And Fey is now weaponless.
I reach up with my fist as time seems to slow, as the wyvern dives with a feral shriek, eyes locked on Fey. Sapira staggers up, already moving towards Fey, the crowd going wild, hungry for human blood. The clouds bloom and darken, lightning streaking to the ground, once, twice …
But every time it misses.
I pump my legs faster, watching in helpless desperation as the wyvern’s claws extend just above Fey’s head …
Sapira jumps, both hands holding her blade aloft,spearing it in the eye. The wyvern shrieks, crashing into Fey, and they’re a tangle of limbs and claws, Sapira and Fey both lost to view for a moment. I finally reach them, clearing the rain from my eyes, and find Sapira in a heap. She blinks up at me and groans as I hold out a hand to haul her back to her feet.
‘Anything broken?’ I ask quickly, checking her over. She has a gash down her temple, but otherwise she seems all right. She’s survived.
‘I’m … I’ll be fine,’ she says and swallows. ‘But Fey …’
We both move towards the wyvern carcass, finding Fey trapped beneath. Her breath is shallow, and I hear the cry of alarm from her drake in the distance. Then I see it. A claw, wedged over her middle, restricting her breathing. She must have cracked ribs and if one of them has punctured a lung … I blink quickly, pushing the blare of panicked thoughts away. All I can do is try to get her free. One step at a time. Sapira falls to her knees, feeling for Fey’s hand, gripping it tightly and Fey’s eyes are unfocused as she turns to her. ‘Dying defending someone from a wyvern is an honour,’ she manages.
Sapira sobs as I move to take Fey’s other hand. ‘Fey, look at me. Fey!’
She huffs softly, but turns her head towards my voice. ‘Siren. Storm bringer.’
‘You will not die today. Do you hear me?’ I say, throwing all my will into my words. ‘You. Will. Not. Die.Today.’ Then I turn to Kell as he reaches us, dropping to his knees beside me. ‘Kell, we are going to shove. Sapira, you are going to grip Fey under the shoulders, dig your heels in and pull. Hard. Are you with me?’
‘We’re with you,’ says Sapira.
Kell nods, moving to my side as Sapira wipes at her face, then levers her hands under Fey’s shoulder blades. ‘Ready?’ I say. ‘Count of three. One, two,three.’
And I shove.
Kell puts his shoulders into it, Fey releasing a strangled moan as the monster shifts … and Sapira drags her clear.
The rain pours down in a torrent around us and I brace my hands on my thighs, pulling in a breath. When I turn to Fey, Sapira is speaking to her quickly, testing her bones, wincing when Fey cries out. She looks at me and Kell. ‘Three fractured ribs, I believe. And a sprained wrist. But I don’t think there’s internal damage. Her lungs and her heart are intact.’
‘What you mean is lucky to be alive,’ Fey grates out, eyes turning skyward. ‘I’m fresh meat for them to pick at when they tire of chasing you. Leave me. Guard yourselves.’
So much death. So much suffering. And all so that men in power can take more and more. I stand, staring straight at the balcony where the ruling council hold Agnes. I see her, blanched features, tears streaming from her eyes. So afraid. So full of bitter rage. Then I look past her, to the three men who sit, delighting in thisspectacle, in the show of power over this warrior from the Spines.
And I roar.
As more wyvern circle above us, more than those nine I first spotted arriving, as the storm smothers us all in its heady wrath, I release all my hate, all my anguish, and in my heart, I promise retribution. I promise revenge. This is more than Renshaw, more than the watch. It’s always been them, behind every decision, every move to swipe at our lives on the isles. They are the puppet masters and we have all been controlled by their wants, their desire for power, for control. But no more.
I am not powerless.
Breathing heavily, I turn to Sapira, who looks up with shining determination. Then she strips the killing blade from the wyvern, extracting it from its eye. When she rises, I see only fire and a will to fight. I see … myself.
‘In Valstra, the merchants take everything. They leave us with nothing but hard lives in their mines. And now I see them, all around this arena. That they will keep taking, unless we stand up to them,’ she says, her voice a soft, vicious hiss. ‘I thought it was an honour, fighting for Stanvard in these Trials. But now I see it is just another way for them to control us. It’s just a huge game to them, with the continent as a playing board. They play with our lives. Forprofit.’
‘But together …’
‘Together, we can stand against them,’ she says, then looks past me, to the sky. ‘I will guard Fey until we canget her out. You focus on the wyvern horde, keep them from us.’
Looking around, I find Kell has joined Sember and Heath and they have downed another wyvern, with the last swooping up to join another wave. I gasp, staring upwards, through the driving rain.
At a skyful of wyvern.
I go to join them as they stop to wipe the rain from their eyes, drawing the wyverns’ ire from Sapira and Fey. We are ready to face the final assault.
‘Do we have a plan?’ asks Sember.
‘Kill every one of them, and try not to die?’ Kell replies.
