by Sadie Moss
“We lost our only daughter because we were too damn blind to see the truth,” Silvius continued grimly. “We need to make it right. We can’t undo the damage or make up for the violence against the Blighted, but Chief Advisor Rain needs to pay for what he’s done.”
“And you’re willing to work alongside the Blighted to make that happen?” I asked, trying not to let suspicion color my tone.
“Yes. If—if you’ll have us.” Grace wiped her eyes with trembling fingers.
“We welcome your help.” Noble stepped smoothly away from the door, drawing the couple’s attention for the first time. “You’re right. You can’t undo the damage. No one can. But if you want to create a better future for your daughter, and for others like her, you’ve come to the right place.” He grinned, his body practically vibrating with energy. “We’re moving against Rain soon. And The Crow will lead us to victory.”
My stomach soured. If there hadn’t been two new Gifted recruits standing between us, I’d have kicked Noble in the shin—or the balls.
Fuck, that was a hell of a vow for him to make. Especially when he wasn’t the one who had to live up to it.
But I affixed a confident look on my face and met Grace’s watery gaze. “I will. I promise.”
I bit my lip against the words that wanted to follow. Or else to ruin.
Chapter 16
“He shouldn’t be doing that!”
“Relax, kitten, he’s fine. Also, I’m pretty sure he can hear you.”
“He can,” Jae said calmly, though his eyes remained closed as he hovered his hands a few inches away from the peeling paint on the wall. “And Akio is right, I’m fine.”
“But creating a portal is how you almost died yesterday!”
“Tearing open a portal quickly is what almost killed me. Creating one the right way is no more difficult for me than casting a concealment spell.”
“I still don’t like it.” I paced nervously to the other end of the room, unable to watch the blue glow slowly spreading across the wall. “Why can’t I do it?”
“She’s got a point. Why can’t she do it?” Akio watched me with glittering eyes from where he lounged on the bed.
When he’d flopped down onto it earlier, he’d paused before shooting me an inscrutable look. I swore he somehow knew exactly what had happened between Jae and me in the spot he now occupied.
Was that why he was being such a crabby ass?
“I will teach you how to open portals, Lana,” Jae promised. “But a portal that takes me an hour to open now would’ve taken over six hours when I was first learning. The newer you are to it, the slower you have to go to stay safe, and we don’t have time for that right now.”
He had me there. With Rain only days away from being able to perform another magic pull, we didn’t have time to waste. My four and I had all crashed in a slightly less musty bedroom downstairs last night, and I wouldn’t have wanted to trade those six hours of sleep for six hours spent doing portal magic.
I sighed. “Fine. I understand. But please be careful.”
Wrapping my arms around Jae from behind, I pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades, running my hands up his stomach and chest. I reveled in the feeling of his muscles relaxing under my touch instead of tensing like they had for so long.
A sound like a muffled growl came from the direction of the bed, and I gritted my teeth. I wasn’t sure what had gotten stuck up Akio’s ass, but he was in a damned pissy mood today.
Before I could call him out on it, Fen and Corin entered the room. I reluctantly dropped my hold on Jae so he could concentrate.
“How’s the portal coming?” Fen asked, pulling me toward him and burying his face in my hair. I melted into his arms, letting myself bask for a moment in the scent of pine that always surrounded him. Maybe someday our lives could involve more of this, and less running, hiding, and fighting.
“Almost done,” Jae murmured softly.
“Noble said he’s heard from several other Resistance cells.” Corin sat on the end of the bed near where we stood, catching my hand and running the pad of his thumb over my knuckles. “They’ve all had people wanting to volunteer. A lot of Blighted, but Touched and Gifted too.”
“I can’t believe Rain hasn’t lost the support of everyone in the Capital,” I said bitterly, sinking down onto the mattress beside Corin and leaning into him.
He shrugged. “Greed and fear are both powerful motivators. As long as people are ruled by one or the other, they won’t stand up to him. Whether they support him or not.”
I gnawed my lower lip. I couldn’t really relate to the lust for more power, but fear? I knew that emotion well. It didn’t mean I wouldn’t fight though. In fact, the more afraid I was, the harder I fought.
We’d decided it was too dangerous to leave the dilapidated house and risk exposure, so Jae was creating a new portal to the Resistance headquarters. We’d meet other cell leaders there and start to coordinate an attack on Rain—an undertaking that was finally starting to seem possible with our expanded numbers.
“There.” Jae stepped back from the glowing blue patch on the wall. “It’s small, but it’s fully formed. It’ll do for our purposes.”
“I’ll go tell Noble.”
Akio rose gracefully from the bed and left the room without another word. As he passed through the door, my heart did a little stutter-step in my chest, already missing the feeling of rightness that came when my four were all near me.
Unbidden, the story he’d told me about Ria rose into my mind. Would he always resent me for the bond between us?
Trying to ignore the pit that opened up in my stomach at that thought, I followed Corin over to the portal, Fen right behind us. It was definitely smaller than usual—I had to hunch over to fit through it—but we emerged safely in the tunnels under the Resistance headquarters.
The guards who greeted us at the entrance kept shooting me awed glances, making the hair on my neck stand on end. It was better than the distrustful glares I’d gotten the first few times I came here… but not by much.
I hung back deliberately, and by the time we entered the large, crowded main room of the compound, Akio had rejoined us. I felt the heat of his gaze on me as we headed toward the war room.
The large table that dominated the room was now surrounded by people. I didn’t recognize any of them, but I assumed they were Resistance splinter-cell leaders and possibly new recruits. They stood as we entered. There was an awkward moment of silence as we all looked at each other before Noble burst into the room behind us and took control of the space.
“Thank you all for coming.” He settled into the chair at the head of the table.
Several other Resistance members stepped back, gesturing for me and my four to take their empty seats. I hesitated, but didn’t want to get this war council off to a bad start by denying their gracious offer. Besides, two of the men who stood were Gifted, and although it was a little, stupid thing, a Gifted man yielding his seat to Corin held meaning.
Noble drummed his fingers on the table as everyone got settled. The same girl who’d sat next to him yesterday was at his right hand today. As soon as our eyes turned to him, he leaned forward intently.
“The way I see it, we’ve got two possibilities for how to take down Rain. We can try to attack the palace, or we can bring the fight to the mountain hideout where he took The Crow. I’m not gonna lie to you—neither of those prospects will be easy. But we should do both. We’ll use force against the palace, and stealth against his compound.”
“Well, we know the palace is protected. How heavily guarded is the mountain bunker?” A Blighted woman with an eye patch over her left eye spoke up. A wicked looking scar emerged from the top of the black fabric, crossing her temple and intersecting her hairline.
“Very.” I grimaced. “And probably even more so now that he’s been exposed. When I was there, it was only guarded by spells and charms, but since Rain isn’t trying to hide his plans anymore, I’m sure he’s
got real guards protecting the place.”
“Right.” She leaned back in her seat, pursing her lips.
“We need you to tell us everything you remember about the place,” Noble urged. “Layout, protections, any weaknesses. Even if there’ve been changes, it will give us a base of knowledge to work with.”
I nodded, and then launched into a description of Rain’s mountain lair. Images from my escape flashed through my mind in vivid color as I spoke, chilling my blood. When I mentioned the ball of magic suspended inside the giant metal prongs like a glowing star, several jaws dropped and eyebrows raised.
By the time I finished detailing my escape, the room was quiet.
“I know it’s daunting.” Noble spoke into the silence, his voice infused with the same passion and energy he always exuded. “But it’s what we’re up against. We didn’t choose it, and I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but we have to find a way to succeed. I, for one, am willing to die trying.”
“Hear fucking hear.” Eye patch woman raised her chin in agreement.
“The two of us can work together to break wards,” one of the Gifted men who’d offered his seat said, nudging his friend.
The second man nodded. “We’ll need backup, because it’s time-consuming and draining. But if you can lead us to the wards, we can get them open.”
“Excellent.” Noble slapped his hand on the table, his eyes burning. “We’ll send a small team into the mountains while the bulk of our force focuses on the palace. Once we destroy Rain’s machine, we can deal with him. I’ll lead the attack on the palace. We’ll have a mix of Blighted, Touched, and Gifted fighters, so we’ll need to team up strategically to maximize our advantage.”
“I can work with a group of Blighted and try to find a weak spot in the palace’s defenses. I’m good with a blade, and I can confound anyone who discovers us.” A fairy with blue hair raised his hand tentatively. His magic flared as he spoke, and I saw everyone around the table relax slightly. Confounding was the flip side of a fairy’s powers. While their magic usually made people around them feel unaccountably happy and at ease, they could also twist that magic to make people lose focus and motivation.
“Good. Good! What else?” Noble looked around the group, eyebrows raised.
Other hands began to pop up, new voices interjecting offers of help or thoughts on strategy. Noble’s enthusiasm and determination kept the ball rolling, and I sat quietly for a moment, looking around the table at the people gathered here.
My soul knew four of them on the deepest level possible. But many of them were strangers to me. There were Blighted, Touched, and Gifted people spread around the table—not seated on opposite sides, but intermingled together. Talking to each other, listening to each other. All in pursuit of one common goal.
A spark of hope lit deep in my belly, burning low alongside the ember of my magic.
Maybe, maybe someday, things could be better.
If a future existed for any of us, if we lived beyond this week, maybe there was a chance we could create the world Rain had feared was coming. One where the Gifted and Blighted existed so closely together that the differences between them became unimportant. One where magic spread and thrived rather than being hoarded and fought over.
It was too much to wish for, too big a prayer. I knew that.
But still, I wrapped myself around that flame of hope, shielding it like a candle guttering in the wind.
I wouldn’t let it go out.
Akio nudged me, pulling me from my thoughts. One corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk as he inclined his head toward Noble.
“What can you tell us about Victor Kruger and Nicholas Constantine?” the Resistance leader asked, repeating the question I’d missed. “Any weaknesses?”
I huffed a sigh, my mood plummeting. “Weaknesses? None that I saw. Unless you count being a major asshole as a weakness. I don’t know what Victor can do, but Nicholas—”
I broke off as footsteps clanged on the stairs. A moment later, a young man rushed into the room, darting through one of the open spaces that had once held a floor-to-ceiling glass panel.
“Sir! Sir!” He stopped at Noble’s side, gasping for breath.
“What is it, Justin?”
“You need to come, sir! You need to see! An attack—on a Resistance cell. They took—everyone.”
Chapter 17
Noble’s face froze.
For the first time since I’d met him, his internal tempo slowed, a starburst of pain flaring behind his eyes.
Then he snapped to full speed again, rising so fast his heavy chair skidded back, rocking on its legs.
“Where? Show me.”
The boy nodded, his mop of black hair flopping over his forehead. Then he turned and darted down the stairs, Noble close behind him.
I shared a glance with my four and, as one, we stood to hurry after them. My heart tried to crawl up my throat as the stairs clanged under our feet, and when we hit the main factory floor, I broke into a jog, catching up to Noble.
The dark-haired kid led us to the barracks, where a group of people was gathered in one corner. He shoved his way to the front, and the crowd parted silently as we followed him through.
Next to a cot, on an overturned crate, sat a small battery-operated television. It had an antenna sticking out from the top and was so tiny and old-fashioned looking it was almost comical.
Or it would’ve been, if not for the grainy image displayed on its screen.
It wasn’t a pavilion this time, but the palace steps.
And arrayed across those wide steps stood dozens and dozens of figures.
A Resistance cell, the boy had said.
An entire Resistance cell.
Most of the people were unbound, though several swayed on their feet with the telltale wooziness of someone wearing charmed restraints.
Mages stood all around them, boxing them in. Though the Blighted weren’t restrained, there was nowhere they could go, nothing they could do.
Above them, on the same balcony where he’d killed Theron and wrested control of the government, Rain presided over the proceedings. Jonas, Nicholas, and Victor flanked him.
“There will be no tolerance for magic users who align themselves with the Blighted. And there will be only death for Blighted who threaten the rule of magic,” Rain shouted, his raspy voice ringing loudly. “I promise you, there is room in my glorious future for any Gifted citizens who embrace it, who prove their worthiness. As for the rest—they are already as good as Blighted. Let them die together.”
Nausea roiled my stomach, and I turned away from the television, slamming right into Akio’s hard chest. I stared up at him wildly.
“A transport spell. We need to get a transport spell! We have to—”
“It’s too late, killer. Look.”
Fen’s voice was hollow, and before I even glanced back, I knew he was right. My entire body resisted the movement, but I forced myself to turn around.
Rain walked to the edge of the balcony and pointed down at the people on the steps below. “These men and women are all traitors! I hereby sentence them to death.”
He began to raise his arm, and I stopped breathing.
A movement from one of the prisoners caught my attention. It was an older woman with silver hair flowing past her shoulders. She must be Blighted. Her hands were unbound, her expression clear.
She dropped her head, and as she did, she raised her hands high in the air, her wrists crossed and her thumbs linked together, the fingers of each hand splaying out like—
Like a bird.
Like a… crow.
In a heartbeat, the gesture was picked up by those around her, everyone who wasn’t restrained lifting their hands and bowing their heads.
Rain brought his own arm down swiftly, a snarl twisting his features.
The mages surrounding the prisoners sent jets of water streaming toward them. As soon as the liquid struck their bodies, it froze, encasing each captured Resi
stance member in a thick layer of glittering ice.
My heart hammered against my ribs so hard it hurt. I couldn’t blink, couldn’t look away. I stared at the prisoners arrayed across the palace steps, their bodies frozen in a final gesture of rebellion.
“No. We should have stopped it. I shouldn’t have let this happen.” My words were low and rough, forced out past numb lips.
“There was nothing we could’ve done. It was too late.” Noble stood next to me, but neither of us looked at the other. His voice was thick with pain that mirrored mine. “Rain is baiting you. He’s trying to lure you out, to make you come to him so he can fight you on his terms.”
My breath stuttered.
Lure me out.
All those pairs of hands, held up in the symbol of a crow.
Rain was killing them to lure me out.
And they had gone to their deaths believing in me.
Bile rose in my throat, and I pushed my way back through the crowd, tears burning my eyes. I didn’t care about the stares I drew, didn’t care that I looked weak. Something terrible was building up inside me, and I needed to get out of here before it exploded.
I knew it made me a fucking coward, but I couldn’t watch them die. I couldn’t stay and witness those mages shatter the blocks of ice—see dozens of bodies fall to the ground like wet rags.
The tears were streaming down my face now, but it didn’t relieve the pressure in my chest. I could barely breathe. Every inhale I took was short and ragged, burning my lungs.
I stumbled blindly through the Resistance compound, lurching through the common area and into a small, empty alcove. My knees wobbled, and I bent over, bracing one hand against the wall as I retched. Straightening slightly, I pressed my face against the rough wall, trying to ground myself as the world spun around me.
Hands caressed my back and hair; soothing voices whispered in my ear. But I couldn’t listen to any of them, couldn’t let myself relax into the calming touch of my four.
Those people were dead because of me. Because of a promise I’d made to them, a promise I had become, whether I wanted to or not.