Riders of Elysium

Chapter Seventeen

----Eyre's PoV----

"You're smart, figure it out," I yelled.

"Excuse me?" The gang of boys from fire faction turned to me, "Who do you think you are?"

I snapped, "I'm the one who can get us out of a war."

"No, that would be the council," the boys agreed, "If war was bad, they wouldn't-"

"Do you learn nothing in history class?" I asked, "Who do you think will win? Dragon riding brutes or smart shadows with weapons?"

The boys smirked, "We'll win. That's why we have dragons-"

"Don't you get it?" Scout asked, "No one ever wins a war. The casualties? The collateral damage? The shattered trust?"

A few of them stood in my way before I could run into the council room, "We'll win, don't worry-"

"I will worry. Because my family is stuck in the middle of this. Rayna's the only one who can stop this war, and now she's probably being treated like a prisoner again," I shoved one of them out of my way as I walked into the council room.

"How'd you get back your vision?" Scout asked as I opened the doors.

I grinned, "Magic."

"Ms. Sari, this is insane-"

"What's insane is you sanctioning an act of war. Half of light faction is dead, and the assassins will now hunt down the other half like wolves," I yelled.

Tari Nadumi, the head of the school, asked me to, "Please calm down. You're not thinking clearly-"

"You're not thinking clearly," I said, "You're sending us into a war we cannot win. We have no part in this war, it is amongst assassins and rogues."

"Ms. Sari, I understand this is traumatic-"

I growled, "It'll get a whole lot more traumatic if my sister dies in the crossfire. Trust me, you don't want to be near me or Azariah if that happens."

"Ms. Sari-"

"Do you have anything to say that isn't an act of war?"

Tari Nadumi glared at me, "Do you have anything to add that isn't an act of treason?"

That shut me up for a moment.

"You don't understand, I get it," Tari continued, "The fate of Elysium hangs in the balance of this war. We must ensure it goes our way."

"I-"

The head of school cut me off, "You are under orders to not act unless told to. Understood?"

"Yes sir," I said, knowing I couldn't win. I stormed out of the council room, straight into the boys from fire faction. They looked at me as though I was crazy.

Which they then vocalized.

"Are you crazy!" The boys asked.

"Probably," I answered.

Scout stopped me before I got to the stables, "They said not to act unless you are told to."

"Alright. Eyre, I order you to act," I said to myself, "They never said who had to give me the orders."

"This will be an act of treason. They'll kick you out of Elysium, and you'll be lucky if that's all," Amias added.

I snapped, "I don't want any part in a school that sends their students off to a war they should take no part in."

Amias and the other fire faction riders mounted. Phoenix carried Azariah and Rayna to the camp, while the others just flew.

I was at the head, Amias beside me, Scout and Amber riding together behind me, the rest of fire faction behind them.

We were ready for battle.

----Third Person----

Rayna saw Eyre leading fire faction into battle. Amias at her side, Amber and Scout behind her. Just as her vision had foretold.

The future isn't unstoppable. She had to believe that.

Azariah was not going to die, not after everything.

"Az," Rayna said, stopping him from going back to the camp to face Kugen, "Just- be careful. Please."

"Now you know how I feel," Azariah said, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Rayna wished she could go with him. But she had to stay behind from the battle. She was linked to all three sides of this war, plus the neutral one. She was the only one who could end it.

Kugen had mis-seen the future. He claimed to have seen Eyre and her dragon kill him. Sure, it was Eyre in the air leading the attack. It was Eyre who led the dragons.

But it was Rayna who would kill Kugen.

"Alright, I need your help," Rayna whispered, knowing the others were in the trees, their arrows all trained on her heart, "Please."

"You sent a dragon army?" Ellukah asked, "Why?"

Rayna sighed, "I had no choice. And they're here to warn you. I know you've already been to battle with the light faction. I know their forces have been decimated. Eyre tried to talk to the council, to make them see reason-"

"And?"

"They claim to want to secure a world where Elysium still exists," Rayna continued, "They just want a world with no more assassins."

Ajax appeared behind her, "Then why are you siding with them?"

"I took the fire faction and one from sea and night factions," Rayna explained, "I came to warn you. We have enough dragons to get you all out of here, somewhere safe. Out of the war zone."

"Why? So we can just be prisoners at Elysium?" Aurelia asked, raising her bow once again.

Rayna put up her hands, "No! None of us want to go back to Elysium unless it's to get others out. Elysium is sending their students into battle, and threatening to kill them if they refuse."

"Why help us?" Ollie asked, "After you found out who you are and what Kugen does. After Azariah-"

They all lowered their bows.

"Because you are my friends," Rayna said, "And I want to help. I've tried to stop the war, but now there's only one way for this to end without complete destruction of the human world. It ends with me or Kugen or both of us dead."

Aurelia sighed, "Then I guess we're going to have to end this."

"Thank you," Rayna said.

"By killing you," Aurelia finished, readying her bow once more.

Rayna prepared herself. She took a deep breath, vibrating with anger and frustration. If only she knew their names. If she could undo the brainwashing.

But she knew deep down that the only way for her to leave this clearing alive was to fight them.

Aurelia released her grip, and the arrow flew straight for Rayna's heart.