Chapter 15

N ariel teleports us back to his spire so I can collapse in exhaustion without having to maintain a spell in the sky.

And while I grab some emergency shut-eye, he sends spirits to Low Earth with messages to start enacting our plan.

Someday we'll get to cuddle after sex, but now, it's only a matter of time before the Lances take us by surprise again.

Unless this time, we surprise them .

We're pretty sure that soon as I arrive in Low Earth, Destien's addition to the Miyajima anchor will alert him to the fact that I've changed the balance of power in the worlds again with our bond. Whatever game he's playing, he'll have to act, and that means we need everyone to move into position first.

Amir, Nariel's Seneschal, cuts my nap short by sending word that they are, which means it's go time.

Even if I'm very gross, since I haven't been able to teleport to Low Earth for a shower and literally have been peeing in a bucket in Nariel's spire and magically vaporizing the waste .

But I'm awake.

Nariel leaves the clip inside the spire, so in an emergency I'll be able to leave Low Earth. A show of trust, that he will welcome me in his tower even without him.

And in return, standing with him on top of his spire where any spirit of Makora can see, I give him all three weapons, trusting him to deliver them.

His arms are full, so he can't touch me.

Not with his hands.

It's his shadows that dance up my sides as I lean forward to cup his face in my hands and kiss him one more time.

Not a last time, though.

We'll have more.

I have not had anywhere near my fill of him.

"Ready?" Nariel breathes against my lips.

I meet his eyes and smile. "Always."

His lips curve.

And then he and the weapons vanish.

Leaving me alone in Dark Earth to wait.

It takes about three seconds for me to hate this.

I try to breathe. It really is very peaceful up here, and this view is epic, but wow am I not in the mindset to appreciate it.

It's fine. Everything's fine. No news means we're winning. It means Nariel is delivering the weapons, and everyone is getting them powered up with no problems, and our plan is going off without a hitch which is super likely and everything is definitely coming up daisies—

Amir soundlessly pops into existence next to me, and I jump, swearing. "The prince has rendezvoused with Gaspar and Leticia Jones," he says.

I let out a breath, putting my wand away now that I know who this is. Jesus.

"Good," I manage like my heart isn't beating a thousand times a minute. This is news, but it's still good news.

"You really want to give an angelic weapon to a spirit?" Amir asks me.

Ayaka, Seamus, Letty, and Brook all got themselves to a node anchor—a place set up to link directly to the three core magical locations of Low Earth: Miyajima, Stonehenge, and the Cloud Forest.

And I asked Gaspar to go as well.

I look at Amir. This is the first time we've conversed without Nariel present, and it occurs to me that I don't know what this person who's so important in Nariel's world thinks of me.

On one hand, I freed his prince.

On the other, I'm the reason his prince was trapped to begin with.

Nariel asked if I wanted to talk about the bond with the other wizards before moving forward, but had he talked to Amir?

"I don't see why not," I tell him .

"Your goal was to arm Low Earth, and you're giving that power away."

That's one way to look at it.

But he's not wrong.

Every time someone tries to restrict my agency, my freedom, I'm going to do whatever I can to give more power and freedom away.

That's what I have to offer as a leader.

Not just power.

The commitment to all of us having power, and unwillingness to compromise on that fundamental principle.

"I am arming Low Earth," I say. "Ayaka and I have weapons already, Seamus and Letty can get two of the three from Keratha, and that leaves one more. Gaspar's the person best positioned at the Costa Rica anchor."

It does mean the Americas will have two weapons, but their node will also be weaker for a while after powering up two. And Gaspar will probably be in and out of Dark Earth once Letty's travel has calmed down.

Although—"Does it bother you that Gaspar will be semi-permanently responsible for working with Low Earth affairs?"

Amir smiles ruefully. "Gaspar will be delighted. And it's a bold move to demonstrate how your bond will work for both our peoples going forward."

Nariel helped me obtain the weapons, and now I'm giving one back to spirits. And I'm tying our worlds together—it won't be only wizards' interests I keep in mind as we build magic back into Low Earth.

But those are future problems.

"Glad you approve," I say.

Amir looks at me seriously. "I do."

Great. Good. Everything's fine, then.

Then his head tilts to one side.

"A team of High Earth mages has engaged the prince in Costa Rica."

Shit. We weren't sure if setting up the weapons would alert High Earth, since the Lances had already been at the Great Wall when we'd powered up Ayaka's sword, but it was always possible.

That means Nariel will have to stay to fight them off alone while Letty gets her and Gaspar's weapons going.

Although—if High Earth is already there, there isn't any reason for me to wait here, is there? Unless—

"Can the spirits tell if the High Earth mages are Lances?" I ask Amir.

He frowns. "Apparently they are not."

I clench my fists. "So this might just be a regular magic fluctuation registering for them, even if it's a magic drain, not an increase. Damn it."

That means I can't go in yet. Nariel can handle a strike team singlehandedly, but as soon as I arrive, it'll be Lances with magic weapons.

I start pacing .

No news is good news, everything's coming up roses for Sierra, no news is good news, no news is good news—

"Wait." Amir looks sharply at me. "Lances have just appeared in Hokkaido. They're closing on Ayaka and Brook."

Two fronts.

Looks like Destien did get the memo.

And this is objectively bad news.

But on the other hand it means I don't have to, indeed cannot stay here sitting on my ass—

"That's my cue," I say.

I don't wait for Amir's approval.

I vanish.

And reappear on a snowy mountain top.

The only snow in Hokkaido this early in the year is high in the mountains. It's before ski season, and that means it's empty.

Which means that I don't need to worry about cloaking to keep anyone from seeing when I arrive in midair, clock the approaching Lance team, manifest my hammer, and swing.

An arc of lightning bursts from my hammer in an arc.

I land on my feet in the snow.

Now there's an entrance. Good work, self.

Three of the Lances dodged; the other two managed to brace with their weapons and were thrown back from the impact.

"Nice timing," Brook says behind me .

But Ayaka immediately says, "You asked me to set up a remote anchor to the Miyajima node, in a wide-open space to fight, where Brook would still have cell network access, but there is no cover. How do we account for that?"

That's... extremely true.

Shit. Bad work, self.

Ayaka and Brook are backed up against the slope of a mountain, which means while they can see anyone coming, the Lances could collapse an avalanche on them.

So I am doing a great job of being in charge, as usual.

I heft the wand in my other hand and quickly cast a shield to hold off a goddamn avalanche only for Ayaka to yell sharply.

I wheel around, swinging my hammer blindly in another arc.

Wrong direction: the attack is coming from above.

The Lance's axe bears down on me from above, shattering my shield in one swing.

But the shield slows her for just long enough that I can swing my own hammer again.

When the shield falls, my hammer collides with her axe, and I knock it and her straight out of the sky—okay, now I can get to work—sending them tumbling back into the snow.

Where another figure stands.

"There's a second problem," Brook mutters.

Fuck .

"Hey Destien," I say. "Is this a social call? You missed my sister after your quality time together?"

Brook snorts.

Ayaka sighs.

"I see you've learned nothing about involving your sister," Destien says, walking toward me.

He has a broadsword balanced over one shoulder, and with his mage tabard he looks like a vision of knighthood, contrasting sharply with my very official jeans and t-shirt look.

And I have no doubt his weapon packs a punch.

" High Earth involved me," Brook bites out from behind me.

"An unfortunate occurrence we have since resolved," Destien says.

In what way? It's not like he ever apologized—at least not to me, and I doubt to Brook. He must mean defending my sister at Miyajima.

"Yet," Destien says, drawing the sword down from his shoulder in one quick, precise move, pointing it straight at me, "here you are. That's quite a hammer, Sierra."

"Thanks, I made it."

His eyes widen at that, and I can practically see the questions he wants to ask me.

Ha! Worth forging just for this moment.

But in the next moment it's gone. The Lances have formed up behind him, and his expression goes hard .

Wait. Is he performing ?

He's using me for something, but what?

Why, no matter what I do, am I never ahead?

"We've been watching you," Destien says. "So much new power, so fast. Do you really think you can hold it?"

As one, all the Lances heft their angelic weapons.

Destien might be playing a game here, but that doesn't mean he isn't going to try to kill me.

I don't have time to not have my shit together, to have a crisis of confidence, to worry I won't be able to pull out yet another miracle.

I heft my hammer as if to swing it at him.

And then instead I use my wand to heave snow at them.

Look, I love a good fight, but I'm not stupid.

"Fuck around and find out," I say into the whiteness between us.

And then I am already using the ensuing snow cloud cover to move .

Ayaka's job right now is to defend Brook so she can do her part of this plan, which means even though she has a weapon, it's effectively just me.

On my own. Again, always.

Everything and nothing has changed.

I have people in my corner. But right here, right now, it's down to just me, against Destien and however many Lances stay focused on me .

The snow doesn't slow them for long. I firm it into a shield and keep running, pulling as many of them away from Ayaka and Brook as I can, as a blow from an angelic weapon lands on the snow shield and disintegrates it instantly.

Then an explosion of snow in front of me stops me.

I rear to a halt, but before I can change directions the snow is exploding around me.

Shit, that escalated quickly.

I use a burst of power to blow all the snow away from me, then whirl it like a tornado, me the eye of my very own snowstorm.

But they're wise to this trick—if they're working for Destien, he can have told them how I like to use the elements to my own advantage.

The snow cracks under my feet, and I react just fast enough to swing my hammer down.

At the Lance who has burrowed through the mountain under my feet, stabbing up.

My hammer knocks him back into the ground, sending cracks throughout the snow around us.

But his flings me into the sky.

I get myself twisted around and swing my hammer around in time to meet Destien in the air.

His sword clangs against my hammer.

"What are you doing?" I hiss at him.

He smirks, and ah, there's the superiority I know and hate .

"Survive and maybe I'll tell you," Destien says, and I snarl in his face.

This isn't some innocuous test. It's a fucking execution, but if anyone expected me to just lie down and take it they will have another fucking thing coming.

Somehow.

Somehow, I will get all of us through this.

Right?

As soon as I have longer than a fraction of a second to just react, because that's where I'm at now: grand plans are all well and good, but they don't help me now. Now, I'm playing defense, and I'm losing.

Destien pushes his sword against my hammer with more force. Physically, he's stronger than me, so I let him; this isn't my moment.

But it sends me careening at a faster pace toward the ground.

Fortunately, I've had some recent experience with falling at great heights.

I gather snow beneath me and crash into it like Nariel and I crashed into the cloud.

Only this snow, I move like it's my own flying carpet—or flying nimbus—taking stock as I zoom around, seizing more than a fraction of a second back from them, because they do not get to set the pace, Low Earth is my turf—

Except I immediately notice the Lance who burrowed up through the ground is gone .

My heart rate accelerates.

I turn toward Ayaka just in time to see her swing the grass-cutting sword toward a Lance approaching her head-on—

And miss the one coming up underneath her.

The underground Lance's blow knocks her into the shield I cast above her to prevent her from being crushed by an avalanche, and she bounces down. As if in slow motion, Brook's expression dawns with horror as she watches Ayaka fall to be impaled on the Lance's blade—

Except I barrel in on my cloud, grabbing onto him and flying off with him.

He breaks my hold and gets a jab in with his free hand at my chest, taking the wind out of me and pushing me off the snow cloud.

But as I fall, I swing my hammer straight into his head.

It crashes through his shield and connects with his skull with a sickening crunch.

The Lance goes slack, and we fall together.

No one attacks me as I fall, but no one needs to.

Destien's made his point.

That was way, way too close.

Another second and Ayaka would be dead, with my sister following behind. I made the decision to set this field, and it was my job to protect them.

Ayaka and Brook both trusted me, and I am failing them .

Ayaka has an angelic weapon but no combat training. Against a normal mage she'd be fine, but not against a Lance also armed with a weapon.

As for me, with a weapon of my own and my wand I'm a match for any individual Lance with an angelic weapon.

Two, sure. I'm very good.

Three is a problem.

Six? I'm overmatched.

And the Lances have demonstrated that they are in this to kill.

I can't win like this. All my magic combat skills, even with a weapon, aren't enough.

I'm falling back into old habits and letting Destien establish the terms of engagement.

No more.

I can't win by High Earth's rules because they're designed to keep me down, and I am going to get people killed if I keep trying to prove I can beat them at their own game.

I need to change the game so I'm not playing by them.

Okay, Sierra. No pressure. Just Kobayashi Maru this shit.

The Lance crashes into a snowdrift.

I slow my descent and land on my feet and start walking toward Destien, snow crunching under my boots and icy cold clarity inside.

It is my turn, finally, and I am not going to fail .

Maybe on some level I needed this kick in the ass, and this was the only way I could believe it. Despite everything, I was hanging on by myself—if only for myself.

But the whole point is not even that I can't do this on my own, but that I shouldn't have to .

And I don't have to.

I need to stop finding bigger hills to throw myself off of and learn , goddammit.

Two Lances come at me from either side.

I point my wand at one and my hammer at the other and let lightning rip.

That's the first time I've used my hammer and my wand at the same time, which is fucking momentous.

It's not going to be enough; I already know this, even if the Lances don't yet.

But it buys me another window where they return to testing me to see what this means for them , and that means I have a little more wiggle room to advance my own strategy without their realizing.

Because bringing magic back for everyone means I'm not alone.

Yes, there is just one of me standing here as this time three Lances recover and close in again, and I let them.

Our weapons clash, again and again, me whirling back and forth between them as I knock them back but never far, only long enough to engage another.

One Lance is down; another is occupying Ayaka .

I'm not beating them like this, but I don't have to. That's their game, not mine.

Meanwhile, I keep advancing toward Destien.

It doesn't matter how many Lances High Earth throws at me. It doesn't matter how many weapons, how much power.

They are never, never going to stop me.

The thing about sharing power is there's more for everyone.

And that includes me.

I've been using my wand so High Earth wouldn't know that I no longer have to, to hold a secret back like Nariel has used to his advantage.

Spells with limits so I don't use more power than I need to, so that I have enough for whatever comes next, the way the grand magus trained me.

But no—I trained that myself. If I'd failed, he'd have let me. I figured out how to manage my own power.

I made myself a magic weapon. An extension of myself, of my magic, before.

I figured out how to hold myself back, how to play by High Earth's rules, because it was the only way to wield magic.

But now I've made another way, and I set the rules.

So now, I let it go.

I'm within ten feet of Destien. His brow furrows with alarm as the three Lances close in on me at once—

And I reach into the well of my power .

The impossibly deep well of power I now share with a fallen angel through our bond.

Power for my taking.

Because we both have more magic now, and even though I look like I'm alone, we have each other, too.

I practically feel the magic washing over my eyes, turning them glowing white.

As I cast a spell without limits, with the combined power of two worlds.

Bright-white lightning explodes around me, each remaining Lance as well as Destien caught in a column of sheer magical electricity licked with shadows.

It blows through their weapons.

It blows through their shields.

And each and every one of them falls.

But so do I.

My legs give out from under me and I stumble, locking my knees to keep on my feet as I breathe through the amount of power I just channeled and try to hold onto it.

My vision is black around the edges so I can only see right in front of me: Destien woozily struggling to his feet.

So I can't release my grip on it, not yet, even though it feels like my skin is on fire—

And then I feel more magical signatures behind me.

Magic I recognize, and magic I don't.

Not daring to whirl too fast in my current state, I look over my shoulder .

There's Ayaka with her sword, Seamus with his spear, Letty with her double-sided axe, and Gaspar with the bolas, advancing behind me in a line.

Four of them for four remaining Lances, now weaponless and with their magical reserves vastly drained.

Me against Destien.

The odds, abruptly, evened. I have backup.

Wonder surges through me, because ohmygod, I have backup .

I have people who have my back , who won't just leave me to handle this alone, even if I could.

But it's followed by a sharp rush of despair, because then the strike teams arrive following them.

Odds not so evened.

Before the blood can drain out of my face, though, shadows part in the sky, and Nariel spreads his wings.

And as he does, reveals that beneath him, blocking my view of Brook completely, stands a wall of spirits.

That wasn't part of the plan.

At least, not my plan.

Leticia Jones dares to break the silence. "Your reinforcements, Wizard Master," she says. "Though it doesn't look like you need them."

Gaspar winks at me, swinging the bolas.

My eyes prick with tears and I finally, finally dare to breathe, my eyes catching Nariel's.

He looks a little singed, but he's fine .

We're all fine.

I don't feel like I'm on fire anymore. I feel like I am fire.

And if Destien isn't careful, I'll burn him.

I turn to face Destien. The other Lances have gotten to their feet, too, but no one has made a move, every line of their muscles tense.

So I'm watching as my sister commands in a loud, clear voice, "Wizards, convert the High Earth spells now."

My vision blacks out for a second as the magic in the world surges and swirls and resettles, the seismic shift of the universe changing in an instant but leaving everything looking unchanged.

Looks can be deceiving.

Destien jolts as if he's been shocked.

But to my surprise it's one of the Lances who demands, "What did you just do?"

I smile, slowly.

It is not a nice smile.

" We ," I say, "the wizards of Low Earth, with the assistance of spirits of Dark Earth, have just changed all High Earth's anchor spells in this world. You can no longer portal to and around Low Earth at will."

Her face goes slack with shock.

I look at Destien, and this time it's my turn for a smug-as-shit smirk.

"So if you want to leave here alive," I tell him, "you'd better start playing a whole lot nicer."