The sharp pain in my nose, my shoulder, and rib cage told me exactly what she’d broken. Blood gushed out. I had no time to think about it. Granmanmi yanked me into the air and slapped me down. Hard.
The splintered glass shattered.
Shards exploded into my face, cutting across my skin.
“STARLING!” Quazar screamed out loud.
Golden blood trickled into my eyes. Down my lips. My head throbbed with a pulsing ache. In the haze, I turned to look out at the crowd. Many of the angels had flown to their feet, watching on, horrified. They assumed this would come to an end. They were naive and sorely mistaken.
Pain searing through my body, I shot to my feet, flying like a rod into the air. I spiraled, grabbing hold of Granmanmi’s whip mid-spin, and yanked on it with all my might.
Granmanmi jerked, her bleeding wing leaking a trail of blood behind her. As she raised her hand for another strike, I swiped my wings ramming them into her chest.
I thought of the many times Manmi dragged me into our training chamber and attacked me from all directions, relentlessly, forcing me to defend myself against a barrage. I channeled that training now.
Granmanmi was several millennia old, but she still fought as if she hadn’t seen her first five hundred cycles. I whipped out my wings again. Granmanmi dodged, kicking out. Her foot caught the back of my knee, popping the joint.
“You will obey the Order,” she seethed. “Safah Eloise, you will stop this now. You’re my Granfifi. I will not continue this with you.”
“No,” I snarled, rushing her, head first.
I threw all the strength I could into the collision, pushing her body back with my head, throwing her across the long dais. Before Granmanmi regained her footing, I jerked, shoving a wing talon straight into her ribs, cutting her clean open.
Granmanmi screamed.
I wasn’t done.
I whipped around, shot into the air, then jerked down, my foot colliding into her sternum, cracking it. Blood poured out. I wanted to care. I couldn’t. She’d shed enough innocent blood for my tastes. It was her turn to bleed in the name of Temple Efysis.
I whipped my arms around myself, swung my legs, and spun, a lyrical move that placed me in a position to completely blast my Granmanmi with a barrage of starfire.
“Enough.”
The hardened voice did nothing to make me relent. I wouldn’t stop untiltheydid. I pulled on the now thrashing pool of starfire bubbling up inside of me, demanding I erupt with the power. With vengeance.
“I said,enough.”
Granmanmi didn’tfyuseback.
Neither did I.
She rolled to her feet, glaring at me. Shock and anger colored her mauve eyes as she made a silent vow to repay me for this dawn. We were two starry elementals ready to set this entire colosseum on fire with our wrath.
“As your Empràr, I saidenough. You will stop this. Now.”
I didn’t bother turning to Empràr Zadkias. He was a pompous, babbling idiot who took all his orders from the Farasee Order.
I wasn’t backing down until every Talon was removed from their shackles and set free, cleared of these bogus accusations being used to end their lives. The Empràr could do nothing of consequence to me. Not an Anathelle.
But the Farasee Order? They could ruin me. I would stand my ground to the very end.
“Your rebellion is so rotting sexy,”Quazar purred.
I blinked, unable to hide the flush coloring my cheeks.
Granmanmi caught the change. Her eyes narrowed at me before they slid to Quazar, then slid back to me.
“Disgusting,” she whispered.
