“Let’s pray—” I felt my shield shake as a bullet ricocheted off. “They don’t,” I finished.
“Or they’re just saving them for another day.” Eleana’s voice came in short puffs as she added to the conversation as the last of that round of bullets came to a stop.
“We’ve got our orders,” I stated as I checked over my shield from inside it. “Nothing we can do now but follow them and trust that Elion conveyed everything Aeternus told him, in the correct order.”
“I still say circling The Wall without attacking is a questionable idea at best,” Axel grumbled as his shield wavered.
“And yet,” Eleana replied, “we are following the orders of the Eternal. By not advancing, we are showing our strength, our numbers. That we don’t fear the darkness and corruption lingering in their Quarter because we know we can overcome it with light. We know we don’t need to invent false gods and religions.”
I could feel my affinity draining as we flew through precarious conditions. The shield of fire that swarmed in a protective bubble faded slowly over the hour-long flight we had to endure before we could head back to camp. I struggled to keep it in place around me for as long as possible.
Today, they knew we were coming. All of Solis had expected us to appear on the outer border of The Wall. Whether they had expected an outright attack or not, that was to be determined.
But today, just like yesterday, we didn’t attack. We restrained our affinities, using them solely for protection, as we flew along The Wall. One singular loop, the same as yesterday, and the same as we would tomorrow.
A lone scream sounded in the distance, and I ground my teeth, clenching them together until my jaw screamed in agony. Had they been shot down? Had they fallen into The Rift? Had their death been swift and painless?
I prayed that their soul made it safely to the Eternal. That their sacrifice wasn’t in vain. I could hear the murmured prayers of the angels in the cohorts both before and behind me,whispering prayers of protection to the Eternal as we flew between certain death. Between The Wall and The Rift.
Still, we didn’t stop.
We didn’t give in.
Not when bullets rained down on us.
Not when the RSG called on their own affinities.
Not even when the desert winds picked up on the far sides of The Wall, pelting us with sand to add to the onslaught.
We flew on, under the orders of Aeternus . . . following his decree.
37
RAELYNA
DAY THREE
It was official.
I was going tokillmy stars-damned starbound mate the moment I saw him.
I had awoken early this morning to the sound of incessant buzzing from my nightstand. Loxl howled in frustration, cowering by my feet under the covers as my phone continued blaring, disrupting our sleep. With a disgruntled groan, I shifted under the covers, clawing at my nightstand until I found the infernal device and accepted the call.
“What?” I bit into the receiving end as I flopped back onto my pillow, listening to the line.
“Well, good morning to you too, starlight.” Callum’s voice flooded the other end of the line, and I shot up at the sound of him speaking.
For the love of the stars.
“Not a morning person, I take it?” His voice huffed on the other end, and words slowly began to form.
“This is not morning,” I stated as Loxl began snoring from the foot of the bed. “This is pre-morning. So, no, I’m not a pre-morning person.”
A deep laugh came from him as he spoke. “Listen, I don’t have a lot of time to speak, but I wanted to get a hold of you before I left.”
My heart caught at the wording.
Before I left.
