Page 35 of Fly to Fury
“Mak.” Pip growled his name through clenched teeth.
Fieran probably shouldn’t find her angry growls quite as adorable as he did. He quickly stuffed a bite of sandwich in his mouth.
“She told you about that, didn’t she?” Mak turned to Fieran, a grin on his face and a glint in his eyes.
“Mak…” This time, her brother’s name was stretched out as Pip’s pointed ears flushed bright red.
“Yeah, she did. Blurted it out the first time I met her.” Fieran worked to keep his posture casual. They were just joking around. He was not about to remember how hard he’d started falling for Pip already back then.
Mak nodded, as if he’d expected nothing less. His gaze swung back to Pip as he smirked. “Come to think of it, Pip, perhaps you should send home for it. I’m suresomeone at the western rail terminal could locate it and send it to you, even if Muka and Dacha are still away. You wouldn’t want to lose this chance to get it signed by your hero, after all.”
Pip’s cheeks, too, turned red before she covered her face with one hand. “Mak!”
Fieran choked on a swallow of sandwich and coughed. He could only imagine the utter terror in his dacha’s eyes if Pip presented him with a poster to sign. When he could finally speak, Fieran kept his tone neutral to hide the laughter. “Dacha would sign it, if asked.”
At Fieran’s other side, Merrik gave a little snort as he grinned and ate his sandwich.
The radio in the other bay crackled with shouted but indistinct words a heartbeat before the sirens mounted on the side of the building blared.
Fieran shared a glance with Merrik. Then the two of them raced for their aeroplanes, stuffing the last of their sandwiches in their mouths and reaching for their flight gear as they went.
As Fieran’saeroplane climbed higher, he could just make out the shapes of aeroplanes dancing through the sky as they wheeled and fought. “Rothilion, report.”
Lt. Rothilion had been in the sky on patrol when the alert sounded.
“This appears to be a large-scale attack.” Lt. Rothilion’s unruffled tone filled the radio. “A few scout aeroplanes are keeping us busy, but several large airships are coming over the foothills.”
Another wave of aeroplanes was likely to follow. Fieranmentally urged his aeroplane higher into the sky. “Have the Alliance airships been alerted?”
“Yes.” Lt. Rothilion’s voice was clipped. One of the aeroplanes executed a loop in the sky before diving at another aeroplane.
Below, Dacha’s magic flared, creating that huge shield that protected the fort below from both bombs and falling debris from the battle in the sky. Pip’s magic, too, shimmered to life, protecting the hangar.
With Fort Defense protected, Fieran gave his order. “Rothilion, fall back. Let’s lure them into our territory.”
Within moments, the four Alliance aeroplanes peeled off from the battle, racing away with their enemies in close pursuit.
A dark cloud of airships filled the horizon. Above them, more aeroplanes swarmed. After their defeat at Fieran’s hands several weeks ago, it seemed they had decided to attack in force.
“E.S.Lewismoving to intercept.” The unfamiliar voice spoke over the radio as the shape of one of the Escarlish airships drifted upward from where it had been docked.
“No.” Fieran didn’t even think before blurting out the word. He glanced around, locating the members of his squadron.
Right now, Fieran had the rare opportunity to face the enemy with only his squadron in the sky. Once the Escarlish airship took to the sky, he would have to worry about incinerating it along with the Mongavarian ones.
“Capt. Laesornysh, you have no authority to give orders to this airship.” The voice on the radio turned stiff and sharp.
“Half-Breed Squadron, spread out. We need to cover thesky above Fort Defense.” Fieran pointed his aeroplane toward the oncoming enemy. “E.S.Lewis, I respectfully request that you stay below the protective barrier. The sky is about to get very dangerous for anyone besides my squadron.”
“Capt. Laesornysh, if we don’t ascend right now, we could be caught on the ground by the enemy’s bombing run.” The airship continued rising, though slowly.
Fieran’s squadron took up positions around him, flying off to the sides until they were spaced widely across the sky. It wasn’t a good formation for engaging the enemy. They’d be vulnerable, easy to pick off one by one.
Yet his pilots followed the orders without question, trusting he had a plan.
Hopefully Pip’s wiring system worked as designed. Or he was about to get in a whole lot of trouble.
Fieran gathered his magic in his chest, letting it build into a churning, burning sensation inside of him.
