Chapter 79
KALLIE
Four arrows shot through the sky, all hitting their marks. One watchguard fell over the edge of the stone tower and smacked the ground. Kallie flinched, and several people behind her gagged.
The air hung heavy with the coopery tang of blood and the acrid scent of smoke.
Although the city was no longer on fire, ash covered the ground like a thin layer of snow.
As they crept toward the massive iron gates of the capital, silence befell the small army.
They stared at the grand gate blocking their path.
Cutting down the archers in the towers was one issue. The gates were another.
"Is there another way inside?" Kallie asked, turning to Rian and Laurince.
Rian shook his head. "If this gate is locked, the others will be too." He scanned the towering walls, but there was no way to climb them.
"We’ll take care of it," Graeson said, his eyes glowing as if he was pulling from the dragon.
"Ready?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.
Laurince and Moris nodded.
"What are you doing?" Rian asked, hurrying after them.
As Graeson wrapped his hand around the iron bars, Kallie thought of the cell door that had been torn apart in Tetria. She grabbed Rian’s arm, pulling him back. "Just watch."
The three men wrapped their hands around the metal bars. Rian’s jaw dropped. The metal creaked and groaned as the men bent the bars back, their muscles straining even with their inhuman strength. A collective gasp rippled through the army as they witnessed a hole form in the middle of the gate.
Rian rubbed his face and mumbled, "Now I’m going to need someone to fix that once this is over."
"That’s not the only thing that will need fixing," Kallie said, peering through the hole in the gate. Beyond it, the city was in ruins. Rubble covered the streets. The wind whistled through the shattered windows of collapsed buildings.
"Fuck," Rian breathed out.
Laurince slipped through the new hole, maneuvering carefully to avoid snagging his wings on the metal spires. He waved the rest of them forward.
"Come on," Kallie said, beckoning Rian toward the gate. There was no time to waste.
Once beyond the wall, Rian tilted his head one way, then gestured for Kallie and Graeson to go the other. The army split off, one half going with the king, and the rest following Kallie.
The deeper they embarked, the thicker the scent of the smoke became.
Throughout the city, piles of embers still burned.
Entire houses had collapsed, the explosives destroying them.
Inside one building, a faint cry sounded, and a few of the soldiers entered the building to inspect it.
When Kallie looked over her shoulder a minute later, she saw them carrying out two children.
The sight of the children covered in ash and soot squeezed her heart.
Kallie struggled to wrap her mind around the catastrophe.
Did Sebastian not care if he burned the entire capital down?
Was that part of his plan? To start anew?
As they crept through the destruction, those tasked with helping the injured moved as quickly as possible, carrying those who could be moved back the way they came. Kallie hoped the healers and Myra had rested.
A rumble rippled through the streets. They halted, searching for the source. Graeson crouched down, feeling the ground as he stared at the sky, his nostrils flaring.
"This way," he said gruffly.
Their small squad headed deeper into the capital, inching their way toward the castle. The destruction grew worse with every block. Somewhere, a loud screech pierced the air, and Kallie gripped her dagger tighter.
Up ahead, she spotted a child who was no more than eight years old tugging on his mother’s arm, pleading for her to get up.
Large flakes of ash coated the child’s dark brown hair.
The woman sat on the ground with her head leaning against the wall.
She must have stopped to catch her breath as they were running out of the capital, believing she and her son were safe enough.
Her eyelids were closed, and blood pooled around her.
Still, the child knelt beside her, his tears rolling down his round, brown cheeks.
Even yards away, Kallie could hear the boy’s sobs and futile attempts to wake his mother.
Another high-pitched, ear-shattering screech sounded from above, closer this time. Kallie tore her gaze away from the pair as a drakonis dug its talons into the brick siding, crushing the material and crumbling it into mere pebbles and dust.
In an instant, Kallie was sprinting, shouting at the child to move, but she knew he wouldn’t abandon his mother and she wouldn’t be able to get there in time.
The wind whipped through her hair, and a shadow rushed past her as Moris flew.
He scooped up the child in his arms as the corner of the building came tumbling down.
Chunks of bricks smashed onto the ground where the child had just knelt.
If they had arrived one minute later, the child would have been crushed.
Moris swung back around.
Graeson signaled for him to fly away. "Get him out of here!"
Moris nodded, held the child tighter to his chest, and flew past them.
Kallie’s hands flew to her ears when the drakonis roared in anger, the sound pounding against her eardrums at an ear-shattering degree. As the sound reverberated off the surrounding buildings, the ground shook again.
Then she saw it.
A hoard of drakonises barreled toward them. She peeled her hands away from her ears as Graeson ripped his blades from their sheaths.
A dangerous glint glimmered in his moon-bright eyes as if the dragon within was nipping at the edges of its confinement, hungering for blood.
Kallie chanced one glance back, spotting Moris' silhouette disappearing down the street.
She took in a deep breath and twisted the dagger in her hand.
For the first time in a long time, she was thankful for the training Domitius had put her through.
Although he had taken plenty from her, he had at least given her the skills to shout with enough confidence, "For Frenzia! "