My mouth went dry. I imagined Maverick and Alana on the beach, her arm around him as she tried to keep them both calm, the shadows of angel wings scanning their faces from the forces above.
“I remember how the earth rumbled as they went on the attack. They used magical bombs, spells, whatever they could.” Alana’s voice was hoarse as she made the recollection. “Maverick and I rushed into the basement. The whole house shook all night. It was so loud we could barely hear each other speak. It was terrible. We didn’t know if we were going to be dead or alive by morning.”
My body grew cold with every word she spoke. My siblings were stillchildren, and they’d had to endure the worst completely alone.
“Dad showed up the next day. It was such a relief,” Alana said, letting out a sigh. “Luckily, the angels missed our house, but so much of Kinpago was damaged, or outright destroyed. They must’ve burned down half the city. The angels kept coming back, but the tribe fought them off until they finally went on the retreat. That’s why it took us so long to get here. We couldn’t leave until the area around Kinpago was fortified from other attacks.”
Alana gave a heavy sigh. “Mav and I have spent the past week in a bomb shelter with hundreds of other Hawkei, praying we’d make it out alive. Kinpago’s safe, for now, but we don’t know how much longer it will be.”
“But why? Why would the angels do that?” I pressed. “Did the Warden order them to do it?”
“It was a counter-attack,” Ez replied. “Chieftess Vanessa couldn’t get ahold of our parents once they’d gone to find you, because Jaymin had kidnapped them. Vanessa considered it an act of war and ordered Koigni bombers to lay siege to Celestial City.”
My limbs were like stone, immobile on the bed. I refused to accept this. “No. Chieftess Vanessa wouldn’t do that.”
“She’s a Koigni chieftess with Fire in her blood. She was looking for any excuse to get on the offensive and protect our tribe,” Alana explained. “To be honest, I can’t really blame her. The war was going to start any day. It was smart of her to do something about it before we became a target.”
I had to see proof. “Turn the news on.”
“But—” Charlie objected.
“I have to see it!” I insisted.
Before any of them could move, Oberi put his paw on the remote that sat on the bedside table. The small television mounted to the wall began flashing pictures.
It was already set to the news station. Disbelief gripped me as I observed the devastating images rolling across the screen.
Celestial City had been completely destroyed. Vanessa’s dragons had laid waste to the entire city. There was nothing but the remnants of blackened buildings that were still smoking as residents picked through the rubble, searching for survivors.
The voice of the broadcaster played over the violent display. “As of this moment, five thousand Celestial residents have been confirmed dead, with thousands more injured. Over a thousand Celestials are missing, and the majority of the city’s residents have been displaced, fleeing as refugees to other cities.”
The screen switched to live footage of a subway station. Hundreds of angels were clustered inside, using the place as a makeshift bomb shelter. Everyone looked confused and upset. They carried backpacks, blankets, whatever food they had. Some held on to pets, clutching their cats and dogs like they were all they had left. Nobody seemed to know what to do or where to go.
A reporter began asking questions to a haggard-looking woman whose eyes were completely dark with grief, face marred with tears.
“Why are they doing this?” the woman wailed. “We’ve done nothing to them. My sister has children… I don’t know where they are. We have no home. We have nowhere to go. Everything I had was demolished. My entire street is gone. What have we done to deserve this? Why can’t the world work together! Please, we need to coexist in peace!”
The broadcast switched, showing footage from last evening. People pulled victims out from the buried rubble, some alive, but most dead, their bodies limp like dolls.
I watched as four angels carried out a pregnant woman on a stretcher. She clutched her belly, which had been ripped open, her limbs twisted and her eyes far away. Her entire form was covered with blood as she begged the paramedics to kill her in order to save the baby.
“This woman was in the maternity ward of Celestial City’s hospital when Koigni bombers began shelling the building,” the newscaster announced. “We’ve just confirmed that she died from her injuries. The child was delivered via c-section, but unfortunately, showed no signs of life.”
Pain grew in my aching middle as their words cut through me. It was easy to paint the angels as a judgmental society of religious radicals when you weren’t faced with images like this. These weren’t the power-hungry Deacons of the Celestial Church or the deranged Warden suffering. These were average people.
The broadcast switched back to the newsroom. The reporter straightened her papers as she stated, “Elementai citizens of Kinpago are suffering their own losses. Reports have come in of angel soldiers marching through villages inside tribal lines and committing acts of violence against tribal members in retaliation for the bombing of Celestial City, with victims spanning from the elderly to small children—”
“That’s enough,” Charlie said. “Turn it off.”
Oberi put his paw on the remote, and the television went dark. Alana sounded haunted as she said, “It’s truly terrible. Mom and Dad are moving us toHok’evaleonce we leave. They don’t want us in Kinpago.”
“IsHok’evalesafe?” I asked. I didn’t think anywhere was.
“Hok’evale’sa place of refuge for all supernatural races, even though it’s an Elementai city. Chieftess Luana has already said that all refugees of war are welcome there, and that the Anichi tribe will help everyone heal. If the angels attackHok’evale, they’ll be killing their own,” Ez said. “They wouldn’t do that unless they were desperate.”
Alana stood. “We should find Mom and Dad, tell them you’re awake. Mav will want to see you.”
Ezekiel followed her out. I swallowed down a lump in my sore throat as I said, “This is our fault, Charlie. This wouldn’t be happening if we hadn’t gone to the Underground.”
