Everyone’s attention was focused on the Honorary and where she stood with the Commander that they didn’t notice anyone walking into their midst until she was halfway into the room. While they were on guard, they simply hadn’t anticipated anyone walking into a Guild meeting. They had underestimated Avoca, too, that time she’d fought one of their own. Somehow, that all felt so long ago.
A man to her left called out in surprise and then tried to reach for her. But she had a shield around her body. He harmlessly bounced off it, and she continued walking. She’d perfected shields in Kinkadia, and though she knew it wouldn’t last forever, it certainly made a spectacle.
By the time she reached the Honorary, everyone’s attention was on her.
The Honorary glared at her. “You.”
“Hello, Joselie,” Cyrene said with a grin.
“You dare use my name?”
“It seems so.”
“Kill her,” she demanded.
A few people shuffled around her, but no one could get close enough to do anything of the sort. An arrow whizzed straight to her face. It bounced off the shield and fell uselessly. Murmurs filled the ruined room.
“We can cut down shields, as you surely know,” the Honorary said.
She flicked her wrist, and Cyrene’s shield disappeared.
She’d been anticipating that.
“Now, Commander,” Cyrene said.
And he slowly rose to his considerable height. The ropes that had been around his wrists and ankles fell to the floor. And she watched him reach for his previously bound magic.
“What are you doing, spitfire?” he ground out.
The Honorary just looked irritated. “We can easily subdue him again. And now, we can hand you over. What a coveted prize, Cyrene of the Doma.”
“I do like when my reputation precedes me,” Cyrene said. She took a step closer. “But I do not believe that you can subdue him as easily this time. He is the most powerful of you.” She cocked her head to the side. “And I think that you know it.”
Another arrow zoomed toward Cyrene. She brushed it aside with her air magic, letting it bury into the earth inches before the Honorary.
The Honorary opened her mouth to respond, but she never got the chance. A roar split the air, and everyone looked to the skies. Fear was evident among the group for the first time since Cyrene had ever met them.
The Commander’s gray eyes shot to hers. “I hope that belongs to you.”
Cyrene just smiled as Sarielle and Halcyon zipped across the sky. Guild members began to scramble backward to the sides of the building. Some even tried to escape. Screams rose in the air as the dragons circled back and shot fire from their jaws, cutting off both exits.
The Guild erupted. They moved into action as terror took over from a threat to their lives.
The Honorary glared. “How dare you defile our sacred grounds!” She withdrew a sword and came toward Cyrene with all the force of her magic behind it.
Cyrene desperately missed Shadowbreaker, but she had no choice but to face her without it. Except that the Commander jumped into the Honorary’s path. The Honorary’s top goons tried to round on Cyrene, but she blasted her own fire magic in a circle around them, effectively closing them off from the rest of the battle.
The Honorary’s and Commander’s magic collided with a force like a hurricane. They battled back and forth, each trying to get a grip on the weapon. Then the Commander whirled and dropped his hand down on her wrist. Cyrene heard the crunch and winced. It only took a second for her fingers to release the sword as she cradled her broken wrist. The Commander scooped up the fallen sword and held it to the Honorary’s neck.
“Tell me who you work for,” he demanded, cool and calm.
The Honorary just laughed. “Kill me, and another will rise up.”
“Who is the assassin in charge?”
A smile curled the Honorary’s lips, and then she spat on the Commander.
The Commander pushed the blade harder against her throat. “Tell me.”
“Never. You’ll have to kill me.”
“Commander,” Cyrene shouted over the screams of the Guild members. “We have to go.”
“No,” he roared. “Tell me! Who is it? How does this person control our order?”
Then Sarielle dipped in low, seeing the circle of fire as the signal, and she carefully scooped the Commander up in her talons and carried him away. Cyrene took off running, ignoring the shouts from the Honorary. But Halcyon was coming in. Cyrene propelled herself into the air, using her magic to hold her aloft, and she felt another magic mix with hers, pushing her even higher until she could scramble onto Halcyon’s leg.
Dean reached a hand down, and they locked wrists. He hoisted her up Halcyon’s side until she was seated in front of him. Then Halcyon vaulted skyward, and they left the Guild and Isola behind.
Twenty minutes later, Halcyon set down in an empty valley still half-covered in frost. Kell was so far north that it remained frozen so much longer than the rest of Emporia.
Cyrene jumped down from Halcyon and rushed toward Sarielle, who had just released the Commander. He rose to his feet, looking as formidable as she had ever seen him.
“You,” he ground out. “You ruined everything.”
Cyrene startled into stillness. “I saved your life. You’re welcome. Don’t mention it.”
“Saved my life?” He laughed. “Did I look like I was in any real danger? I disarmed Joselie with hardly any effort. Can’t you see that I wanted to be caught? I’ve been working for this moment for months. I was just about to find out who the hell the Guild had been working for, and then you miraculously saved me,” he sneered.
“Well, let me save you the trouble,” she spat back. Her own anger blossoming. “Her name is Malysa, and she is the goddess of destruction. Trust me, you don’t want to meet her.”
The Commander furrowed his brows. “How could you know that?”
“Because I’ve gone up against her. And she’s recruiting.”
“No, it can’t be a goddess. They said she was an assassin. The ultimate assassin. Not some goddess.”
Cyrene sighed, putting the pieces together. She glanced to Dean as he approached. He nodded.
“That must be Wara. She’s a Braj.”
“Braj?” the Commander asked. “Aren’t those just a tale?”
“Did you not just ride with my dragon, Sarielle?”
The Commander looked to Sarielle warily.
Sarielle shot him an incredulous look. You’re lucky that my soul sister wanted me to rescue you or else you would never have made it out of that ruin.
The Commander jumped back. “She talks!”
Cyrene laughed. “Well, of course, she talks.”
What? Haven’t you ever met a dragon before?
“No,” he said, clearly reassessing the situation. “So…dragons and Braj are real.”
“Yes. And every other nightmare you’ve ever heard of and some that you haven’t. Wara might be the assassin that is running the Guild. But she’s a dark general for Malysa, and that is the real person behind it all.”
“Okay,” he said slowly. “If you know so much about her, then what does she want with the Guild?”