“We need to get to higher ground,” Aidon barked into his ear, his grip still tight on the leather of his vest. “We won’t be able to see—”
His words were cut off by a piercing howl.
Will’s blood went cold.
He’d heard Tyr make that sound once before—in the throne room.
It was a sound of agony.
He ripped himself out of Aidon’s hold as he searched frantically for the wolf. He found him standing on a crate, his head tossed back as he let loose another vicious howl.
He didn’t seem hurt, but his hackles were raised, his body primed as if he had caught sight of a threat.
Will leapt up on the crate next to him, squinting as he tried to see through the haze. There was nothing but the Midlands soldiers charging forward, and the Kakos fighters running from the attack, and the citadel looming over it all.
Tyr howled again.
“What…?” Will’s question died in his throat as he followed Tyr’s gaze up, up, up.
There, standing on the other wall of the citadel, was a figure dressed in navy.
The sounds of battle faded in a muted hum. He was too far away to see her face, but he knew.
Somehow, heknew.
As if in confirmation, Tyr let out one last hair-raising call. Then he leapt from the crate, straight into the thick of the fighting. Will threw himself after him without a second thought.
***
Aya ignored the swords trained on her back as she used her power to carve out a chunk in the wall, giving her an unobstructed view of the battle below.
She stepped up to the edge, the toes of her boots hanging over into the empty space. The fighting had spilled onto the docks, the Midlands soldiers pushing valiantly forward, burning ships in their wake.
Soon, they’d be at the base of the citadel.
They looked so fragile from this height.
What is an ant to a human?
Aya gave her hands a small shake and tried to settle her raging pulse. The sky had taken on a smokey hue, but she tipped her head back anyway and allowed herself a single moment to look toward the Beyond.
A single moment to reflect on a promise murmured to her in the dark cell of a dungeon.
If these are our last moments, then know I will climb out of the hells and take on the gods if it means finding you again in the Beyond.
She hoped when she and Will found each other again, there would be a Beyond for them. A place to rest, together. A place where she could beg his forgiveness for doing the one thing he had never wanted her to do.
Aya spread her arms wide, sucking in a deep breath as she called her power forward. It rushed to the surface, sure and true and strong, ready after so many months of waiting.
Ofcontrol.
Aya closed her eyes as she sent a pulse of lightning into the sky.
And then another.
And another.
Screams erupted from below, but Aya kept her lightning flashing.
