But above the din of the angry crowd, I heardit. The sound of war horns—wyvern war horns.
27
KIERAN
I’d heardthem when we entered into the wyvern kingdom the second time, announcing our arrival with Bradley. This time, though, they symbolized something far different than the panic and worry I’d been feeling then. Now they symbolized hope.
My men had arrived, and they had brought the wyverns with them.
“What the hell is that!” A soldier nearby sounded off in shock.
My father’s frame was heavy, almost suffocating, but as his gaze moved skyward in reaction to his words, I used his distraction to my advantage. I pulled on everything Steele had taught me about disengaging from my enemy.
With a buck of my body, I shifted my frame just enough to bring my knee up and into his stomach, hard. He groaned in surprise and pulled back just enough that it allowed my other leg to come up before landing a hard kick to his chest. The force of the kick sent him falling backwards against the wood platform.
“You little bitch!” he roared.
Rolling to my right, I used my cuffed hands to support myself enough to stumble to standing, immediately pulling the chains that were attached to my wrists toward me defensively. Theguards who had been holding them had dropped them when my father attacked me, and I didn’t want to give anyone an easy chance to hold me captive once more. Gripping the chains, I wondered briefly if I could use them as weapons.
When no one made a move to attack me, I was momentarily confused. Until I realized that in the chaos of escaping my own situation, everyone else on the platform had been staring skyward. When I followed their gaze, I found I could hardly blame them.
The late sunset skies were choked with wyverns darkening the space with their massive, scaled forms, casting fire of all colors down onto the surrounding military buildings. Archangels and commanders shouted orders as the crowd began to scream in panic, attempting to both run and fly away, but they were caught by the surrounding burning buildings.
“I’ve never seen this many before…this isn’t possible,” the closest soldier to me, a few feet away, spoke in a hushed whisper.
In the distance, I saw four familiar angels racing toward me as Niz flew ahead of them, clearing a path forward. My knees very nearly buckled in relief—they were really here.
“No!” my father snarled in realization, no doubt seeing the joy in my expression while looking at me from across the platform. At his angry tone, the soldiers around him seemed to break out of their dazed stupor. “Grab her—I willnotallow her to escape!”
I damn well wouldn’t give him a choice about it.
I wouldnotdie today.
Gripping the chains more securely in each hand, I began to swing them in dangerous circles, their weight heavy enough that I knew if I hit someone with them, it would hurt like hell. It didn’t stop the soldiers from charging forward, and the next few minutes were a blur of action and motion.
I forced myself to stay light on my feet despite my choice in weaponry as I hit the first individual right in the chest, causing him to stumble back before falling off the platform completely. The others took note and began attacking from afar as I dodged swords and even bows. I managed to hit a few more soldiers with my reach, but the wild technique wasn’t nearly as effective as I hoped. I wondered if I wouldn’t be better taking out my dagger and trying to fight despite the weight of the chains that would slow my movement.
“Darling!” Bash’s voice rang out as I snapped my head around, so incredibly relieved to see him. His power lashed out, removing four of the soldiers in one nasty blow, their corpses split in half in a rather messy affair. One I couldn’t pay mind to for very long because Bash was in my space, kissing me hard.
“I love the kiss, may not be the time, though,” I panted as I pulled back, out of breath. A small smile quirked the corner of his lips up, and I couldn’t stop myself from leaning forward and giving him another.
“Just happy to see you.” He teased as if we weren’t mid battle, but he then motioned to the others on the platform who were trying to close in on us. They stepped in our direction, not bothering to stop when the corpses of their fallen comrades blocked their path forward. “Don’t worry about these guys, Darling. I have them handled.”
“Who has the keys to her chains?” Gabe demanded, landing on my other side and instantly wrapping an arm around my waist. I knew it wasn’t the time or place, but the smile that pulled on my lips at his appearance was undeniable.
“I do,” my father called out with a cocky, victorious tone that didn’t quite match the potential outcome of this battle. He walked forward, though he remained securely surrounded by soldiers. The platform could hold around thirty individuals, butright now, it felt a bit more wobbly than I would have liked. I briefly wondered if the fighting below was affecting it.
“Right. I’ll take those from you,” Steele soared in from out of nowhere, grabbing the keys out of his hand before tossing them to Gabe. The man moved so damn efficiently. I thrust my wrists forward, thankful for Steele making quick work of the situation so I would be able toactuallyfight.
The enraged scream from my father as he called out for the soldiers to continue their attack was almost comical as Gabe began to fight them off in earnest. The chains came undone from my wrists, dropping down with a heavy thud and I immediately drew out my dagger.
“Up in the air now, Little Star,” Gabe demanded. I gritted my teeth as my wings throbbed in response. “You don’t need to fight anymore, we’ve got this.”
“As much as I appreciate that, I can’t fly!” I explained before motioning to my wing, dodging a blow that came my way. His gaze sharpened on the injury with fury as he began to cut down to the soldiers in earnest with Bastian. Up in the sky, I could see Niz and Ronan fighting in tandem to stop anyone else from joining us on the platform. I didn’t know where Steele was anymore, but I had no doubt he was still close.
When I heard my father call my name from across the platform and saw that he was trying to reach me, I realized Gabe was right. I needed to get up in the air immediately. At least until I could find a better vantage point to fight from.
A hard, muscular arm appeared out of nowhere, lifting me from the platform, and as my stomach swooped, I looked up to find Steele. In a swift movement, he used the sword gripped in his other hand to slice through someone’s chest as they attempted to attack us. Dislodging the body from his sword, the frame fell downward and landed in a pile on the ground.
