Page 283 of The Gods Order

I raise my palm and…

Erase everything below us.

The other Veilatara fan out in a protective formation as we become streaks across the sky.

Black essence pours from my fingertips, swallowing shattered homes, broken towers, crumbling walls. Stone dissolves into dust before vanishing entirely, leaving nothing but flat ground behind.

The ruined town disappears beneath us until nothing remains to hide behind.

Perfect. Exactly as planned.

Keep going.

I glance over my shoulder before facing forward again.

My men and friends have already been swallowed by the distance as they guide the army toward the path I carved.

A few more passes, then I can join them…

Just a little farther—

A shift passes through the air and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. My brows scrunch together, but I keep pushing my power.

“Thayla!” Mara hollers, and I jerk my attention to her.

She’s staring behind her.

My gaze follows.

Fuck.

Oblirians and Dark Gods appear across the empty ground I just created as though the earth itself split open to release them.

That isn’t where we expected them to starshoot in.

We should’ve been able to clear hundreds more yards.

My stomach drops as the front lines collide. Steel, power, and determination crash into each other so forcefully it vibrates the air around me.

“Shit, Seismet, turn back!”

He and Verlet release purrs that whip through the air and in a millisecond we’re wheeling around.

My eyes scan, searching.

I never find my men, but I do find an opening.

I point toward a group of Oblirians who haven’t mixed in with our people yet.

“There!”

Wind screams past my ears as he dives toward the battlefield. Every powerful muscle beneath me coils with anticipation, and I unsheathe my swords.

At the last possible heartbeat, his wings snap open.

The force sends the Oblirians sprawling and his deafening neigh splits them apart even farther. The sound rolls through the chaos with enough power to make heads turn.

A Dark God whirls around, fear flashing in his gaze for a breath before Seismet barrels into him. He plows through the enemy line like they’re nothing more than blades of grass. His hooves shatter armor and throw bodies aside with brutal efficiency.