“Aspen!” I shout, scrambling closer to him. “What’s happening at the port?”
He stammers for words, looking wildly about, then finally manages to speak. “The warship has begun firing at the beach. We’ve destroyed all the tanks, and their soldiers are overpowered, but there’s still a lot of fighting. The iron is growing thicker in the air and the fae are getting weaker.”
I clasp his hands in mine. “We know where the Parvanovae is. We’re about to steal it back.”
“By flying in the air on a moving beast? This is madness.”
I ignore him, giving his hands a tight squeeze. “Listen to me. Destroy the warship. Destroy everything. Then have Fehr finish the wall.”
Finally, he nods, then his expression turns serious. “When this is all over,” he says through his teeth, “I’m going to murder you for putting yourself in danger like this.”
“Looking forward to it,” I bite back. “And I love you too.”
His lips pull into a subtle smirk, then he’s gone. When I return my attention to the space between me and Estel, gunfire rains down from both sides. It seems we’ve drawn the attention of the forward control gondola too.
Estel crouches on all fours, looking both ways between blasts. Then, with a leap, she darts across to my side of the gondola. Bullets fly toward her, but I swear the particles of her body part to let them pass through the other side. She squeezes in tight next to me, appearing unscathed.
“Estel, can you die?” I’ve never seen her or any other ethereal being mortally wounded by a physical attack. I’ve often wondered if it were even possible.
“I can shift and reform my mass at will, which helps me avoid most injuries,” she says. “However, if iron strikes me before I can avoid it, my form will become more solid and I’ll be vulnerable to further injury.”
“So…I’m not the only one in mortal peril right now.”
“I told you this would be dangerous.”
I clench my jaw, trying to put on my bravest face despite the pain lashing the back of my thigh. “What do we do now?”
She cranes her neck to peer over the side of the gondola, ducking to avoid another bullet. “I must get to that shaft and into the hull at once. They could decide at any moment that we’re putting their mission at risk and drop the bomb early. I have an idea, but it’s a risk. We might not make it out before getting caught.” She releases a sigh. “This would be so much easier if the wall were complete.”
“It should be any time now,” I say. “Aspen is destroying the warship as we speak. After that, Fehr will finish the wall.”
She eyes me with curiosity. “How do you know?”
“Aspen and I can communicate through our Bond.”
“Ah,” she says. “He told me about your mysterious connection before we came to rescue you at Varney Cove.”
Just then, Aspen returns, eyes bulging as he struggles to keep his balance amidst the rushing wind. “It’s done,” he says, crouching down before me. “The warship is destroyed, and the wall is complete.”
My pulse races at this news. “Thank the Great Mother,” I say under my breath.
Aspen’s expression turns hard again. “Now get out of here, Ev—” He doubles over, clutching his side while blood streams between his fingers. Then, with a lurch, he closes his eyes and begins to stumble back. In the blink of an eye, he’s gone.
“Aspen!” I lunge for the place he was, but Estel pulls me back, just in time to save me from a flying bullet. My mind reels to comprehend what I just saw. One moment he was there, and the next he was…he was…
He couldn’t have been injured by the bullets here, for he traveled through the Bond. That means…
I shake my head. No, I can’t think of that. He must be all right. He must. Surely, I’d feel it through the Bond if he were…
I swallow hard.
Estel takes me by the shoulders, shaking me gently.
Trembling, I meet her gaze. “The wall is complete.” My voice is hollow, my throat dry.
Her eyes widen. “You’re sure?”
I nod.
