Rising Tides | 2

19 | C a l i x

—

"Maddox said Oremis would return, so we know this isn't over," Ember said, putting our brainstorming into motion. "But we don't know when that will happen, so how do we plan for it?"

Rhea perched her chin on her palms. "We're headed towards the Barren Isles right now for cautionary purposes. The fight may be over with Maddox, but we still have that Demon King on our hands." She tapped her ear, "I've been given orders from the general to stay on the isles until we can either destabilize or destroy Oremis. Until then, Libria is no longer safe."

"He could be back at any moment," Ragan interjected, her voice dark as she spoke to us. She clutched the black bag in her lap. "The ker that Cleo detained in the orbs won't hold his essence for long. We need something more, and we only have one orb left."

I shivered at the thought of witnessing the King of Demons. Rhea, Ember, and Ragan were brave enough, but I don't know that I was. That was not something I ever wanted to experience, but I had a feeling it was bound to happen soon. Our time was limited.

The fight hadn't been easy. We held the demons and Guard off long enough to get the three girls in, and then the entire rebellion barricaded the door, preventing anyone or anything from getting inside. Everyone fought side by side until the demons shrieked and fled from the palace courtyard. The Guard put up a fight for a while longer before retreating, as well.

General Hatis instructed us to move towards the transports and head for the Barren Isles, a group of beautiful uninhabited islands off the coast of Highpine. He seemed suspicious of our sudden victory over the demons but said nothing. That was the last any of us had seen of the other rebels. We had no way of knowing who made it out. I thought of Giovanni, hoping my friend was safe. When the battle had ended, his face had been smeared with blood and ash from his fire. There was a gash across his collarbone where the body armor didn't cover. I knew he would be fine, but I couldn't help being worried about him.

"So how do we defeat him?" I asked, anxious to have this war over.

Ember leaned forward. "Valasia never said. She just kept repeating that we needed to destroy Oremis and save Maddox."

Wren rubbed his temples in frustration and closed his eyes. Next to him, Adara chewed on her nails. Ragan huffed in frustration, and Bear crossed his thick arms.

"Well, that's helpful," Ragan grumbled.

Ember frowned. "She also said the gods wouldn't be able to help us. In their essence they have no power, and in their true form their power is too strong. We're alone. No one is going to help us."

Wren scratched his chin. "That's not necessarily true. What if we got the citizens to help us? We would completely overpower Oremis."

Rhea shook her head. "Citizens of Auchterton aren't taught to use their power to fight."

Ragan scoffed. "So, you're saying they don't have the capability to use their powers in ways other than benefiting the economy?"

"Some people choose to use their abilities only for good," Rhea began. "War is for those who have trained for it, not for the innocent. Our job is to protect them. We can't do that if they're fighting on the front lines."

"We can't protect them if we're dead, either," Wren snapped.

Rhea glared at him. Adara viciously chewed her nails. "You need to have a little more faith in us, Peros."