Fury and Flame | 3

8 | 3

A R L O

Slowly making our way diagonally down the cliff side was perhaps even more dangerous than the sickness that had festered within me for months. One unsteady foothold, and we would be falling down the side. If by some miracle the impact didn't immediately kill us, the Imperium army would.

      Wind whipped through my hair and I let myself glance downward. The writhing sea of black-uniformed soldiers was far below. The numbers of their two armies combined made me feel the familiar pang of sickness. I hated knowing Finn was somewhere down there fighting to return to safe ground with Riley. His power was immense, but there were only two of them and thousands of enemies.

      I gave a huff. I didn't think I'd worried for anything else in my entire life.

      We were nearing the front lines, meaning our own army was in sight. All we had to do was make it down the bluffs alive and we could join them to avoid being massacred on both sides.

      I heard the slipping of rock on rock and whipped around to make sure Gigi wasn't falling to her death. Because of my superior agility, I was able to maneuver around the unsteady surface better than her. She stood there frozen with shock for a split second, cringing as the fallen rocks sent dirt crumbling over the side.

      Choosing my footing very carefully, I went on. "Wouldn't it be ironic if we survived this long only to meet our end slipping off a cliff?"

      "Don't say that. You'll speak it into existence."

      "It would be a more merciful death than whatever we're heading into."

      "Faster, maybe. But there is no mercy in war."

      "I'm counting on that," I replied, glancing over at the fortress. If everything went according to plan, it would be burning along with all of Imperium's soldiers.

There were a few more scares for the both of us in which I feared we wouldn't make it to our people alive. But we stayed together, close enough to catch the other if they began to lose balance.

      After what seemed like enough climbing for a lifetime, we came to a low point that was safe to jump to the ground from. By the time our feet hit the friendly territory, Gigi's bow was out and an arrow was already nocked.

A low foghorn sounded several times across the plains. My heart skittered at the sound of it. That meant the enhanced army was close enough to charge.

We needed to find our friends. If they were in the rear of the army, they were likely trapped between our own frightened soldiers and the unknown power of Orion's.

Gigi and I wove through the chaos, our soldiers bustling either way to fend off both Imperium armies. It was somewhat easy to find the others since they were the only stationary group and Kane towered over everyone else.

      There was a clearing in the mass of soldiers—they'd given our teammates room to recover from what appeared to be a trip through hell and back. Each of the four were covered in head to toe with their own blood—so much that the tangy smell of it overpowered me. Kane was leaning heavily against his brother, the remainder of his leg bleeding through a mess of makeshift bandages.

      Gigi dropped her bow and began working to fix their injuries the best she could with the very limited time we had. With a hand hovering over Kane's missing limb, she tested her power. A second later, she began the slow process of knitting flesh together.

"It's working," Jaxon said, watching in awe of Gigi's healing. He then concentrated on his own power, flickering from sight a few times.

      I turned away, craning my head to view the place we'd come from, the base of the sloping cliffs. If they had finished their job, Finn and Riley would be returning that same way. After all, the outskirts were where the army was weakest.