Page 369 of Commanding Scythe and Sky

Drawing hard from our well, thunder crackled overhead. So much pent-up power vibrated against my skin, demanding release, that I couldn’t fathom how she’d pulled that much fire from it.

This was it.

This was our one shot.

Freya hadn’t misjudged the value of the Crown, nor had her analog network of whispers failed to seed information all over the goddamn continent. But that also meant Reyna couldn’t be far behind us, especially with a display this catastrophic.

I had one chance. One chance to get my hands on Ally and jump her somewhere safe before we hit her with reaper’s serum.

I just needed that wave of power to ease…

Slowly, the pressure against the shield lessened, and I sucked down a breath as Alec did the same.

One.

The flames retreated.

Two.

I got a clear shot of the street where she’d just been, where Marlana was now glowering directly at us outside the building where Sire lay in wait.

Three.

Freya

On August’s mark, we sprang apart like shrapnel, souls jumping in every direction with lethal speed. For the first time in months, I’d spent the infiltration drilling down into my magic, drawing it to the surface for exactly this moment.

August, Alec, and Marcus descended on Sire’s building while Lana and Fae punched a hole through the cunt’s defenses. Lana was always terrifying in her bloodletting, but Aphaea was a goddamn force of nature.

In seconds, she shattered any illusion that her soft exterior reflected what lived within. Even the guys glanced between each other in silent awe. I watched vines shoot from the earth as massive fissures cracked through the pavement. They stabbed through spines, wrapped around necks, and swallowed demons and Renown whole.

Because this was personal. For all of us. Reyna might deem that a liability, but as Lana sliced a tormentor clean in half and a seven-foot male was brought to his knees by thorned roots that tore down his nose and throat, I thought she’d missed the goddamn point.

Bloodshed was inherently personal.

Anybody got eyes on Moros? I asked down the line as I blindly cut through anyone who stepped between me and my goddamn target.

He’s inside, Marcus grunted right as Jax thought, Sire’s coven needs backup.

Go!

Two Grayshellians cut a gap in the defenses, and Cyrus, Carr, and I seized the opening. We misted into shadow, materializing around Marlana as she fought to counter the shifting plates of earth around us.

Her lip curled up in a sneer fit for a smashed spider rather than three opponents.

Didn’t matter. We had a plan. We just had to execute it.

We moved in unison—Carr threw out a rope of shadow at her throat, Cyrus lunged forward, blade raised to strike, and I deepened my connection to the trembling earth, reaching for her well.

With an oily smile and a burst of power, she knocked all three of us back, my feet skidding over asphalt as I gritted my teeth and fought to hold my ground. Hissing, I sank my claws in deeper, pulling on her magic.

God, I’d forgotten how rancid she was. Like carrion and bitterness.

That would explain the permanent pinch in her brows.

“This is who they send to guard the Crown?” she purred huskily, her shield strengthening to block us out. “If I cared, I’d be insulted.”

“I fear if containment was the goal, you’d be staring down my brother,” I hissed with equal venom. To my eternal delight, the bitch paled as I prowled forward. “Oh, so you do remember what he’s capable of. Nice scars, by the way.” I wanted to talk to this viper about as much as I wanted to gnaw my hand off, but August asked for time before I shoved her into our trap. That, I could give him. “They don’t send him to eliminate riffraff, though.”