Page 282 of The Gods Order

Scattered among the darkness stand figures clad in pale silver and soft ivory. Our Healers. Close enough to reach the wounded. Far enough back to survive long enough to save them.

“Thayla,” Amick says.

I tear my attention from the army.

Seismet shifts as my men boost me onto his back. Their touches linger just long enough to make me crave more…

“I love you,” I murmur.

Their serious expressions never falter, yet their souls brush mine with impossible softness.

“I love you.”

The devotion in their echoed words sings through my blood as they step back.

Fausta lets out a neigh as she moves beside us, and Mara readjusts her grip on her mane.

It’s time. Really time.

One powerful beat of Seismet’s wings launches us skyward. He allows only the gentlest breeze to brush my face. Once we’re above the waiting army, he holds position for my command.

Only then do I truly see who’s waiting for me.

The battlefield stretches farther than I imagined, even though I’m the one who cleared it. It’s different now that it’s full.

Black armor blankets the ground like an endless sea. Veilatara circle overhead while the gods below bounce on their toes, eager for the command to charge.

So many.

Too many.

Countless hearts will stop beating today.

The thought settles heavily in my chest.

I let it.

Because if I ever stop mourning the lives this millennia-long selfishness has claimed…

Then I’ve become no better than the beings we’re here to stop.

Someone I never want to be.

My head turns toward Mara.

I nod.

“Fly, Seismet.”

His neigh tears through the air as we surge forward.

So do the other Veilatara.

The barrier offers no resistance, and my chest tightens when its familiar warmth is gone. I don’t dwell on it. The roar of the army below demands my attention.

Two more powerful beats carry Seismet forward. Verlet and Havar stay to our left, Mara and Fausta to our right. We fly high enough to avoid anything below, but low enough for my power to reach where it needs to.

The moment we reach the first ruined building, Mara’s power spills across my skin, and my Obliteration swells with impossible strength.