Chapter 27

“What did you do?” I ask, my voice trembling.

I wasn’t exactly Blaze’s number one fan, but he seemed to have a smidge of decency left in him, and Shaytan snuffed it right out of this world—effortlessly, carelessly, as if he didn’t even matter.

I stare at the commander general of the Sky Tribe with genuine horror and disbelief, trying to understand what just happened.

Yossul is speechless, still on the ground, but I can see his gaze moving, darting, his mind searching for a solution as we hear some of the Sky Tribe troops shooting and stabbing their way up to the roof to get to us. Soon, it won’t be just me, Yossul, Fadai, and Shaytan anymore. And I will have lost my only chance to end this madness.

“You killed your partner,” Fadai says, eerily calm as he stares at Blaze’s lifeless body. “Your partner, your blood brother, your mate. How could you?”

“That’s what happens to anyone who stands in my way,” Shaytan declares with an uncaring shrug. “Partners I can get. Partners I can trust, clearly, not as easily. Blaze and I had a good run, but it’s time for me to take what’s mine.” He points his laser weapon at Fadai. “Shall I start with you? Shall I let Yossul watch you die first? Or,” he points his laser weapon at Yossul, “shall I start with you instead and let Fadai watch you die first? It’s a hard choice, I’ll admit.”

“And you call yourself a leader of the Sunnaites, you abject coward,” I hiss, fury broiling in my veins. I spot my sidearm on the ground. Luckily, Fadai follows my gaze and sees it, too, giving me a subtle nod when our eyes briefly meet. He knows what he has to do. I only hope I can buy him the second he needs to do it.

“Shaytan Hull, the man who couldn’t take the slightest hint of criticism. Shaytan Hull is the man who chose to kill his partner instead of honoring his only request. All you had to do was listen to Blaze, to hear what he had to say.”

“I know what he was going to say because you, you little tart, managed to get into his head!” Shaytan growls. “I noticed it in Pearl City, too. Don’t think I didn’t sense it back then. The doubt. The questions he asked when you weren’t within earshot. The second thoughts. It was only a matter of time before we’d get to this. I’d hoped he’d be a while, but you, Jewel, oh, you’ve caused so much damage, I can’t wait to destroy you.”

“It’s a shame how you’re unable to take any accountability for the horrendous things you’ve done,” Fadai mutters, unable to hide his disgust. “It’s always Jewel or the Kreeks or the Fire Tribe. But it’s never the Sky Tribe, is it? You cannot look at yourselves in the mirror anymore, yet you keep searching for the villains of your story elsewhere.”

“Does it even matter at this point?” Shaytan laughs. “I’ve won. I’ve conquered Opal City. I’ll have your precious queens in chains by noon and Jewel carrying my heir soon enough. But you two need to die first.”

Above us, the morning sky awakens to brighter shades of red. The smell of death lingers in the air. Burnt flesh. Molten steel. Charred wood. Misery and despair will cover the world in darkness and coldness by the time Shaytan is done with us. There’s only one way this will end, and if the Sunnaites reach Earth with their starship, it will prompt a greater and infinitely worse war.

If they start taking our women, if they attack our planet for this purpose, I know my people well. They will point their nuclear weapons upward and seek retribution. Eventually, both realms will burst into flames and become engulfed in disasters of their own making, simply because Solomon wanted to be a god and Shaytan wants to be a king. For too long, Sunna has suffered at their hands.

I cannot let Earth suffer on their account, as well.

It is pure madness what I’m about to do, but I have run out of options.

“Fine, Shaytan. I’ll tell you what,” I say and take a knife out of my thigh holster—the last of my weapons and the one blade I dreaded having to use. “I’ll let you take me if you let Yossul and Fadai go.”

Shaytan looks at me for a moment, then bursts into mad laughter. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m serious. Take me and let them go. They’re my men, my soulmates. I need them to live. If you let them live, I’ll go with you.”

Fadai exhales sharply. “Jewel—”

“No, we’ve done it your way, and look where it got us,” I say and bring the blade up to my neck as I give Shaytan a sour glance. “Take me on my terms, or I’ll end myself right now.”

“You’re bluffing,” Shaytan scoffs.

“Why? Why would I be bluffing? I love Fadai and Yossul. I love them both so much; it’s the kind of love you’ve never had, nor will you ever get to experience. You want me, Shaytan? Well, here I am. Otherwise, I might as well just end it and spare myself the misery of a lifetime spent in your company. If you kill them now, I will follow them into the next world.”

“I don’t believe you.”

I press the blade against my throat and feel the sting as blood trickles down and seeps into my shirt. “I won’t live in a world without them. You’re right. We’ve lost the war. But the little time I’ve got left in this life, I wish to spend it with some measure of peace in my heart. I will accept my fate as your wife as long as you let Yossul and Fadai live. Otherwise, we all die.”

Before Shaytan can ruminate on the possibility of me plotting to do something before he can even consider saying yes or no, I fling the knife at him with all the strength I can muster. He growls and ducks. I miss, of course, but that wasn’t the endgame.

Fadai drops to the ground and grabs my sidearm.

Yossul swings his leg out and trips Shaytan as he shoots back up.

“For Sunna!” Fadai shouts and fires the weapon.

The laser beam hits Shaytan in the chest, drilling an instant black hole through his torso. He’s stunned and wide-eyed as he stares at us, the shock imprinted on his face. He drops to his knees, but it’s not over yet.

Yossul roars as he grabs the knife I just threw and uses it to slit Shaytan’s throat.

I turn away, both disgusted and relieved.

But there’s no time to truly register the moment.

More of Shaytan’s men are coming up to the roof. Yossul scrambles off the ground and takes hold of the Sky Tribe commander’s weapon. Fadai takes Blaze’s. Both leaders are dead, but the battle rages on, and that starship is still about to take off.

“Go, Jewel! Do it!” Fadai shouts.

I give him and Yossul a final glance and a faint smile before I run.

From every side of the building, Sky Tribe soldiers climb up and rush toward us. I hear the laser guns firing. I can’t look back. Only forward. The long-range tower. It’s getting bigger. Taller. Closer.

One mercenary lunges at me. I swerve and jump out of his way, my heart twisting and smacking against my rib cage as I escape capture yet again. Their jets survey the building, their weapons locked and loaded.

They’re already firing shots against the first tower, and my men are firing back. It’s only a matter of time before the lasers melt through their defenses and kill my officers, thus dismantling one of two precious weapons.

I still have a moment or two left with the other.

Finally, I breach the access door and lock it behind me with a loud thud. I pull the safety bar down for good measure, then bolt up the metal steps, out of breath by the time I reach the top.

“There you are, baby,” I mutter as I get behind the controls.

With the coordinates still fresh in my head, I start punching the numbers into the targeting panel—a touchscreen with vivid blues and greens that ripple outward under my fingertips. I look at the screen, the computer system automatically switching to that particular section of the sky.

It’s a ground view from the nearest observation tower, of which there are plenty still active on Sunna. Most of them are on a public frequency, so both sides of the conflict can access them at the same time, but it’s my turn to make good use of this.

“Okay, where the hell are you?” I whisper, my gaze fixed on the view while my hands work the long-range weapon’s controls.

I have two joystick-like handles to work with. Overhead, the Sky Tribe jets circle. I can see them through the domed roof made of reinforced diamond glass and steel. They fire at me. Each laser hits the tower and heats everything up on the inside. I’m practically boiling, sweat drizzling down my face as I struggle to focus. It’ll be a while before the laser melts through, but I might get cooked alive first.

“There you are!” I gasp as I see the behemoth rising on the screen.

It’s a weak and grainy picture, but I recognize the starship’s profile as it takes off, its nuclear engines glowing green before my eyes. It’s far away, about eight hundred miles, if not more, somewhere to the west. I see stony mountains rising behind it, but it’s the ship I’m interested in. The computer system locks onto the massive target.

The enemy keeps firing at me.

It’s so hot in here that I can barely breathe.

“Come on!”

I flip the caps off the shooter buttons and give it everything I’ve got. The screen shows me laser bolts shooting across the sky. Long-distance rays that look like avenging angels as they fly through the heavens and head straight for the crossfire’s center.

Boom.

The brightest light I’ve ever seen flashes before my eyes. It’s brighter and prettier than what happened above Pearl City and just as devastating. My heart unravels as I watch the starship explode into a billion different colors, come apart, and crash back down into the hot arms of Mother Sunna.

I can almost hear the devastation from whichever control tower the Sky Tribe was using for this operation. I can almost hear the brakes squealing and the boots scraping as it all comes to a sudden halt. As their defeat becomes painfully obvious and impossible to deny.

It’s done.

I almost can’t believe it. But it’s done.

The war isn’t over yet, though. The jets are still firing at this tower. Cursing under my breath, I pull and yank the controls back onto the sky above me. I let her rip, dozens of laser shots dancing until I slice through their planes and bring them down in roaring flames.

The explosions rumble somewhere just off base, the ground shaking relentlessly as I manage to get up from my seat.

It’s so fucking hot; I need to get out of here before I’m steamed like a lobster. If I get out of here, however, the Sky Tribe troops will grab me and do unthinkable things to me. I’m not even sure if Fadai and Yossul are still alive out there. I doubt anyone will have mercy or be willing to listen to what I might have to say.

Their leaders may be dead, but the Sky Tribe mercenaries are hyped up, switched to blood mode, and ready to kill anything that moves, anything that isn’t wearing their precious uniforms.

How ironic would it be for me to perish just as I’ve accomplished my single greatest objective?

Six years ago, I envisioned myself dying in a conflict somewhere on Earth. Now, I stand here by this thick metal door, wondering if I’m ready to die in another conflict that isn’t of my making. If I’m ready to die for something I never even started. It would’ve been the same back home, truth be told. I was fighting in wars I’d had nothing to do with in the first place for causes I believed in. It’s been the same on Sunna, too.

Maybe this was always my calling.

Maybe this was always going to be my end. The last page of my book is splattered with blood and glory. Perhaps Sapphire City is still standing. Perhaps they’ll get word of what happened. With the starships destroyed and their supreme leaders dead, the Sky Tribe officers may be swayed into sitting down at the negotiating table once again. I don’t know.

“Fadai. Yossul,” I whisper as I place a hand on the door.

The laser heat has spread through the entire metallic structure of the tower, and it feels hot against my palm, but I leave it there, wishing, wondering, hoping.

“JEWEL!” Yossul’s voice cuts through the chaos of my thoughts, through the riot unraveling outside. “JEWEL!”

My eyes pop open. I remove the safety latch and unlock the door with rushed movements, desperate to survive. As soon as it swings open, I’m welcomed into a different picture.

Yossul and Fadai are still alive—barely.

“JEWEL!” Fadai shouts as he takes another Sky Tribe fighter down, roaring like the beast he is. Despite his injuries and exhaustion, he’s battling these demons until there will be nothing left of him.