36. Callum
CALLUM
DAY ONE
An incessantly blaring alarm woke me the next morning, and I groaned as I rolled over, punching Axel from where he slept on a military-style cot beside me.
“Turn the stars-damned alarm off,” I muttered.
I heard his hand tap against his alarm clock seconds before a louder alarm sounded from the center of the war camp, this one causing a prolonged groan from Pierce as I sat up.
The light streaming in through the tent signaled the start of our first day flying around The Wall.
I half groaned at the thought as I stood, pushing past the exhaustion I felt from having flown to see Raelyna last night.
I began gearing up for war, strategically strapping weapon after weapon to my bulletproof vest. I ensured that all weapons were easily accessible and my gear offered the maximum protection possible.
“Is there even a point to bringing weapons if Elion stated we aren’t to engage the target until the seventh day?” Axel questioned from beside me as he laced his steel-toed combat boots.
“Well,” I replied, “I, for one, don’t intend to give them a chance to find me an easy target . . . So, yes? I’d say so.” I firmly secured my vest over the bullet-resistant material of my shirt.
“Even though you won’t be firing them?” he insisted, leveling me a look.
“It would feel wrong not to carry my stars-damned weapons,” I retorted.
“It’s also going to feel wrong not fighting back when the RSG spot us and begin to rain down an arsenal of fire upon us.”
I grunted in acknowledgement, trying to force that thought to the back of my mind as I finished strapping on the last of my tactical gear.
I thanked the stars that Elion had worked with the top armory company in Aurum Quarter to design bullet-resistant uniforms for the Guild.
While not completely bulletproof, the tactical combat uniform we’d all been assigned would protect vital areas from fatal wounds—though the bruising left behind was less than ideal.
As I secured the last of my blades into place, I headed outside the tent, finding the war camp to be bustling with action, soldiers flying around as they prepared for the first of seven flights around The Wall.
In the distance, I could see Commander Drachen shouting commands toward his men, calling for the first of the cohorts to begin to form.
I watched as a series of wings lifted in the distance, golden feathers spreading wide as nearly fifty angels began to fly in the direction the commander had indicated. As the first of the sections touched down, just outside of camp, more angels began heading toward their position.
Soldiers began forming into groups, all geared up in combat attire, with tactical, bulletproof vests strapped to their chests.
I could easily spot the cohorts filled with the Guild’s spies—the vast array of weaponry strapped to their vests a stark contrast to the indifferently assigned rifle and pistol the Aurum Army soldiers were given when they joined.
Units of soldiers began lining up, cohort after cohort, seven soldiers wide and seven deep. It was impressive, truly, watching the sheer number gather in groups, as we prepared to take Solis down. Golden wings gleamed through the ranks, every angel preparing for the flight we would be making.
The ranks of angels began to grow, the line stretching into the expanse of vacant desert, and I knew it was only a matter of time before my own cohort would be called to assemble its rank.
My phone chimed, and I grabbed it from my back pocket, eyes scanning over the text as a grin curved up my lips.
Rae: Don’t do anything stupid today, okay?
Me: I make no promises.
Pocketing the device, I only took a moment to grab a protein shake from the army’s cook, downing the bland powder quickly before I stalked back toward Axel and Eleana. Then, we began making our way toward the line of soldiers.
“This still just doesn’t feel right,” Axel muttered as he took a drink.
I shook my head, partially in agreement, as we moved through the camp, soldiers scattering from our path as we cut through the tents.
“It doesn’t,” I agreed. “We’re about to be an open target, under orders not to fire, even when fired upon.”
“I doubt the thousands of soldiers flying around The Wall will be taken as a peaceful action,” Eleana added as we drew closer to the starting cohorts of soldiers. “Not that it matters . . . Orders are orders.”
Axel and I both huffed a laugh.
“No,” Axel agreed. “But I’m not sure exactly what message we are sending by flying around The Wall, and not attacking.”
“At this point, only Aeternus himself knows what message this is sending,” I replied.
“I think the message we’re sending is that someone bigger than ourselves is at work,” Eleana stated as we began to file in line. “We are positioning ourselves as a threat to Solis without actually doing anything to them.”
A series of horns sounded in the distance, and then the rumble of armed cohorts on the move filled the desert dunes as the first of our men began moving toward The Wall.
A steady beat of wings filled the air as they took to the skies at low altitude.
We could only watch from further down the line as row after row of angels, seven by seven, began flying toward Solis.
Axel and I took our position, side by side, in the first cohort of Guild members. While the Aurum Army was primarily divided by affinity, the Guild’s members were interspersed throughout the cohorts, each flying in sections with other Guild members.
“Do you think this will work?” Eleana’s voice sounded from behind me as she closed rank at my back.
“We have no choice but to put our faith in the commands we were given at this point,” I replied, my jaw tightening as our cohort began to move and we stepped forward. “That and pray we survive the flight each day.”
The front row of our section spread their wings, pushing into the air, and each line followed suit as we began to fly over the desert dunes in a uniform aerial formation. Flying toward Solis Quarter, toward the corruption that has spread.
My entire body tensed as we approached the first section of The Wall.
From this distance, I could spot the towering expanse of limestone—cement slabs standing strong as they formed a perimeter around Solis.
It wasn’t difficult to spot the RSG standing at attention along the top section of The Wall, weapons in hand, as they shouted to their comrades.
I could see the bullets raining down in the distance, and could only watch as the cohorts ahead of us strengthened their shields.
The combination of illustratio flying in each cohort, with their affinities stretching over the soldiers, and then each angel’s elemental affinity covering themselves was a sight to see as they began flying around The Wall.
“When we get back,” Axel bit out from beside me as I felt his own affinity begin to circle around him, before it began to expand out, covering our cohort. “I’m having a long talk with Elion about this. I did not sign up to fly into open fire without even attempting to fight back.”
I felt his affinity seal over our cohort as we began to approach The Wall, the shouts of RSG and cohorts ahead growing louder and louder. I huffed a laugh. “You do realize I could take all of these guards at once, given the chance.”
Axel glared at me as I strengthened my own shield, feeling my fire affinity swarm around my skin like armor. “Of that, I’m well aware.”
I could feel my vitas affinity rise up within me, desperate to unleash itself, but I held it back, knowing I couldn’t release it yet. Not until we officially struck Solis. Not until the very end.
The closer we flew, the louder the shouts sounded, both from The Wall as Lucanus’s guards rained down round after round of ammunition on our soldiers, and from the aerial cohorts, flying in tight formations as they shielded themselves from the onslaught.
Gunfire sounded from every angle as we began to enter the chaos that was unfolding before our eyes.
I could spot the bullets flying, laced with RSG affinities, the ammunition carving paths through our ranks as we pushed on.
The gray cement and metal panels of The Wall began to tower over our cohort as we flew, drawing closer in rank.
The closer we got to The Wall, the higher it loomed overhead.
The temperature dropped as we flew in the shade of the towering obstruction.
It was as though you could feel the darkness emanating from the barricaded Quarter, the shadows along The Wall seeming to call out as the corruption spread throughout Solis.
The space between The Rift and The Wall grew narrow as we flew along the center perimeter of The Wall.
With our wings spanned wide as we cut through the air, there was barely any give between the two obstacles.
To my right, I could feel the eerie chill of the mist, hovering ominously above The Rift.
The deathly shrieks and screams filled the void as we were careful not to fly too close to the ledge, careful not to catch a bad wind current and end up floating in the abyss of darkness.
Yet the other side wasn’t any more promising, as the limestone cement slabs rose high to the side, the barricade corralling us as we flew.
I tightened my shields as the first round of ammunition began to fall over us.
Loud shots rang out in the air as the Royal Solis Guard aimed toward our masses, firing at will.
All around, the air was ablaze with bullets as the soldiers on The Wall fired down in our direction.
There was only so much we could do to protect ourselves as we charged along.
I felt the bullets bounce off my shields during the first few rounds of attacks, but I knew my shields could only last so long under intense fire—all our shields could only last so long before we would be at the mercy of the enemy.