Page 448 of Commanding Scythe and Sky

“Follow the plan. Adrastos is mine.”

Reyna’s eyes snapped to mine, and she nodded even as fear flickered through them.

“Carrson, you’re standing down,” Freya said pointedly, and I glanced up to see outrage in his dark eyes.

“What the fuck?”

Atreus looked between them, scowling.

“You lost your arm days ago,” Freya pointed out.

“And I’m twice the fighter half of⁠—”

“Enough,” Freya said, voice low. “You were. And you will be again when you master your shiny new tool, Winter Soldier.” She arched her brows pointedly.

“Freya—”

“I need someone I can trust here, and that’s you. We will not leave the rest of our people unattended. Grayshell made that mistake and I will not do the same. You are my choice for Commander if Cyrus, Cali and I don’t come home.” Carr’s eyes widened incrementally. “This is where I need you.”

He tongued at his canine but dipped his chin in a nod too violent to be sincere.

“Atreus, I need you to have the north ready for exfil. Unless Aren and Brody magically accomplish their mission, we’re gonna have a whole lotta people who need somewhere to go, and a second wave ready to close in on the enemy if we have stowaways.”

“Our wards extend into the base of the city—my father had them reinforced after the breach with Freya—so you’ll have to jump into the square, and we’ll take you from there.”

“Make sure you’re ready for stowaways.”

“Done.” He sounded certain, but the way he glanced at Carr told me he didn’t like the way she’d just benched him any more than Carrson did.

“Reyna, take the braid on the porch,” I said, jerking my head over my shoulder. “She’ll get you to Dr. Briar.”

Reyna nodded curtly. Mind-to-mind, I told Freya, Ensure we send word to Ford and Ryker. They should send out an immediate evac.

“Any fucking questions?” Cyrus ground out, the words teetering on a dare. Nobody said a word.

The sound of boots over the hardwood filled my ears in time with my pulse as we marched outside. More fucking cats had accumulated, and the sky was a swirl of ravens so thick they almost looked like a cloud.

I pulled another vial from my pants pocket, tossing the contents down my throat before setting the empty on the porch rail as we passed it. We didn’t have time for pain tonight.

We paused at the top of the stairs, surveying the numbers we’d rallied so quickly.

Voice amplified, I said, “I don’t need to remind you of who we face tonight, or what we’re fighting for.” A chill ran down my spine as weapons rose from all sides, a roar of agreement wrestling for dominance with another rumble of thunder. “Show them exactly who the fuck we are.”

NINETY-ONE

KEPT PROMISES

BLYTHE

The crack and skitter of ice had been my only companion today.

Down, down, down I spiraled into the depths of the blue.

No one came for me.

Nobody locked the door either.

Having no desire to run into Moros, I stayed in the betrayer’s room, vaguely aware of the roars coming from the arena that had sprung into existence. Magic at work.