Page 22 of The War of Wings
Da’s eyes met mine for one final second, his stare softened with a look I felt in the deepest parts of my soul. Love. He loved me, and I didn’t need him to tell me to feel it.
“Petra!” Larka bellowed. She railed against Da, fighting every step, dragging her feet and throwing her body against his hold. And I knew that was love, too. That was Larka’s love.
And as they neared the castle, I caught sight of the Benevolent Saints standing on one of the dozens of terraces jutting from the structure. They were shoulder to shoulder, fear contorting each of their faces as they watched the residents of Heaven clamber toward the castle. But while Tolar, Onera, and Aanh all turned on their heels and sprinted back through the doorway, Soren remained. He stared directly at me.
A slow nod was all he gave me before he turned and made his way back inside, and though not a word was spoken, I knew what that nod meant. “Free them, Daughter of Katia. Free Katia and Rhedros and rid us of this terror.”
I turned toward the decaying horizon. My mind was blank, grappling for an idea, a solution. There had to be one somewhere amid the deep, heartrending terror coursing through my veins. But alongside the terror was my fire, too — not the flames that shot forth from my palms, but the ones that had burned in my soul my entire life. Marita said two things could exist at the same time, and I had fear and fortitude.
Without my powers, without a clear way out, I was likely going to die here. But I’d be damned before I went down without a fucking fight.
Thick smoke descended from above, obscuring my vision. I stumbled forward, only able to see a few feet in front of me.Shit.Where was I going? Where could I go? What could I do?
The sound of galloping hooves cut through my panic, and I whirled to see a figure emerging through the smoke. No, not just a figure. A stallion, black as night.
And on the stallion’s back was Cal.
Chapter 9
Petra
Belin Cal Myrin. The Invisible King. MyCal.
His eyes were intent on me, one hand tangled in the horse’s mane, the other extended as he craned his body downward. The horse’s steps slowed only slightly before my hand was in Cal’s and he heaved me up onto the animal. And then we disappeared into the cloying smoke.
“You’re here?” I called over the sound of hoofbeats. “You died?”
“I don’t know,” he shouted over his shoulder. “I followed you into the Darkness Beyond.”
“You didwhat?” I shrieked. Anger filled me at the fact that he would do something so stupid, so idiotic. “Why would you do that? How could you do something so foolish?”
“Always been a fool for you, have I not?” he called back, the sight of his dimple disarming me as I stared at his profile. “Do you have a plan?”
Shock quickly melted into terror once again. “My plan was to try to get back to the Darkness Beyond through the Gates, but I don’t think that’s going to happen anymore. Do you have a plan?”
“Unfortunately, my plan ended at getting you on this horse.”
Were the Occulti behind us? I couldn’t hear anything save for the wind rushing past us and the blood pounding through my head. I couldn’t see anything amid the choking black smoke. I clung to Cal, squeezing my eyes shut.Think, Petra, think.Maybe I could wish us out of here the same way I’d wished myself out of the Darkness Beyond. Maybe I could will it to be so, will us to be anywhere but in Malosym’s grasp once again.
When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see the sky had lightened. Barely enough to notice, just enough to give me pause. The smoke seemed thinner, too. It should’ve been a relief, should’ve eased some of the adrenaline pounding through me. But something wasn’t right.
“Stop the horse,” I yelled.
He pulled back on the reins, the stallion’s hooves slowing until they halted completely. The stallion’s huffing breaths were the only noise in a place that was otherwise eerily silent. The smoke continued to thin, my eyes suddenly able to see twenty feet in front of me, then forty. I slid off the horse, Cal following close behind, and blinked as more and more of the land became visible. And as the smoke receded completely, our mouths fell open.
What had been an idyllic village just moments ago had been reduced to ash. The ground was scorched from horizon to horizon. Waves, so large they could easily topple a warship, crashed over a turbulent gray sea, mercilessly pounding the shore. There was no sign of life, no sign this had ever been anything other than what it was at this very moment — a barren land of ash.
But like a shining beacon in the darkest night, Soren’s castle had remained untouched.
It stood just as tall, just as proud over the scorched land. At first glance, it almost appeared as if the Occulti had simply forgone the castle completely. But as I looked longer, I noticed the almost translucent sheen around it, like someone had tossed an iridescent coat across the entire structure.
I wasn’t sure how it worked, but I damn well hoped everyone made it inside.
Cal was silent beside me, his jaw tight as he surveyed our surroundings. I opened my mouth to tell him everything that had happened, but stopped when the horse began shifting his weight, his breathing turning from exerted to erratic. Goose bumps prickled over my skin.
One look at Cal told me he felt it, too. His jaw ticked and his gemstone eyes moved back and forth, searching. His throat bobbed as he looked down at me. “You don’t have your powers here, do you?” My silence was answer enough, and he gave a single nod. “It’ll be okay.”
“Heaven is all but destroyed,” I whispered, hopelessness hollowing out my insides.
