Nearby, Calida nods, confirming her agreement. She has dark rings under her marigold-colored eyes, as if she hasn’t slept since the fight with me. Her mane of dark blonde hair is tied back into lank braids and her shoulders sag. She would normally be preparing for sleep at this time of the evening.
Serena clears her throat, suddenly stiff. She bites her lip, the only betrayal of her true regret as she inclines her head to both me and Nathaniel. “I apologize, Commander Lucidia, to you and the Fell for my actions the other day.”
It’s impossible to say ‘that’s okay’ to someone who tried to kill the man I love, but I give her a firm nod and respond with the same formality. “Your apology is accepted, Serena of the Solstice.”
Her thunderbird coasts away from us after she gives me a grateful nod.
Nathaniel has remained silent during the interaction, but now he speaks up. “We need to free your father.”
And get Nathaniel’s weapon at the same time.
I nod before I turn back to Evander. “The next time I see you, our father will be free.”
On impulse, I hug Evander again, but this time, he doesn’t let me go so easily.
“We’re coming with you, Aura,” he says. “We saw Nadina and the Queen flying back to Bright before you arrived. You’ll need us to run interference. Otherwise, you’ll have to fight your way through Imatra’s entire Night Guard to get to her Inner Sanctuary.”
I glance at Nathaniel. Each time we cross the border, the tables are turned on us. Now that we’re heading toward Bright, Nathaniel’s bound by the rule that he can’t hurt a fae. He won’t be able to help me fight Imatra’s guards if it comes to a battle between us.
Tugging out of Evander’s hug, I leap back to Treble, sensing Evander assist my movement by manipulating the air around me. I arch my eyebrow at him when my landing is far more graceful than it would have been otherwise.
Giving him a smile, I say, “Okay, then. But you’ll need to keep up.”
Evander grins, and I sense a layer of tension break around us, as if he and the others just shrugged off a set of shackles.
“Happily,” he says, his voice drowned in the sharp crackle of lightning as the six thunderbirds span out, and we soar toward Bright.
Chapter 18
Our thunderbirds fly across the snow-covered fields at the edge of Eteri City and over the tops of glistening orchards. The humid air of Fell country is far behind us now, and I shiver in the crisp cold.
We fly in silence but without deviating from our target: the center of Eteri City, where the palace rests on the crest of mountains that cut across Bright. As we pass across the orchards, Evander half-turns in his seat and curls his fingers in the air, a brief look of concentration passing across his face.
I’m not sure what he’s doing until two cerulean-blue apples fly up out of the trees below us and land gently in my lap, carried by the wind. Two periwinkle-colored citrus fruits follow them, along with Evander’s water flask. Now that night has fallen, his power will become weaker with every use. It worries me, but I’m grateful for the food and hydration.
I hand two pieces of fruit back to Nathaniel and we devour the food quickly before drinking as much sugar water as we need.
Soon after, the thunderbirds arc toward the platform that is supported by the palace’s highest two towers.
Evander’s voice whips back to me as we spear toward the landing, his magic carrying his speech directly to me. “Mia will keep the Night Guards busy. Once we’re inside, we’ll have to move quickly.”
I’m not sure if Mia has retained her position as the Captain of the Queen’s Night Guard and whether or not the guards will take orders from her. Mia’s thunderbird soars ahead of us, the thunderbird’s white feathers bright in the dark, her orange tips glowing like flames when she cracks her wings as she alights on the platform.
Four Night Guards run toward her, their indigo dresses swishing around their legs. They appear to be the only guards on duty. For now.
“Mia of the Dusk!” the first woman shouts, reaching for the concealed weapon across her left hip. “You’re supposed to be at the border.”
The way she and the other three take offensive stances confirms that Mia is no longer their captain.
That doesn’t stop Mia.
“I bring news for the Queen,” she shouts, leaping confidently from her thunderbird’s back and striding toward the guards, as if her status has not changed.
I can’t stop the smile spreading across my face as Treble soars onto the platform, landing with the other thunderbirds in the wide space.
Mia was always an expert at faking confidence.
The moment Treble lands, Nathaniel runs down his wing, but I somersault from Treble’s back, ready to take on the guards.
Ahead of me, Mia’s thunderbird spreads her beautiful wings to create a visual shield between us. When she cracks her wings again, the bright auburn lightning makes it look like the entire platform is on fire, which masks the glow from my skin.
Even so, the guards crane their necks, trying to see around the bird’s feathers.
Their distracted movement is enough for Mia to leap forward, grip the first woman around the neck, and pull her to the ground while Mia sweeps the legs out from under the next woman. The other two guards step into the fight, swords drawn, but Evander leaps from Cadence’s back, his outstretched hands pouring slippery ice beneath their feet. It’s not a snow storm like he could produce during the day, but they lose their footing and Mia’s quick punches knock them both out instantly.
She stands over all four unconscious women with a cocky smile as I approach with Nathaniel and the others behind me.
“We should kill them,” Serena says, pressing her boot to the chest of the nearest one. The gold highlights in her amber hair take on the fiery light that Mia’s thunderbird has created.
I shake my head at her, but it’s a gentle movement. Serena was always straightforward, direct about her intentions and her feelings. She trained me for five years while she was still the Queen’s champion, and I never once discovered her weakness. Beating her in the coliseum required nearly killing her.
I lean down to the fallen women, focusing on the one who is already stirring.
My power feels very different now. Before Nathaniel gave me back part of my heart, I would call my power from the deepest part of my chest, sometimes the depth of my mind. Now it fills my hands instantly, a well that threatens to overflow if I don’t control it.
I force my power to calm, to glow softly in my hands as I press my palm to the woman’s forehead. Her eyes flicker open, wide and startled before they slowly close again.
She sighs and the tension leaves her body.
I do the same for the others, moving quickly between them.
“They shouldn’t wake up for hours,” I say, rising to my feet.
When I turn to my friends, I find Evander staring at me with a slightly vacant expression. Serena, Calida, Talsa, and Mia also blink slowly at me, each of them seeming overly subdued.
Nathaniel is the only one who appears normal and alert. His gaze meets mine for a moment before he inclines his head toward the doorway into the third tower that leads down into the palace. He’s right: We need to keep moving.