Page 188 of Wrath of the Fae

thirty-three

Westandandwatch,holding onto each other tightly.

Seconds later, shots are fired. Screams ring out. The machines are weaponised, attacking a whole kingdom full of the injured and desperate survivors of Ivan and Jonah’s tyranny. They swarm in a mass and link together to make bigger ones.

‘We have to get over there!’ I insist.

‘They’re after you! We’re not running towards them!’

‘They’re after Rhea too! The machine can’t get her power. No matter what!’

Cyrus throws me back as several drones speed towards us. I hit the ground hard as he wields his smoke against them, crushing and knocking them aside. I get shot in the arm by an iron spear with a sharp hook attached to a cable length. The drone beeps, and five others slam into it, making it bigger. Stronger.

It takes to the sky, dragging me along with it. Prongs dig into my bone, and I can’t pull it free. I can’t use my powers with iron in my body!

‘CYRUS!’ I scream as I lift off the ground.

He turns and abandons his fight to get me free. My bone splinters as it takes my entire weight. He holds me and starts tugging, but it’s buried deep. So he attacks the machine itself, leaping on top of the strange spherical device and sending his smoke deep inside it, breaking it apart bit by bit. It emits loud, high-pitched beeps, and I worry it’s about to blow!

He breaks it open, and we land in the lake.

It’s as heavy as hell and starts to drag me down, sinking into the stoney bottom of the lake’s bed. Cyrus tries to lift it. He can’t. So he begins tugging at the piece embedded in my arm. He pulls and pulls. Blood spews into the water, and I try hard not to scream as the bone inside refuses to release it. He tries to cut through the wire.

Not possible.

He grabs my face and blows the air in his lungs into mine before rushing to the surface.

I pull and pull.

It’s not budging, and all the while, I hear the explosions shake the earth from the city.

Cyrus returns after replenishing his air and grabs my dagger. He looks at me and mouths the word ‘Sorry’ before taking my arm and digging the blade in.

There’s a splash. Reid has found us and lept in. I scream as Cyrus gouges and carves into the bone with all his strength.

Reid replenishes my air supply with his own until there’s a hideous snap, and the device falls free. I’m hoisted to the surface, gasping and growling in pain. The water ripples red as they both keep me afloat, demanding to know that I’m okay.

But I only care about the attack still happening in the distance.

‘What’s happened?’ Cyrus asks, clamping his hand over my wound.

‘Ezra and fucking Jonah!’ Reid spits, tearing the lower part of his shirt and using it as a tourniquet on my arm. He’s still painfully pale. ‘They got out and blew the cellar to hell. The shield went down, and the drones just poured in.’ He takes a double glance at the sky and swears.

The sky has filled with hundreds of drones. And they’re all heading this way.

‘It was sending a signal,’ I realise, understanding why the damned thing started beeping. ‘They’re here for me.’

‘You have to portal away from here. Away from the city,’ Reid says.

‘Those things are killing everyone looking for me!’ I argue. ‘I’m not going to run away and leave them to die!’

‘If they get you and pull you through that tear, we will all be far worse than dead,’ Cyrus argues. ‘I know you want to fight, and I love that about you. But sometimes, running is what is best for everyone.’

‘My sister is there.’

‘Your sister can rot in fucking hell,’ Reid snaps, glancing with terror at the incoming army of flying metal.

‘My sister can be used. Just as much as me. I will not run away. We fight.’ With the iron free of my body, I make a portal below us, carving it into the river floor. ‘Together.’ I dive down before they can argue. My blood is already in the water, so it activates and drags us all in before they can argue.

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