Page 60 of Wings of Valor
I feel a tingle from deep inside my well of power, and even though I don’t know what it means, somehow I know it’s nothing to fear. It builds until suddenly the power converges at my fingertips and flows into him. Before my very eyes, the open wounds where feathers were plucked from his wing close up, and new ones sprout in their place, shimmering softly—as if coated in glitter.
“By all that is holy,” Kirach says, watching in awe.
I’ve healed him? But how? All I felt in that moment was anger for what they’d done to him andpain. Was it his pain … or mine?
“Will it work on his wing?” Kirach asks, his voice pleading.
“I’m not sure, but I’ll try.”
He unstraps the wing from his back and holds the severed edges together. Bile rises in my throat at the sight, but I hold it back. Zeke needs me. Until a few minutes ago, I didn’t even know I couldheal. And if I can heal his feathers without conscious thought, surely I can heal this, too.
My hope bleeds into desperation.
“They removed it with an angel blade,” Mom says softly from somewhere behind us. “Nothing can cure a wound like that.”
I want to argue with her, to tell herIsurvived that very blade, except she doesn’t know that, so I stay silent.
Digging deep into my power, I put my entire focus on raising those tingles, feeling the heat of my internal core, then push it toward the two ends of his wing. Nothing happens right away, but I don’t give up, pushing and pressing despite the heat searing my insides, until suddenly, the cartilage shimmers, then glows a bright golden light that damn near blinds me.
Zeke screams, but still I don’t stop.
When he goes silent again, I hold my breath. But it’s there. Attached. Kirach isn’t holding it anymore. Can it really be that easy?
“But how?” Dad asks, confused.
Ignoring him, I turn to Kirach. “How did you know to grab the wing?”
He shrugs. “Just a hunch—”
An explosion echoes off in the distance, signaling our time is up.Fuck!Another boom rings clear, shaking the foundation.
“Uh, guys?” Mira says from the hole in the ceiling, startling all of us. “Change of plans. We’ll have to leave from here. The explosions blocked our other route.”
Another blast, this time closer. Louder. We’re running out of time.
With Zeke unconscious and the hole too small to fly out of, it’ll be tricky to get out. But we’ve gotten through worse, right?
Well, maybe not worse, but still …
Stay positive. I have to keep positive.
Kirach acts quickly, directing us to carry Zeke over to the hole while he jumps up with practiced movements and pulls himself out. Mira jumps down, and we all help to lift Zeke up enough so Raphael, Castiel, and Kirach can pull him through.
It takes more time than we have, but we finally get him out. Darok must have been wrong about his timing, because these explosives aren’t going off at the same time. Just another reason to hate the fucker.
Mom goes next, even though she argues. And when Raphael and Theo demand I go next, I realize … maybe my stubborn streak comes from my mother. But just as I ignored her arguments, Theo and Raphael do the same with mine.
Once I’m out, they pull Theo up next, leaving only Mira and my father down at the bottom. Another explosion goes off, halting our progress, but I take the time to talk to Kirach, sensing what he wants. “Take whoever you need and get Zeke to the sanctuary. Mom, go with him.”
For the first time in my entire life, sherolls her eyes.“I’m not leaving Cam.”
“Mom, don’t—”
“You wouldn’t leave us, sunshine,” Raphael says, interrupting me. Fuck. He’s right, even though I hate it.
“Castiel and I will manage while the rest of you pull the others to safety. We’ll see you there. Be safe.” Then, without another word, Kirach and Castiel lift Zeke and fly away.
A sound from below has fear rising in my gut. It’s the door, banging against the wall. But who …
