38. Callum
CALLUM
DAY FOUR
The next day was a blur. We flew around the Quarter under fire from a multitude of angles.
The desert sands had picked up, a vicious wind battering us as we flew around The Wall.
All around us, an array of affinity-laced bullets came raining down, in addition to the summer sands blowing through the air.
I was forced to extend my fire affinity, offering what minimal protection I could from the gusts pelting us further as the winds raged on.
The aerial fleet ahead of me flew in a tighter formation, wings nearly brushing each other as we tried to catch any gusts of air we could as we cut through the sky.
Each day, as we flew our lap around The Wall, we were forced to use our affinities to cast shields around our bodies. It was a race against time. We flew around The Wall each day, knowing that we couldn’t fight back, couldn’t retaliate, couldn’t use our affinities.
And at this point, the citizens of Solis should consider themselves lucky we were under orders not to advance, otherwise there would be hell to pay for the sheer force of brutality they launched in our direction each day as we flew around The Wall.
The only positive factor was that the sheer force of the desert sands kept the RSG at bay.
Fewer guards patrolled the very top perimeter of The Wall, opting to stay inside the protected passageways.
We could spot the guards from inside their sheltered towers, and the rounds of shots still rang out as we flew around The Wall.
But the force behind their attack had weakened, the winds leading them to stay behind in their barricaded Quarter rather than reinforce the perimeter of The Wall and attack.
My own affinity waned as the flight progressed, draining me of energy as I struggled to keep a shield around myself—keeping the desert sands and bullets at bay.
We’d been prepared to fly around The Wall each day.
But the effort to hold our affinities in place under constant fire while flying was draining even for the most experienced soldiers, and soon, we were all feeling the effects of the flights.
I felt my affinity flicker in the depths of my soul and stole a quick glance toward Axel.
“I can’t keep it in place much longer,” I forced the words out through clenched teeth. It had been four days of flying daily. Four days of being under fire.
Four days of pushing my affinities to the tipping point, and I knew this shield wasn’t going to hold much longer.
Four days, and we still had three to go.
“Just drop it,” he bit out. “We’ve trained for worse than this; the others will understand.”
My jaw ticked at his words, but the stuttering glow inside me, where my affinity resided, demanded I pull back on my reach.
“brACE!” The word sounded from beside me as Axel warned our cohort, and then I released my hold on my fire affinity, pulling it back.
The wind whipped and howled, a large gust cutting past us, and I felt the small granules of sand pelting against my exposed skin, embedding themselves into the feathers of my wings. I ground my teeth, knowing that the sand embedded in my feathers would be a problem for another day.
Our wings beat faster, fighting against the winds rushing straight toward us as we struggled to fly around the last section of the Quarter.
From my position in the aerial fleet, I could just spot the breakaway point.
The marker to turn off and head toward the war camp was just ahead.
I thanked the stars as I dipped my head lower, praying that no more shots were fired in my direction as we pushed on toward the camp, just to prepare for another day of flying.
DAY FIVE
The last stretch of The Wall came into view, and I thanked Aeternus that our cohort was nearing the end of this day’s flight stretch.
My wings itched as the sand continued to pelt against my feathers, embedding itself in between.
I could feel a sharp sting against my bicep, and when I looked down briefly, sure enough, I could spot a small gash in my arm where a fire bullet had torn through the skin.
The angel’s affinity having laced the bullet with flame so that it seared the surrounding skin.
We were now close enough that I could pinpoint the location where we could veer off—the small marker that led to the war camp further into the vast abyss of the desert.
It was a different marker each day, to ensure that unless the RSG willingly left their barricade of a wall, they would have no way of knowing exactly where our war camp stood in the deserts surrounding Solis.
“Thank the stars,” I heard a voice cry from a row in front of me.
Every angel in the Guild’s cohort’s energy renewed as the end of the fifth day of flying drew near.
I could spot battered, blood-soaked wings from the lines of angels in front of me and knew the medical team at the camp would have their hands full when we touched down.
A breath of relief slipped my own lips as we began tilting, angling our wings away from The Wall.
It wasn’t instantaneous relief, but soon enough the onslaught of affinity-laced bullets began to slow, the cries of the aerial fleets in front of us no longer filling the air.
With bullets no longer raining down on us and affinities no longer attacking, we were able to drop our guard slightly, calling our own affinities in from casting shields.
It was a breath of relief as we flew through the open desert, the rolling dunes blazing beneath us as we tore through the skies, paving the way back toward camp.
Every muscle in my body loosened as I called my fire back in from shielding me.
I knew every angel in our cohort felt the toll of draining our affinities daily, none quite as much as the illustratio.
While all elemental affinities could summon a shield around their form with their element, those who could call on illustratio shields could cast stronger shields around larger groups.
Commander Drachen had divided them among the aerial cohorts to provide further shielding as we circled The Wall daily.
We flew for a good hour, sands beating against us, the twin suns’ heat blazing down on our backs as we stayed in tight formation until the outskirts of the war camp finally came into view.
From this angle, I could see the soldiers hustling around on the ground, dunewraps high on faces, wings retracted as we all tried desperately to avoid the constant force of the summer winds rolling through.
The cohort that we’d been following for the past few days began to slow their approach as they drew closer to the landing zone at the camp.
It wasn’t long before our cohort, too, began lowering, and I bit back a groan of pure relief as we touched the desert sands.
I could feel the scalding heat of the sand as it radiated up from the ground, but I’d take that over the constant pelting of sand any day.
The walk back to our tent was filled with utter silence as we pushed through the narrow spaces between the tents, and before we knew it, we were sitting in one of the Guild’s tents.
The metal poles swayed slightly under the constant onslaught of the summer winds.
Still, the canvas material stretched across the poles as we escaped the winds for the evening.
Eleana collapsed on her cot in a gruntled groan as we listened to the desert storm battering against the tent material from the outside.
The wind whipped and howled fiercely outside, the sand dislodging as we removed tactical belts and vests and piled them on the floor.
Axel wielded his water affinity, the liquid spiraling through the air as he grabbed a bottle of whiskey from under his cot and uncapped the bottle before taking a long drink.
For a long while, we sat in pure silence, passing the bottle of whiskey around.
None of us wished to speak or move as we recovered from the fifth day of flying around that stars-damned wall while under fire.
Eventually, Eleana sat up, shifting through her bag before producing a sand comb. A frustrated groan emerged from her as she tugged her wings free and began to weave the sand comb through her feathers in an attempt to dislodge the sand that was stuck between the strands of her feathers.
“You’d think we could have timed this battle so that it didn’t align with the summer winds,” Eleana grumbled as she continued to comb through her wings. “It’s going to be weeks before all the sand has dislodged itself from between my feathers.”
“That, or we could have just attacked on the first day,” Axel chimed in. “Rather than losing the element of surprise while circling their stars-damned wall for five days straight.”
I spun a knife through my fingers, the sharp edge of the blade narrowly missing my fingertips with each turn of the handle as I reclined against my cot, listening to them.
“We still have no guarantee that the plan of attack on the seventh day will even succeed,” Eleana stated. “Not to mention that the increased flights that day will drain the majority of our energy if we remain under fire for the duration of the flights.”
“It’s only two more days.” I finally spoke as my gaze darted between the two. “We’ve dealt with worse in the past.”
“Two more days of insanity,” Axel insisted.
“Look,” I stated, my tone tight. “It’s not my preferred plan either. But we don’t make the rules here . . . we just follow orders.”
“Speaking of orders,” Eleana added. “How are you feeling about Elion’s commands for the final portion of the battle?”
My jaw tightened as I looked toward her, my fist clenching and unclenching by my side as I remained silent for a moment longer. “I’ve been given orders. It’s my job, right . . . ? To follow through on the Eternal’s commands.”
“Well, yeah,” Eleana began, her eyes assessing me closely. “Commands or not, this is the most widespread use of your affinity in multiple centuries.”
I ran my hands through my hair, sand falling loose as I looked between the two angels I was closest to in Aurelia. “It is what it is. We’ve seen how widespread the corruption has become in the Quarter, and we know it needs to be stopped.”
“We’ll have your back,” Eleana replied softly. “When the time comes . . .”
I nodded once, staying quiet as my mind shifted from my final orders for this battle toward Raelyna—praying that she’d received my message and reached out to the Remnant we’d met in Solis, the one Elion had confirmed was the current Remnant leader.
We needed the remainder of the Remnant to gather in Raelyna’s apartment when we attacked as well.
It was the one marker for protection when Solis fell.
The one place I could guarantee their safety while Solis fell.
But more importantly, I needed her safe—needed her to stay out of harm’s way for the next two days.
A voice sounded from outside our tent, followed by the words, “Commander Drachen has summoned the Shade.”
My head tilted to the side as the footsteps retreated from outside our tent.
“Summoned?” The word rolled off Axel’s lips in disgust. “One doesn’t summon the Shade . . . one doesn’t even truly summon anyone from the Guild. Doesn’t he know who he’s talking to?”
I huffed a laugh as I stood, strapping two firearms into the holsters on my side before turning toward Axel and Eleana.
“Whether we can be summoned or not, I, for one, would prefer some stars-damned intel before we attack in two days. Let’s go.”
“So, we’re letting the commander summon us?” Axel grumbled. “This gives a big stigma if the commander believes he can summon us at will.”
My phone chimed in my pocket as Pierce continued grumbling, and I glanced down at the device, a smile creeping up my lips as I read the text flashing across my screen.
Rae: Loxl just thought you should know that I haven’t been up to anything stupid . . . as promised.
Me: You mean nothing stupid since your drunken flight across Solis?
Rae: That was not stupid.
Rae: It was a stars-damned girls’ night.
Me: Do all your girls’ nights involve flying across the Quarter in dresses far too short?
Rae: Nope! I only do that on nights that end in ‘y.’
I let out an audible groan of frustration, shaking my head.
“You coming?” Axel inquired as he pushed the tent canvas aside, stepping out into the wind.
“Coming,” I confirmed as I shot one last text before pocketing the device and turning my attention toward the meeting we’d been summoned for.