Just as I step toward them, bright forms appear in the sky above me.
The assassins.
I made a deal with them to protect all of the students at Bloodwing: I promised to purge the academy of Hadrix, his wife, and his men and return four of the five assassin’s rings that Lady Tirelli stole.
In return, the assassins promised they would not hunt Striker or any other student here.
There are three Factions of assassins in the United States: the Legion based in Boston, the Dominion in Portland, and the Horde in Austin. Every assassin is an elite warrior with no mercy for their target. They’re all human—or supposed to be, although I know they aren’t—but control magical rings that give them superhuman strength and agility.
They live by a code of honor that requires clean kills and restricts who they’re allowed to target.
Now, there are five of them in the sky above the Academy.
Circling overhead are a Valkyrie woman with silver wings, a Keres woman with copper wings, and a Valkyrie man with wings made of shimmering electrical currents.
The Valkyrie woman is Hunter Cassidy, and the Valkyrie man is Slade Baines.
I was sent to kill Slade, and despite the odds against me, I succeeded, only to bring Slade back to life when I realized I had been manipulated.
The Keres woman carries a man whose name I remember is Cain, while Slade carries a man I’ve never seen before. That man’s head is shaven like those of the men with guns, but that’s where the likeness stops. He is taller and broader in the shoulders and chest, and his nose is beaten up as if he’s taken too many hits, his expression more fiercely calculating.
I quickly recall that when I made my deal with the assassins, they mentioned a man called Alexei Mason. I can only guess this is him.
As the five assassins soar overhead, Alexei’s firearm is already aimed. He and Cain take quick shots before they reach the ground.
Five men with guns fall dead, shot clean through the head.
As the assassins land, they spread out, the identification of their targets rapid and efficient in the extreme.
Despite the return fire from the remaining gunmen, five more of them fall dead to the ground.
That leaves only four remaining.
Their deaths are merciless but clean.
The assassins want death, not pain. My power tells me so.
I press my lips together with disapproval. I would not have been so lenient. My justice would have been delivered with pain.
Hunter alights on the ground nearest to me and runs toward me, but Slade shouts a warning to her. “Hunter, stop!”
She slows down, her gaze following the snakes twining around my body, before she finally draws to a stop. She turns to glance at the students, who are all waking up from the trance the White Wand held them in.
Some of the students are shouting, and many are crying, but all of them are backing away from the assassins.
They were led to believe that the assassins would come to kill them. It’s how Hadrix manipulated all of us, using our need to protect each other against us.
Oh, how love and fear were used as weapons against us.
I quickly take a moment to assess each of the students’ hearts to determine that all of them may live.
Many of them are staring at me, their faces pale. They may have been controlled by the White Wand, but they will remember what they did, the way they tried to hurt me.
Lucinda’s brown eyes fill with tears as she tries to step toward me. She was my first friend here. Now, her face is filled with horror. “Peyton…”
I raise my voice to a commanding shout. “The assassins won’t hurt you! Do not fight them, and they will leave you be.”
My shout seems to calm all of the students. Another pang strikes across my chest as I remember the trust they placed in me—and still do, it seems.
