Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 235897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1179(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 786(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 235897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1179(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 786(@300wpm)
“Channel, and we’ll walk away together!” she promises, her voice rising over the wind even though the tree has hidden her from me.
Come to think of it, the tree has also hidden me, at least until she shifts position.
I need to work fast.
The wind is too strong to make a straight shot possible—it will fly right past her without some weight to it. I grab a dagger, lift my flight jacket, and slice a strip of cloth from the bottom of my uniform. The wind fights to rip the fabric away, so I stick it between my teeth and bite down, then sheathe the blade. Faster. I need to move faster. Reaching over my shoulder, I grip the maorsite-tipped arrow’s shaft as tightly as possible, then pull it free from the stabilizing quiver and drag it in front of me.
The wind dies slightly as I tie the arrow to a conduit-size rock from the field.
“Reach for the power and wield!” Theophanie steps into view twenty feet ahead of me.
I rise up on my knees and throw the rock as hard as I can with the wind.
The gale carries it, but Theophanie knocks it off course three-quarters of the way there. “Have you still learned nothing?” It lands a couple of feet to her right.
And explodes.
Dirt, grass, and rock fly, and the impact flings Theophanie half a wing length through the air. The wind dies before she smacks into the ground.
Thank gods the storm isn’t strong enough to hold without her yet. I surge to my feet and charge, drawing my last alloy-hilted dagger. I can’t risk losing it in a throw.
Grass clings to her braid as she shoves herself upright, and her eyes struggle to focus as I flip the dagger parallel with my wrist and hurl myself at her. My knees hit the ground a second before I swing.
She catches my forearm and squeezes with a strength that threatens to crush the bone. “Enough!”
A debilitating wave of pain crashes over me, but I hold on to the dagger like my friends’ lives depend on it, then pull a black-handled knife from my left and stab down, embedding the blade in her thigh.
Her lips crack as she screams, but instead of releasing my forearm or removing the knife from her thigh, she grasps my throat and drives me backward, slamming my spine against the ground. My eyes widen and I wait for the explosives in my quiver to kill us both, but the cushion somehow sustains the impact.
“Foolish woman.” She rams her knee into my stomach and forces the air right out of me.
I struggle for the next breath, but it comes, and she pins my other hand to the ground with a speed I could never beat.
“Your mother knew at your age that she was no match for me. That’s why she hid behind those wards. Perhaps you should have followed her example.” Theophanie’s jagged nails dig into my skin and the veins beside her eyes bulge as she looks south. “A few seem to have gotten by. Whatever will you do?”
I follow her line of sight, and every muscle in my body locks to keep from thrashing. A horde of wyvern has cut north, bypassing the city and flying straight into the valley that leads to the Medaro Pass. I should be there…but then I couldn’t keep her here.
Dunne, be with them. I look away and find Theophanie staring at me, her eerie red eyes so close she consumes my vision.
“The horde is hungry. How many innocents climb the pass? A thousand? Two? You can still save them. Reach for it. Take the power at your fingertips.” She flips my hand so my palm presses into the grass, and I consciously keep my senses closed. “So stubborn. It must be killing you, realizing you don’t have every answer, aren’t the solution to every problem. You’re just another lightning wielder, mortally incapable of being everywhere at once.” The metal eases from my throat. “Go ahead. It will be entertaining to watch you try.”
I glance south just long enough to witness the horde disappearing into the valley. “You’re right. I can’t be everywhere.” Theophanie’s eyes widen as I arch my neck against the blade. “I don’t have to be.”
When push comes to shove, I’m not the best of us.
She is.
Command is built on respect, rules, and obedience. Squads are built on trust.
—Leadership for Second-Years by Major Pipa Donans
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
RHIANNON
Imogen. Quinn. Violet. My heart pounds. I don’t know how to protect the pass when we’re down three of our most powerful, battle-hardened squadmates, but failure isn’t an option.
Thank Zihnal, the infernal wind stopped. For a moment, I thought we’d all be blown to Cordyn. I inspect what I can of the Medaro Pass from its entrance and sigh with more than a little relief that none of the civilians fell in the squall.