Page 137 of Aviatrix

The moment we die.

I glance at Lark. He’s already watching me. His storm-blue eyes are hard, but full of sorrow. We saved Amber, but not ourselves. And now? Now she loses us, too.

My gaze snaps back to the ship. To the tinted cockpit. To the executioner behind the glass.

Something breaks through the clouds sleek and fast. Another one of Rourke’s?

No.

Black wings. Custom tail.

It’s him.

A shadow with wings.

My breath catches.

I don’t have time to speak, to think, to do anything but watch as it tears through the sky, blasting the gray ships apart with lethal precision.

“Run!” I yell.

We sprint to VAL.

Lark leaps into the cockpit first. I climb in after him, straddling his lap without hesitation.

“VAL! Engage engines! Get us in the air NOW!”

No greeting. No resistance. The cockpit hisses shut and we’re airborne.

“Nova, this is Phantom,” I hear through my headset the second I slide my flight helmet on.

“Eli,” I breathe. “You’re alive.”

“Someone’s gotta save your ass,” he says, cocky as ever, just as his aircraft appears beside us. I turn, my vision blurring with tears.

I’ve never been so happy to see him.

“What’s the plan?” he asks.

“Atlas and Fox will rendezvous with us in less than a minute,” I reply. “Can you take out whatever’s chasing them?”

Eli smirks. “Do you even have to ask?”

“You survived,” I whisper.

“So did you,” he replies, soft and certain.

Then, Lark clears his throat, reminding me I'm not alone in this cockpit.

“VAL’s sending you coordinates,” I say. “Meet us there. We head back to Obsidian after a little shock and awe.”

“I’m sorry I was late, Quay,” Eli says quieter now. “I got here as fast as I could.”

I smile. “You were right on time. Like always.”

I was in a burning house. No way out. No voice to call for help.

And still, he came.