“Yes, my brothers and sisters are helping them prepare for battle,” Rakel explains. “Are we still going with the plan we discussed.”
“As long as your rifts will work, then yes,” I confirm. “The Fae go in first, open the rifts, and then the rest of us come through. If we can take them by surprise, then we won’t risk as many lives.”
“There’s a clearing on the other side of the forest. Wait for us there. That’s where the rifts will open,” Rakel says, pointing out the direction we should go.
We push through the forest, under the watchful eye of hundreds of Fae. Not all are warriors. This appears to be a refuge for the Fae, right under the Vatican’s nose. They’re risking a lot to helpus. I see a number of Fae children around. With any luck, they’ll have a better world when this is over, just like Joanna will.
When we walk into the clearing, I’m even more amazed. There are Scions as far as I can see. Lucifer takes flight, surveys the scene, and lands next to me.
“Your army answered your call, daughter,” Lucifer says proudly. “This is a fight we can win.”
“We’ve got a plan. We just have to wait for the Fae to open the rifts,” I reply, looking around at my pack.
“I will fly ahead,” Lucifer says unexpectedly. “If the Crimson Templars spot me, they won’t have time to react when the rifts start appearing. It’ll draw their attention.”
“No, that’s not the plan,” I argue, shaking my head. “You can go through the rift, just like we do. Wouldn’t it be better to catch them completely by surprise? That’s what we discussed.”
“Yes, but it’s still dangerous. If they spot the Fae, they’ll have plenty of time to prepare before the rest of us can get through,” Lucifer says. “I will not take an unnecessary risk, daughter. Your plan is good. I’ll help you execute it.”
I want to argue, but he seems to have made up his mind. I also can’t really disagree with his logic. This plan hinges on the Fae being able to open enough rifts for us to come through with a large army the Crimson Templars aren’t prepared for. If they spot the Fae or start killing them before they can open the rifts, the plan could fall apart.
“Please be careful,” I plead, looking up at my father. “Wait for us before you attack. Promise me, Father.”
He stares at me for a long few seconds and I see the emotion in his eyes at my use of the word that defines him for me. “I will,” he rumbles, then he leaps into the air and streaks across the sky.
“Ready, mate?” Hayden gently slides his arm around my waist and pulls me close.
“As ready as I’m going to be,” I reply.
“No matter what, we stick together,” Jaxton growls. “Just like when we fought the vampires. Fan out, protect Ansley, and kill as many of those fuckers as we can.”
“If one of us falls, don’t stop fighting,” Remy speaks the words we don’t want to hear. “We all understand the risk. We all understand the danger. If we go down, we go down fighting.”
“With as many Scions as there are here, I think we’ve got plenty of backup,” Wyatt brings his gentle positivity to the moment. “I even saw a pride of lion shifters. Didn’t even realize there were any of those still around.”
“Probably a lot of Scions here we thought were extinct,” Hayden says. “Even Morgan said he would be here.”
“Maybe we’ll run into him inside,” Storm says. “Look, a rift is opening.”
“I think it’s about time for you to do that trick with your sword,” Remy says, gesturing to me.
“Right,” I breathe, turning to my mates.
I still haven’t learned to absorb my sword like Lucifer does, but I can summon the Viking Warrior Princess, as Daisy called Thyra before I knew her name. I close my eyes, focus, and mysword ignites. Red appears in my hair as I transform in size and stature, borrowing strength from the soul inside me.
I open my eyes, clutching my flaming sword, and see my mates staring at me, partially in awe, but with the same love in their eyes I’ve grown to recognize.
A seam of light appears and then splits the air near us. Then other rifts begin opening in the clearing and based on how many I can see in the distance, there should be enough for everyone. We’re bringing an army straight into the heart of the Vatican’s.
“Let’s do this,” Hayden growls, shifting into his Natural Wolf. I raise my flaming sword as a signal to all the other Scions and follow my mates into hell with the sound of a Scion army behind me.
When I emerge, I’m directly behind a row of Crimson Templars who are aiming large ballista type weapons at the sky. They look like modified versions of the ancient Greek crossbows, and the projectiles have the same red tint as the swords and bullets the Crimson Templars use.
We’re on the ledge overlooking St. Peter’s Square. We’ve definitely caught the Crimson Templars by surprise, but they’re not defenseless.
“Kill the angel! Kill the angel!” a Crimson Templar screams.
I look up and see my father. He’s hovering in the sky, watching them aim their weapons at him. A ballista fires, and he zips out of the way. Another fires and he does the same. The metal-tipped bolt whizzes by but he avoids it, just like the first.
