Page 61 of Prince of the Phantom Sky

“You’re not the monster you think you are.” The silken voice trailed over Kora, and she shuddered in response. “Release my sister, before you do something you regret.”

Regret. Kora had so many regrets already. All at once, her power evaporated, leaving her core bone dry as her energy plummeted. It was too much too soon. Too much power to summon when she was still so weak.

She tumbled forward, crashing into a pair of warm, strong arms. They lifted her up, and she hummed at the scent wrapping around her, cushioning her terror with strength. As Kora faded from consciousness, an unwelcomed voice whispered in the back of her mind.

Weak, pathetic human.

28

Raiden

11 years ago

Move, Raiden! Move now!” Kordelia yelled over the torrent of cannons, black powder exploding in a rhythmic sequence. Rain battered his skin, the heavens cracking open as the gods’ outrage threatened to submerge the very world they’d created.

“I’m not leaving them behind!” Raiden vaulted over the ship’s railing, his knees slamming into the blood-stained shore of Aldara. Or was it the sand? Red was all he could see, an expanse of coarse droplets of blood.

They’d been ambushed. Someone had told the empire they were coming. A last, desperate attempt of rescuing rebels from the Silent Tundra, but once they’d arrived at a quiet port within Scarlet Bay, the Blackstone’s ships had emerged.

All twenty of them, against their two Galenite warships.

“We’re under fire! Get back now!” Kordelia crashed into the railing, glaring down at him. Her long, wet, white hair whipped within the storm, lightning crackling across the grey sky. Raiden trudged through the sand, slowly turning into sludge as the deluge continued.

“We leave no soul behind,” he voiced into her mind. Her anguished scream in response was chilling as a cannonball soared past, splintering the dainty port deck in two.

Fires raged in the market stalls, the earth crumbled and split, air was laden with smoke, and the rain came down like shards of ice. The gods were angry.

Raiden coughed, reaching out as branded rebels ran towards him, their clothes soaked and torn, burns lacing their arms as they screamed. Children stumbled and tripped, and Raiden’s magic rushed to their aid, his power supporting their spindly legs, helping them race to the ship.

“Hurry! To the ladder!” He aided as many as he could, his infinite well slowly becoming finite as he used every drop in his arsenal to propel them up the side of the warship. White sails billowed, stained black with debris.

“Thank you! Thank you!” a female sobbed, her bloodied hands clasping onto his flight suit, her tears blending in with the rain streaking clear tracks down her dirtied face. She was gaunt, haggard, and Raiden blanched at the fresh, bloodied brand on her forehead. A four-pointed star banded together.

The fucking empire.

He exhaled slowly, crisp cool air brushing against it and her eyes shuttered, her relief palpable as he soothed the sickly burn.

“Go, we must leave,” he ordered, and she scrambled up the ladder, the last rebel spared.

“Raiden! Fucking get up here!” Kordelia’s command grated him, and he spared a final glance back to the quaint village. Barely a few houses, mostly market stalls, and a fishery. Beyond was the expanse of the desert, a tidal wave of brilliant red dunes.

As he hooked onto the ladder, the warship creaking away from the shore, a wail cut through the storm.

No. Please, no.

A young child stumbled from the fires, their thin clothes shredded, their blonde locks sodden. She cried, reaching out for the ship, a small toy clutched in her chubby hand. A brand marked her tiny forehead and his heart plummeted.

Raiden leapt.

A cannon fired.

“No!” Kordelia bellowed, a wave of choppy ocean ascending towards him.

Raiden soared, the last dregs of his power lifting him over the cannon ball, his determination to save the child overwhelming him.

He would save them all. He had to save them all.

The child shrieked as Raiden opened his arms, wrapping himself around her. This was going to fucking hurt.