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I allowed a little of my Light to shine in the space between my wings, adding some brightness to the gathering dusk and the approaching storm. “We will not fail today. We cannot fail. We will destroy Medrion once and for all, and we will put a stop to the senseless murder of any more of our kind. I have faith in each and every one of you… now, let’s get to work.”
The courtyard erupted in a cheer that could’ve been heard for miles—and I hoped it had. Angels took to the skies in theirunits, flying toward their positions at the direction of their commanders. Azrael offered a nod and a smirk of approval before flying off, barking orders as she went. Abaddon remained where he was until the last, his eyes fixed on mine, his gaze filled with words left unsaid.
With a powerful beat of his wings, he took to the sky, and the members of his Ebon Legion followed. Micah returned to the tower, where he would be safe. I, meanwhile, was left alone on the battlement with Helena.
“That was a good speech,” she said. “Worthy of the best of us.”
“I can only hope so,” I said. “That was terrifying.”
“You have never done that before?”
“No. I had my squad up in Heaven, but I’ve never had to give a speech to an entire army.”
“I keep forgetting you are freshly fallen and not as familiar with these battles as we now are. Although admittedly the stakes are much higher this time.”
“They are… please be careful, and take care of Micah.”
“I will,” she said. “Micah and I we will be well guarded. And if…” She trailed off.
“We know what to do, don’t worry.” I placed my hand on her shoulder reassuringly.
Helena smiled. “I have faith in us. This war pains me, as it does all of us, but until every one of Medrion’s followers is silenced we will not be able to rest. I look forward to that day.”
“So do I,” I said, smiling.
Helena nodded, and without another word, she let herself fall off the side of the battlement and then took to the air on her large, swan-like wings. When she was gone, I called for my retinue of angels to assemble beneath me.
It was time for us to take our posts and prepare for what was about to happen. I made sure to find Kalmiya’s eyes, though,and bring her to my side. Kalmiya, the only one of my angels wearing a suit of black armor, seemed reluctant at first, but she approached and stood before me.
“Yes, commander?” she asked, doing her best to hide her disdain.
“I want you by my side,” I said. “At all times. Is that understood?”
She angled her head to the side. “I don’t understand.”
“You’re our Trumpet. I need you close to relay orders and updates from the other units. That isn’t going to be a problem, is it?”
Though her jaw visibly clenched, she shook her head. “No. Not at all.”
I nodded. “Alright, let’s get to it.”
By the time my retinue took flight, the other groups had already assembled at their various locations around the bastion. We had to be ready and in position for Medrion’s imminent arrival without somehow giving away our plans to him. Medrion couldn’t know what abilities we had at our disposal until it was time.
Unless Kalmiya had already told him…
I had to hope that we still had the element of surprise. The wait, however, was grueling. Strong winds began to lash the bastion’s walls, lightning flashed inside the dark incoming clouds, briefly illuminating the night sky. The air all around me was pregnant with dread, and tension… I could feel it trying to strip away my composure.
My resolve.
My mettle.
Then I saw them. Lightning illuminated the clouds once more, and in that brief moment of light, I saw dark spots—shadows, in the air. With every flash of light, the shadows drew closer, and closer. I could see them all, now, could see theirwings even, blinking in and out of existence with the lightning that signaled their arrival.
We waited, and waited, and waited until they were in range of our sharpshooters, but instead of opening fire, they held, as orders came through each unit’s Trumpet.
“Call up the shield,” Kalmiya relayed dutifully.
The Guardians moved forward and raised their hands, the dome of prismatic light quickly beginning to form and rise up and over the bastion. I spotted Abaddon further up the battlements—unarmored as usual and wielding a heavy steel sword—adding his own Light to the shield while shouting what I hoped was encouragement at the Guardians around him. But as the shield crested Helena’s beacon, I found myself staring only at the figure at the head of the approaching force. They weren’t moving toward us anymore but hovering in the air. Medrion was there, his face cast in shadow, his eyes impossible to see.
