Chapter 15

The execution platform was hastily built, but it has the makings of a show of force on behalf of the Sky Tribe. Gigantic torches made of brass and steel mark the four corners of the solid wooden structure, while the entire area around it was cleared and cordoned off with black iron chains. The Sky Tribe banners hang proudly from the elevated platform, and only one set of narrow steps grants access to it.

A large crowd has gathered here tonight, much to my disgust. Granted, most of these people are military personnel. Judging by the confused looks on the faces of the few locals present, I’m pretty sure they’re not the Sky Tribe’s greatest fans. Then again, this faction has been losing popularity points over the past few years, mostly because of our decisive victories across the map.

About a half mile from here, across the vast historical center of Pearl City, I can see the hangar’s glass and steel structure rising from between the ancient buildings. Man, I’d give anything to be there and set the explosive charges the way we were supposed to. But I can’t. I’m stuck here, my wrists cuffed as I stand beside Shaytan and Blaze at the top of the city hall’s front steps.

Soldiers keep the public at bay, giving the platform enough space to stand out.

“You’re all a bunch of pompous pricks,” I mutter mostly to myself.

“It’s a most auspicious occasion,” Shaytan chuckles, placing a hand on my shoulder. I try to move away from him, but I can’t. My cuffs are connected to his belt by a short, thick chain, and he’s the only one with the key. I’d chew my own hands off to escape if I could. “I put on my best suit for this.”

He looks sparkly as hell in the evening’s city lights, clad in black leather with gold-threaded brocade patterns splashed across his massive shoulders and arms. There’s even more gold than usual woven into his slick hair and decorating his horns. Blaze opted for a navy blue and silver embroidery combination, though frankly, they’d both look better if they were screaming and writhing in agony as they were being burned alive.

They had me stuffed into a prissy pale blue dress with pearl and lace details. I feel uncomfortable and miserable, anxious to get out of there. Something is about to go down tonight, and I’m not sure how it’ll play out.

The Hadana twins may be in town, but that does not guarantee success. If anything, it could all blow up in our faces. I keep calm, however, feigning obedience and defeat as I gaze across the plaza, constantly stealing glances at the hangar in the distance. God, I hope our people got the coordinates for the Opal City long-range weapons.

“You look beautiful, by the way,” Shaytan tells me with a warm smile. “Blue suits you rather well. It makes your gray eyes sunnier, I think.”

“I don’t even know how to respond to that,” I reply, unable to hide my disgust.

“A little gratitude wouldn’t hurt,” he says. “Things could be a lot worse for you.”

“I doubt it.”

Blaze scoffs. “We’ll break you, don’t worry. It may take a while, but sooner or later, we will break you.”

“Killing my soulmates isn’t going to make me love you,” I shoot back. “If anything, it’ll make me want to sit and wait for the perfect moment to slit both of your throats. And you know me well enough by now to understand precisely how patient I can be.”

“Failure was inevitable for the Fire Tribe,” Shaytan says. “What’s happening now is merely a natural conclusion you must learn to deal with.”

“Screw you,” I grumble.

I lose my breath altogether as the crowd murmurs in agitation. Movement stirs the eastern flank of the square, and I see them—Yossul and Fadai. They’re in heavy chains as they’re dragged toward the execution platform. My stomach aches to see them like this, yet there’s nothing I can do from where I am being held.

I’m still waiting for a sign from Kai and Maur so I can free myself. Every second that passes while I’m in chains is a second closer to failure and doom, a second closer to losing the loves of my life.

“Oh, God,” I whisper.

Yossul and Fadai carry themselves with the poise of true leaders, their chins up and their crimson eyes defiant as they’re escorted to their doom. Around them, the soldiers boo and snarl, shaking their fists and cursing them, but the Kreek brothers can’t hear a thing.

Their gazes are locked on mine once they see me standing between Shaytan and Blaze. Anger, frustration, and acceptance burn brightly across their faces as they are led to the execution platform.

A squadron of mercenaries stands on the edge of the platform, laser weapons locked and loaded and ready to obliterate them. The guards test Yossul and Fadai’s cuffs, then leave them standing in the middle and return to their posts. They’re in charge of keeping the peace and the plaza clear so everyone can get a good view of the gruesome spectacle to come.

Shaytan has a microphone mounted on a tall tripod in front of him. He taps it once with his fingers as the crowd’s roars begin to subside beneath the purplish night sky.

“Thank you all for joining us on this most auspicious evening,” he says, his voice booming all over the neighborhood through a system of speakers. “It is with great relief and joy that I announce our victory over the Fire Tribe. Soon, we will have their capitulation. But in order for us to see those flags falling into the dirt where they belong, we must first draw true blood, the true blood of some of their leaders. Behold, Yossul and Fadai Kreek, two of the Fire Tribe’s most notorious chieftains—in chains!”

A wave of applause erupts all around, and people cheer and shout. The Kreek brothers keep their eyes on me, their shoulders back and loaded with tension. I’m still hoping to spot Kai or Maur somewhere in the audience, but I’ve yet to see them. I’ve yet to find that sliver of hope I so desperately need in these trying times.

“Once they’re dead, you’ll view everything through a different lens,” Blaze whispers to me.

“Once they’re dead, the entire Fire Tribe will come down on you here with the wrath of a thousand suns,” I shoot back. “You’re on the wrong side of history, Blaze Pyrin. We’re the ones with the cure for the plague and the blueprint for a better future for Sunna. You’re just the slaves of a toxic ideology.”

Blaze scoffs, but I can see the twinkle of doubt in his gaze. I’ve already given him enough arguments to understand that I mean every word I say. There is truth in every word, whether he’s ready to admit it or not. Facts don’t care about his feelings.

“Of course, we’re having a double celebration here tonight,” Shaytan continues. “As I speak, our starship is ready to take to the foreign skies like Umok did six years ago. As the Kreek brothers draw their last breaths, our vessel shall breach Sunna’s atmosphere and head to Earth, where plenty of human women will be ours for the picking. Our species is saved. Our peace is assured. Our survival is all but guaranteed!”

“Wait, what?” I croak, the words sinking in as I give Shaytan a confused look.

Blaze squeezes my arm. “The ship is launching in a few minutes,” he says. “Shaytan wanted the takeoff to coincide with their deaths.”

“You sick son of a—” I pause and take a deep breath, finally spotting Maur out of the corner of my eye, rapidly sneaking through the simmering crowd in order to reach the execution platform. There it is, my sliver of hope. But how will any of this work? They’re launching the fucking ship!

I can hear it. I can hear its engines, their low and permanent hum rumbling in the pit of my stomach as its nuclear-powered circuits are fired up. I can see the hangar’s roof splitting wide open, the air rippling between Pearl City’s historical buildings, and the dust billowing and rising in shimmering swirls as the giant vessel prepares for takeoff.

“Soldiers, weapons ready!” Shaytan shouts, then looks at the Kreek brothers. “Yossul and Fadai Kreek, you stand accused of egregious crimes against the people of Sunna and of conspiring against the rightful rulers of this realm. How do you plead?”

“You consider yourself the rightful ruler?” Yossul scoffs loud enough for everyone to hear. “If you can’t sense the joke in that, then my answer is worthless.”

“Guilty it is, then!” Shaytan snarls. “Soldiers, take aim!”

Like automated robots, the Sky Tribe soldiers raise their weapons and point them at the Kreek brothers’ backs. I can’t see anything in the soldiers’ eyes at this point. No sign of life. No will. Nothing whatsoever, merely the emptiness of machines obeying their manipulators.

BOOM!

An explosion tears through the southeastern corner of the plaza. The people there are blown apart and thrown to the sides like limp and lifeless ragdolls. There is blood, smoke, fire, and rubble. There are screams that make my blood freeze.

BOOM!

A second explosion rips the northwestern corner, causing the building we’re standing in front of to shudder. The steps tremble and deep cracks spider upward from the cobblestone to our feet as Shaytan and Blaze pull me back. In the blink of an eye, we’re surrounded by black guards and whisked away from the impending danger.

“Dammit!” Shaytan curses under his breath, then points an angry finger at one of his men. “Make sure the launch goes as planned. No delay! And kill those Kreek fuckers! NOW!”

“Yes, milord,” the man replies and rushes away to see that Shaytan’s orders are carried out.

I can’t make much out of the swollen, chaotic crowd that scampers and scrambles across the plaza. I can’t see the execution platform anymore, either. Soon enough, I only see dark corridors as I’m taken away in cuffs.

“What’s happening?” I ask though I’m pretty sure I know the answer.

“Your friends are being stupid,” Shaytan replies. “It won’t stop us, though. We’ve come too far. There is no stopping us now!”

Part of me would love just to piss him off, but I know to keep my mouth shut in the midst of all this agitation. I try to register as much of my surroundings as possible while I’m taken back to their private residence, a throng of black guards running close behind us as more explosions can be heard throughout the city.

Chaos is unfolding outside, sheer chaos. Whatever the Hadana twins had planned, I feel like it’s working.

I only hope it worked for Yossul and Fadai, too.

They’d better be off the platform. They’d better be safe and sound. I’ve got my own way of leaving once I’m given the right signal. Until then, I plan to stay quiet and obedient, watching and waiting.

“You’re speechless,” Blaze notices, glancing my way as we go through the front doors of their sumptuous palazzo. The servants look at us with a mixture of concern and confusion, but they all bow politely and get out of our way while I’m taken upstairs to the mansion’s top level, where the roof terrace awaits. “Wait until you see the light show.”

“The light show,” I mumble, embittered by the prospect of watching the starship take off.

The launch was supposed to happen later. We were supposed to have a bit more time.

The rooftop terrace offers a sprawling view of Pearl City. On any other night, on any other occasion, I probably would’ve enjoyed the architectural intricacies of Sunnaite buildings and interconnected alleyways, greenery-filled plazas, and twinkling streetlights.

But tonight, I’m distraught and angered, boiling on the inside as I’m forced to watch something I’ve been fighting against for far too long.

Shaytan even has the audacity to have a bottle of spiced wine and fancy crystal glasses brought up to celebrate the occasion. He’s seething. I can tell. And from what I’ve heard thus far, they haven’t executed anyone yet. I’m guessing Fadai and Yossul escaped, leaving Shaytan and Blaze with only the starship’s launch to count among their greatest accomplishments.

“They haven’t caught them yet,” Blaze whispers, stealing a glance at me.

I’m sitting on the balustrade, watching the starship on the other side of the city as it hums and grumbles, and I imagine the staff on the ground running around, in and out of that massive thing, making sure everything is ready for the launch.

I wonder what happened to the Yellow Gang, if our coordinates and confirmation ever made it to Opal City, and if the universe is still on our side. There are still plenty of doubts and little hope left.

“Send more of the black guards after them,” Shaytan hisses, squeezing the wine glass so tight it breaks in his hand, leaving a deep cut. Blood drips onto the granite floor, but he ignores the discomfort as he gazes out toward the hangar. “We cannot let them get out of the city. Do you hear me, Blaze?”

“I hear you loud and clear,” Blaze replies and pours the general another drink. “They won’t make it out alive, I assure you.”

“Do not assure me of anything until you have their heads on silver fucking platters!” Shaytan snarls, then pauses and takes a deep breath. “We’re fine. We’ll be fine. I suppose the launch is to proceed according to plan?”

Blaze nods once. “Yes. Everything is in place. The crew is ready and strapped in. The ship’s systems are fully functional, double-checked and tested. Estimated launch time is in about five minutes.”

“Good. I hope they’ll watch from wherever they’ve hidden, those bastards.”

I can’t help but giggle. Shaytan gives me a sour grin. I offer a shrug in return and take a long sip of my wine. There’s not much else I can do right now, anyway. I’d be raising hell if I could; I’d make their lives miserable and take away any chance of actually enjoying the fruits of their filthy labor. But we’ve got bigger fish to fry. Bigger things are coming if we’re lucky.

The minutes pass in heavy silence as Blaze and Shaytan watch the hangar with renewed anticipation. I can hear the guards shouting below. New orders. New sightings of the Kreek brothers. Word of Fire Tribe infiltrators in the city.

A smile tests the corner of my mouth as it becomes clear… we were never alone in this. The Fire Tribe has sent its best covert agents to help us. Kai and Maur are just two of them, and they were enough to wreak pure havoc.

“There it goes,” Shaytan laughs delightedly as the starship finally rises.

The entire city rumbles and trembles under its propulsion systems. The heat spreads out from under it, wafting over the buildings and through the streets, brushing through my hair and over my cheeks like a warm spring kiss.

My stomach drops as I watch the gargantuan beast made of rare metal alloys and virtually indestructible glass panes lift off the ground. It looks like a massive almond with four giant engines roaring beneath it.

Slowly, it reaches above the buildings around it.

People are cheering, though I doubt they know what they’re actually cheering for. I do know that some doubt the success of such a mission. I do know that many don’t agree with the Sky Tribe’s rule and the resources wasted on these endeavors thus far. If that starship does take off, if it gets past the atmosphere, there will be plenty of minds swayed back in the Sky Tribe’s favor.

The civilians will be tempted to accept their dominance, and so we are likely to lose precious allies we’ve fought hard to win over. The implications of such a loss weigh heavily on my heart.

“Isn’t she a beauty, Jewel?” Shaytan asks me, a huge grin slitting his red, sweaty face.

“Look at her go,” Blaze murmurs, his eyes sparkling as he watches the vessel rise and rise, steadier and steadier in its hovering state.

Its engines’ hum is briefly covered by a sharp whistling sound. A red beam flashes across the night sky. It’s short and fast. So fast, in fact, that I barely register it. The starship explodes, and I’m speechless. My jaw is on the fucking granite floor as I watch the beast explode into millions of tiny pieces.

“Holy shit,” I whisper, putting two and two quickly together.

They did get the coordinates. Opal City”s long-range laser weapons worked like a charm. All it took was one shot—one carefully calibrated shot coming from the deep south of Sunna—and they did it.

It’s a rapidly unfolding disaster as the starship falls apart in a blooming flower of fire and death. Its nuclear powered cells melt and cause another chain of secondary explosions, green and blue bursts flashing through the swelling black cloud as the whole thing falls back into Pearl City.

I only hope the people down there are smart enough to run as far and fast as they can in these terrible moments. Otherwise, the meltdown and the ensuing chemical reactions will cause their agonizing deaths.

I hold my breath and watch.

A few seconds later, I’m reminded that I’m not alone up here. I look across the rooftop terrace and see Shaytan and Blaze like I’ve never seen them before. Shocked. Wordless. Motionless. Pale as pink roses in the morning sunlight, their faces covered in sweat as horror, true horror glistens in their eyes. I’m not sure they’re registering the entire scene just yet. Or, if they are registering, their brains have yet to regain control over their bodies.

They’re almost catatonic.

As tempted as I am to laugh in their faces, I keep my joy to myself. I observe as Shaytan gradually starts blinking—slowly, at first, then faster until his second glass flies across the terrace and smashes into the balustrade. A roar erupts from the bottom of his lungs, thundering throughout the whole of Pearl City as he raises his fists to the sky.

Blaze takes a few steps back, unsure how to proceed. He didn’t see this coming. He must’ve thought they had a guaranteed launch. Shaytan, on the other hand, isn’t the type to dwell in shock. Soon enough, the gears in his mind kick back into motion as he furiously looks around and points a clawed finger at me.

“You!”

“I didn’t do anything,” I promptly reply, but every muscle in my body is taut and ready for a violent response. There’s no telling what a man like Shaytan will do in these unforeseen circumstances.

“That’s a load of shit. At least have the decency to own it!” Shaytan snaps.

“I’ve been here the whole time! I never got close enough to the starship to set the explosive charges!” I insist, setting the glass aside and raising my hands in a mildly defensive gesture.

Blaze shakes his head. “That wasn’t an explosive charge.”

“It came from the outside,” Shaytan swiftly agrees, pointing back at the southern skies. “From there, if I’m not mistaken.”

If I insist, they might catch on and think to look farther south. I stay quiet as Shaytan and Blaze exchange words and have their guards take me back to their private quarters while the two of them try to sort this out. There’s not much to be sorted at this point, though. It’s done. The starship was destroyed, and it leveled part of Pearl City when it crashed. All they can do is mitigate the damage and keep a lid on the whole situation.

I shudder to think what will happen when the rest of the Sky Tribe’s leadership hears about this. It was bad enough after Umok’s and Selina Sharuk’s failures. If even the mighty Shaytan Hull couldn’t get a starship off the planet, what would they do? What are they left with?

Well, they’re left with only one starship.

I’m back downstairs, pacing the living room like a caged lioness. I keep checking the wall on the clock and eavesdropping at the door. I go outside and try to make out as much as I can from the agitation that has enveloped the city. Sirens wail all over the place. People are still shouting.

The soldiers gather from all over and head toward the crash site while the civilians run screaming, scattering in the opposite direction—desperate to get as far away from the disaster as possible.

Surely they now understand the Sky Tribe cannot be trusted to lead them in any way. They have failed one too many times.

“I can’t believe they did it,” I whisper, holding the multi-tool in my hand. I’m eager to use it. The cuffs are chafing my wrists, and every second I spend in this place causes my already growing anxiety to swell.

Sooner or later, Shaytan and Blaze will be back, and they’ll be out for blood. As badly as they might want me for a wife, they may end up using me to lure the Kreek brothers out of hiding.

They’ll hurt me, and they’ll do whatever it takes to destroy every single member of the Fire Tribe. We’ve done too much damage. We’ve hampered so many of their efforts to secure their dominance over Sunna. We have repeatedly pushed them into making fools of themselves.

Their egos are too fragile and wrathful to let any of this slide. I need to get the hell out of here, and I don’t think I can sit around anymore, waiting for a sign from Kai or Maur.

THUD. Something or someone falls just outside my door. The sound is followed by a heavy grunt and a key turning in the lock. I freeze in the middle of the living room as I turn around to see the door opening.

“Yossul… Fadai…” I manage, recognizing my men.

They’re alive and well. Relief washes over me like liquid, golden sunlight as I rush over. They smile and wrap their arms around me, showering me with warm, loving kisses. I bask in their adoration, and I revel in their spicy sweetness, my hands already working the multi-tool until I lose the cuffs.

I’m able to hug them both, to feel their massive, hard bodies tightly molded around mine.

My heart thuds excitedly as they check me from head to toe. “You’re okay,” Yossul laughs lightly.

“I am.”

“For a moment, we thought Shaytan might skin you alive,” Fadai says.

I give him a worried look. “Please, tell me you were far enough away from the crash site when the starship came down. The radiation of that wreckage alone is—”

“We were already here,” Yossul interrupts me. “We knew they’d bring you here once the execution was disrupted. Kai intercepted us and gave us the coordinates.”

“All we had to do was hide in the back garden and wait for Shaytan and Blaze to leave,” Fadai adds. “Thank heavens you’re all right, my love.”

He kisses me again, and I kiss him back, caressing his handsome face as I let my fingertips explore the feel of his smooth skin. I feel scratches and bruises here and there, but nothing serious. We’ll all be pretty sore in the morning, though none of that matters.

“I’m glad you two made it out of there,” I reply. “We need to go. How are we going to get out of here? The whole city is in an uproar, and the whole Sky Tribe army is looking for you!”

“Not anymore, they’re not,” Yossul says, half-smiling. “The wreckage site needs to be handled and contained before those molten cells seep into the streets and start killing people. They have to isolate the entire scene.”

“We heard them talking downstairs. Only the black guards remain tasked with catching us, and they’re spread thin,” Fadai says. “We’ll be able to get out through the eastern gate, most likely.”

“Come on. Freedom awaits,” Yossul sighs and takes my hand.

All I can do is smile and follow them as we leave a few bodies behind and sneak out of the palazzo, disappearing into the night.