Page 368 of Commanding Scythe and Sky

“Hey, no shame, he’s a good-looking hunk o’ man.”

“Are you done?” Fae purred, leveling him with an amused glare.

“Just gettin’ started.”

We were both shaking our heads as I yanked Fae in for an equally abrasive hug. “Aphaea, goddamn, it’s good to see you in armor.” I’d kept Fae in my back pocket, to her eternal chagrin. Keeping her out of the direct fight—ensuring she went home to Winnie—was what Ally would’ve wanted. So, we brought her in on damage control to fight Marlana’s blight. Again and again and again. But she was going absolutely fucking stir-crazy. A conclusion reinforced by her next statement.

“Yes, well.” She dipped her shoulder, curtsying flirtatiously as she batted her lashes. “Thanks for getting me out of the house.”

“We’ll get you back to Winnie in no time,” I promised as I tucked her against my chest, but my eyes were on her mate. Alec nodded poignantly.

“Let’s bring her home, rookie.”

Nodding, I looked back out over the dark city. Only our immortal eyes could pierce the darkness—a gift we’d need to make this work. Like Aren, I took the high ground, a perch from which to watch the chaos unfold until I was needed.

New York had fallen hard in the first round and was now heavily infested with crawlers and tormentors of every breed. The distinct, grating cry of a tormentor bird screeched through the air, and I blew out a pained breath of anticipation.

Aren’s most loyal souls were yet again corralled in one fallen city. Westerlunds would take the offensive for group one, punching a hole through the inevitable defenses. Lana would take point for our group, Freya and Fae behind her, with Gio, Carr, and Cyrus bringing up the rear.

“Here we go,” Alec muttered as a portal opened in the street below us.

Moros and Marlana, glowing faintly silver, emerged, marching toward the building occupied by Sire’s team. Like it would be that easy.

I spotted a flash of ivory between two black swaths of fabric, and my heart skipped a beat. A third figure followed in their wake, a raven perched on her shoulder, two sentinels flanking her, and…

Ally? My stomach free-fell. Some part of me—the majority, if I was honest—had prayed we were wrong, prayed Blaz had been wrong.

There was no way she was this far gone—willingly following these monsters into a tinderbox.

Steady, Alec warned mind-to-mind.

An image flashed in my memory of those cheekbones barely visible between a scarf and beanie, cheeks cherry-red from snow, her body pinned beneath mine as that bell-chime laugh echoed off the trees. I stepped forward, but Alec already had a hand hooked around my elbow.

My eyes snapped to his amber ones, and he shook his head.

Follow the plan. He didn’t have to say it for me to see it across his face.

If I could just let her hear my voice—if I could only touch her, she’d come back to us. I knew it. She had to.

The phantom of my mate cocked her head to the side, studying her surroundings. I narrowed my eyes, fixated on the way she prowled forward⁠—

But then she raised a gloved hand, and Alec and I grunted a unified, “Oh, fuck,” as we threw our shields out wide just in time for a wall of flame to swallow the street. The others ducked down, taking cover below the lip of the rooftop, shields erupting on all sides.

She hadn’t even moved, and the world ignited in fire. Blistering heat slammed against my skin, and Cyrus grunted as he cast ice against it, fighting to keep the air safe enough to breathe.

“Sire, incoming,” I signed to our designated Seaboarder—a woman called Solyn, whose onyx skin contrasted with golden eyes that shimmered like light through a river, giving her an ethereal quality fit for a water wielder. She nodded curtly.

Freya, you and Gio take the snake, I ordered down the line. Marcus, Ajax, are you ready?

Good here, Marcus confirmed.

Clear, Jax agreed.

On my mark, I gritted out as the roar of flames grew deafening and Alec and I both braced against the impact.

Goddamn, I forgot how strong she is, Alec complained.

I didn’t, I scoffed. I also hadn’t forgotten the way she would’ve repositioned herself while we were blinded. The way she’d shift to gain the advantage. Turning within the glowing orange orb, I ordered, Move on three.