t change my touch. Poor Ace was so hellbent on being the toughest dude to ever walk the planet that he was depriving himself of his basic human needs. I wished I had my power so I could help him more, but I guessed I’d have to rely on my top tier people skills to help heal his damaged soul behind the walls he’d built around himself.
Covertly, of course. There was no way he’d let me help him if he knew about it. Luckily, I was a sneaky sea snake. I’d slowly penetrate him and exude my healing vibes all over him before he knew what was happening.
“Can’t believe you got shot in the head,” I said, wiping the last of the blood. The graze wasn’t too bad now that it was cleaned up. “Gnarly as.”
“Are you finished yet?”
“Almost.” I unwrapped the bandage then carefully applied it over the graze. “Okay, done.”
“Finally,” Ace grumbled, rising to his feet just as an alert sounded outside. We both exchanged a look. “What the fuck was that?”
Shoutsrangoutandthe clamour of steel met my ears as I raced to the ramparts. Victoria’s army was upon us, ready to rain hell on our people. I gritted my teeth, drawing my blade and conjuring my wings. We’d prepared for this, and we sure as shit weren’t going down without a fight.
With a ruffle of my feathers, I took to the sky before speeding like a bullet towards the ground and knocking a cluster of Potentials into the trench we’d dug in front of the garrison. They screamed as they fell into the ditch and I saluted them with a wicked smile as our people surrounded them with swords and spears.
Scarlet was already splattered over the grassy hill and marsh. I clenched my fist tighter around my sword when I spotted some of our people being felled by swords and axes.
This wasn’t a game. It wasn’t a coup, a disagreement between parties, or a means of taking over new territory. Victoria and her people were out for blood. I smiled with closed lips. If she’d expected us to lie down and take it, she was dead wrong.
Adrenaline surged through me as I landed, jogging to a stop right before swinging my blade at a Potential cornering Kendra and another girl. The woman screamed as I nicked an artery in her thigh. She’d be dead within minutes.
Kendra nodded her thanks with wide eyes, turning her gaze on the other Potentials streaming up the hill and altering her stance. I noted she didn’t have a weapon, probably because she had the strength of freaking sledgehammers for fists.
“Fall back,” I yelled. “Get behind our defences. Use the ramparts for long range.”
Bodies swarmed around me as our people came flooding in with Victoria’s minions on their tails. I did my best to hold back the tide. We’d built a wall of spears closer to the garrison entry, with a narrow path heading through the middle. So long as we maintained our ground, they’d be vulnerable while having to squeeze through the pass and we could ambush them on the other side.
Victoria thought she was powerful because she controlled others through fear, but what she didn’t realise was that there was strength in numbers—in working as a team. She’d never learned that fact, and one day it would get her killed.
I grunted as I blocked a blow from a huge unit, his eyes glimmering as he sneered behind his sword. The guy was freakishly strong and my guard was slipping at my chest, my blade dipping dangerously close. Sweat beaded on my forehead as my muscles barked in protest, and I was just about to lose it when Kendra shouted, coming out of nowhere to swing a fist into the guy’s head.
My opponent toppled to the ground, felled instantly by her incredible strength. I blinked, looking between the mountain of a man and my friend. Kendra winked, smiling brightly before darting away to take down more Potentials.
I blew out a breath, running back to take care of anyone who’d snuck through. I hadn’t felt so alive in a long time and my veins sang with the call of battle. I felt strong and ready to take down anyone standing in my way.
That was the thing about being caged—about being forced to do things you didn’t want to and not being able to act when you needed to. Treat an animal badly enough, it will become the very thing you fear. Well I was free of my bonds and it was time to bite back.
I snarled, narrowly escaping a thrust to my stomach and kicking the Potential hard enough so he was impaled on one of the spearheads. Someone else managed to slash my arm while I wasn’t looking, and I grunted as I turned around. Thankfully it was just a flesh wound on my left arm. But I retaliated with a cry, kicking their feet out from beneath them and readying to pounce.
Ace stabbed them several times in the chest before I had the chance, and when he looked up it was with cold fury, a sort of predatorial gleam in his eyes.
Did he just save my ass?
He slipped back into the chaos without a word, his black hair pushed back and his tattooed skin slick with sweat.
Zane appeared at my side and fought like a born warrior, his blond hair gleaming in its top knot, the muscles in his arms flexing with each swing of his sword. Most of the Potentials were trained, but few moved with the grace and fluidity he did. Like he was parting the seas with his sword. A true tidal king.
“We need to circle around and corner them against the palisade,” Zane commanded after chopping the arm off one of the Potentials. He didn’t even blink, his green eyes hard and determined.
I nodded, smiling approvingly. It was a solid plan and might just give us the edge to win this thing before many more people were killed. I scanned the sea of bodies, searching for Kendra, Kayden, Ace, and Noah, while whistling to get their attention. Noah and Kendra were nowhere to be found, probably fighting by the steps leading into the garrison.
Ace scowled at me, no doubt wanting to punch my head in for being summoned, but he jogged over with Kayden regardless. I relayed Zane’s plan and we split up, slashing our way through to come to the back of Victoria’s people. They turned in surprise as we advanced, the four of us smiling menacingly as we forced them to back up.
