“Stay safe. All of you,” I say just before we hear the sound of drums. The hushed whispers of the army around us die away as the drums get louder, the beat faster, just before we see a dark cloud burst through the skyline in the far distance. Thousands and thousands of angels fly in a formation towards us, a mixture of light and dark, and their white armour reflecting the sun. Behind them is a massive group of angels on horses, spears attached to their sides, pointed at us. I gulp, slipping out my sword and turning away from my mate. I climb onto Ayda, who’s also donning battle gear, and pat her mane as Myles shifts into his wolf in front of me. His wolf stares at me for a moment before turning back to the angels. I pick up the reins and lean down to Ayda.
“Thank you,” I tell her, hoping she can understand me like I think she does. Ayda chose me for a reason, and this moment is what we have been brought together for, and I won’t let her down any time soon. I know she won’t let me down either.
Ren looks over at me as he climbs onto Henry’s horse at my side and pulls out his swords. I have to admit, that was hella sexy to see.
“If we survive this, can we bring the swords to our bedroom?” I ask Ren, and he laughs. Henry grins up at me, lifting his sword.
“I have a sword for you too.”
“Cheesy line, mate,” Thallon says, shaking his head with a big smile. Myles’s wolf huffs, and it’s just the tiny distraction we all needed before the literal storm descends on us. Clearing my throat, I look back at the angels, seeing the deadly swords in their hands and the looks on their faces. How frightened Ren must have been when an angel army like this came to his home and killed all those vampires.
This is the last time the angels get to destroy anyone. They can’t rule anymore; they are too corrupt and cold.
The army crashes into us like a wave against the rocks, and I don’t even know how it happened so quickly, but I lose track of all my mates within seconds. I’m sure I hear Ren roar my name, but I can’t see anything but wings, and magic, and everything going mad. My sword clashes with an angel right in front of me, his brown eyes glaring into mine. Ayda kicks him with her leg, giving me the element of surprise, and I shove my sword into his stomach. He coughs twice before falling off my sword onto the ground, and Ayda doesn’t wait, flying into the air. We sweep between angels in the sky until we get above them, and suddenly an angel smacks into me, knocking me off Ayda. I scream as I tumble through the air, the angel flying after me. Swallowing my panic, I pull out one of the tiny knives Myles gave me earlier and fling it at the angel. It slices through his throat, and hot blood smothers me before his body harshly hits my chest and falls away as I shove it with my arms. The ground looks so close, and I brace myself for one hell of a hard landing just before Ayda flies underneath me, and I crash onto her back. Grabbing her reins, I swing my legs around her, and she bolts into the air. I look down to see Madi in the air near me, her whole body glowing with blue magic as she shoots blue dust at angels near her, and they instantly drop to the ground. The demons are not as nice as Madi; I see several of them ripping the angels apart like candy.
I wipe some of the blood from my face as we fly higher and higher, leaving the war behind and heading to the city of the angels.
Chapter 67
As I shove my sword back into my holder, Ayda flies us straight past the rubble of the academy, of what is left of it. The beautiful gardens are gone now; nothing but dust smothers the floating rock, and strangely I feel sad that the academy is gone. For a while, it was my home, and it was where I met my best friend. And where I lost a best friend too.
And most of all, I found my mates. The loves of my life.
When I first came to the academy, I thought my life was over. My parents were gone, I literally had died, and I didn’t know what else there was to live for. Turns out, my life was just beginning. Pushing away all my thoughts, I focus on the city just as we come through the barrier that surrounds it, and Ayda swiftly flies up until she suddenly flattens out into a glide, and I get to see all of Neamh from high up. The city of light is as beautiful as I remember, but it’s tainted with silence now, not one single noise drifts up to me from the entire city. Turning Ayda, we head towards the castle in the centre of the floating island where I know the light above is hiding while his people are at war. My heart aches as I get further away from my mates, having no clue how they are doing and wishing I could be by their sides in the fight. I just know if the light above isn’t killed, then this war will never end. The angels will always do what it tells them, and I can’t live in peace until this is over.
Even if it costs me everything.
Swooping down, Ayda lands in a clearing opposite the large doors where the light above is hidden, but he isn’t alone. Three angels in white uniforms, helmets covering their faces, block the door, and they all turn to me. Sliding my sword out, I climb off Ayda as they walk over to me.
“Three against one? Not fair, guys,” I say, patting Ayda’s side.
“What are you doing here?” the angel in the middle asks, slipping out his own sword. I slide the spear attached to Ayda’s side out of the holder, knowing the fight is going to happen one way or another. I need to get into those doors, and they will protect it. I’ve never fought more than one person at a time, but my vampire strength and speed should give me a boost. Their wings and powers might be an issue though.
“She is the vampire queen, don’t you recognise her?” the angel on the left questions. I lift my spear as the middle angel decides to attack, and we crash together in the middle of the clearing. The second angel attacks me from my left, and I kick out at him before slashing him with my sword, catching his leg. He goes down as the middle angel hits me hard with the sword, cutting my side. I push away the pain as I spin around, using my vamp speed to sprint to a nearby pillar and run up it. I push my legs off the pillar, jumping into the air and crashing down on the middle angel with my sword, which snaps his and gives me a clear view of his chest. The cracking of his ribs as my sword slides into him makes me feel sick. He drops to the floor, and I spin around with my spear, wondering why the third angel hasn’t attacked me yet. The angel stares at me, and I halt as I see his eyes.
Riley pulls off his helmet, throwing it onto the ground between us, and we stare at each other over the dead angels between us.
“Don’t get in my way, Riley,” I coldly warn him.
As if I stabbed him already, he almost takes a step back, hurt shining in his eyes. “Everything I’ve done is for you! I kept you alive! How could you betray me!”
“Betray you?” I shout back, almost laughing. “You tried to kill me the last time we met and instead killed an innocent vampire. You were my best friend, and more than once you have tried to kill me now!”
“I wasn’t going to kill you; my aim is good. I would have only caught your side and made you stop! You were running away from me!” he shouts, taking another step closer to me. I flick my eyes to the door, knowing I need to end this now. Riley is just taking up time, and another angel could come, making it harder for me to do this. “Don’t you dare, Katy!”
Ignoring him completely, I bolt for the doors, knowing I will be quicker than he is. I crash into the doors, noticing they are locked with chains. I grip the thick links, pulling at them, then hearing them start to crack just as Riley grabs my waist and throws me away from the doors. I stumble on my feet before I fall on my face, seeing a sword on the floor nearby. I pick it up as Riley storms over to me, his sword held at his side. His anger-filled eyes clash with mine as we both strike out at each other at the same time, the clang of our swords vibrating down my arm.