But it didn’t matter.
Because whoever was speaking these words wasright.
I couldn’t wallow. I couldn’t second guess. I needed to rely on my instincts… andfight.
Novak gave me a stiff nod, his icy irises glinting with pride.
And then he was gone, leaving me to guard.To protect.To kill.
I went to the window to evaluate the portal. It was in the ocean, swirling like a deadly vortex, spewing warriors from its depth.
Only the angels in the air and on the ground appeared to be battling some sort of invisible wall.
A shield, I realized.One similar to…
My lips parted as I looked at Layla and the energy humming around her, aroundus.
Itisher. She’s created a barrier… made of energy.
Ketos’s energy? Or her own?
I opened my mouth to ask when a fiery wave of heat singed my senses. My gaze flew to the window again, my pulse racing.
Because the portal had just widened to reveal anarmyof Nora.
Not just the few dotting the sky or the dozens on the ground.
But a hundred more soldiers.
And that’s just the first wave.
“Fuck,” Sorin whispered, taking the word from my mind.
“Fuck, indeed…”
CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
LAYLA
I tuggedon the shield I had somehow erected, trying futilely to push it outward and block the incoming invasion.
I couldn’t see them from the floor with Ketos.
But I couldfeelthem.
Even if I had no idea how this new magic of mine worked, I knew that the shields would protect us at least long enough to fly.
We need to go. This barrier isn’t going to hold.
I could feel it fraying at the edges, my energy rapidly depleting.
And I had no idea how to bolster it.
I wasn’t even entirely convinced that it wasmypower. It felt connected to Ketos somehow. And yet, not.
Like it was mine.
But it somehow felt blessed by him. Or inspired by our connection?
