Page 108 of The War of Wings
Petra, I heard in my mind. It was Adorex, the energy coming down the line frantic.Petra. Hurt?
Yes, I thought back. And then,No.
Petra. Where?
I didn’t answer her, even as her energy began to whirl faster, fear entering my mind from hers.
With one final surge, I gave what was left of me. It had to be enough. This couldn’t be all for nothing. My hands opened andI stumbled backwards, dazed and blinking with dizziness. The white in my vision was replaced by the angry orange glow of flames. Flames that were not in the hearth, where they should be.
Oh, shit.
“Petra!” Ludovicus called, his hand closing on my shoulder and yanking me back just as a chunk of flaming wood fell from the ceiling. I was disoriented as I watched him reach for the tongs, his movements impossibly precise as he quickly snatched the blade from the anvil and plunged it in the water, just long enough for the steam to lessen from a billowing cloud to a few wisps of white.
The fire in the ceiling was spreading quickly, the flames eating away at the dry wood. Ludovicus’ free hand closed around my wrist and he yanked me toward the door, snatching his cloak from the front counter that had begun to ignite on one end. His eyes were wild as we staggered into the street, but no one paid us any mind. All eyes were on the building that churned out black smoke, illuminated by the angry flames reaching into the night sky.
I wasn’t sure what I saw as I stared down at my palms. The skin was charred, melted in places. This went beyond blisters, beyond the surface level of my skin, and — oh Saints, was that a bone? I gritted my teeth as nausea rose up the back of my throat and my mouth began to water.
I clung to consciousness long enough to conjure a raincloud just as wide as the building so as not to flood the streets. People marveled as the perfectly timed, perfectly sized rain shower doused the flames enough to smother the worst of them, oblivious it had been summoned by the unassuming woman standing in the street. Darkness fell once again as the flames banked, the streets lit only by torches and the few smaller fires still burning.
“I’m going to have to give the blacksmith a lot more than two pouches of coin,” Ludovicus heaved, out of breath as therain began to lighten, smoke sizzling from the embers that still glowed. The building hadn’t burned down completely. Much of it was still salvageable, but I was sure I didn’t want to be around to see the smith’s reaction.
I lowered myself to the ground, my energy dropping as soon as the adrenaline ebbed. Shit, I was going to pass out. Ludovicus’ concerned voice filtered through the quickly descending grogginess as he lowered himself beside me, the sword discarded next to him. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, because my focus was somewhere else — on the tiny, white spark that flared to life when the tip of the sword hit the dirt.
Chapter 42
Cal
It had all the makings of a beautiful night. The hot desert air had cooled. The moon was a sliver of white in the sky. The stars gleamed like jewels on its crown. But a darkness hung over me that had nothing to do with the late hour. My chest felt like it was going to cave in around my heart at any second. My palms were so slick, I had a hard time keeping my grip on Obitus as we made the two hour flight over Nesan to the coast. I kept my eyes forward, careful not to look over at where Gehenna soared beside me with Miles atop her back. Adorex and Rixa flew on my other side, both without a rider.
The shoreline came into view, the same spot we’d made landfall in Nesan, and the sick feeling in my gut worsened. I couldn’t think about the look I’d see on his face when I drove the knife through his chest. How was I supposed to do this? How was I supposed to be the one to take his life?
Gehenna tucked her wings into her side and she dove, and I caught sight of Miles, his arms outstretched and his head tipped backward. The salty air whipped through his hair as Gehenna plummeted then flexed her wings, soaring just above the peaks of the waves. The water was rough tonight, churning in the darkness.
I hung back on Obitus, his wingbeats slowing as if he knew I needed to simply sit and watch. My eyes tracked Gehenna’s shape as she left the waves and headed higher, gaining altitude quickly. It wasn’t long before she disappeared behind a small cluster of clouds, just barely illuminated by the weak light of the moon.
This wasn’t fucking fair. This shouldn’t be the last time he touched the clouds. He shouldn’t have to die at the end of my blade. He shouldn’t have to die at all.
My spiraling thoughts halted as a short screech pierced the air. Obitus jolted, his wingbeats immediately quickening as we shot forward. Gehenna’s form materialized amid the clouds, and that’s when I realized…
Miles wasn’t on her back.
Gehenna was an indistinguishable blur against the night sky as she dove straight from the clouds to the water below. My hands tightened around the spike at the base of Obitus’ neck as he read my mind and plunged toward the ocean, Adorex and Rixa close behind.
“Miles!” I screamed, my stomach flipping as we lost altitude at a feverish pace.
Where is he, where is he, where is he?
But there was nothing.
Gehenna screeched again before she hit the water, wings still tucked. Within seconds she surfaced, noises of panic echoing from where I could barely see her in the water. The tiny fragment of the moon hanging in the sky wasn’t doing shit to illuminate the waves.
A low growl rumbled beneath my seat, and a small stream of fire burst from Obitus’ throat, casting light on the roiling waves. One by one, Obitus, Adorex, and Rixa took turns lighting up the night as Gehenna plunged into the water, frantically searching for Miles until she was forced to come up for air.
“You fucking bastard!” I shouted, unfastening the strap holding me to Obitus. He chirped in warning, his back flexing when he felt the strap fall away.
Cal. Stay, his thoughts echoed through my brain.
I yanked my feet from between his scales. How hard could swimming really be? I pushed myself to stand, my knees bending and straightening in an effort to accommodate the movements of Obitus’ wings. The waves pitched and rolled below me, the whitecaps turning molten in the glow of driva fire. I’d gone after Miles once, trying to find him back when he was Tobyas and I thought he’d drowned in Pellucid Harbor. I’d thrown my body from the Cliffs of Malarrey in a thwarted attempt to find him, and then again from the sailboat Tyrak had commandeered. I’d jumped in without question.
