27. Kieran

27

KIERAN

I'd heard them when we entered into the wyvern kingdom the second time, announcing our arrival with Bradley. This time, though, they symbolized something far different than the panic and worry I'd been feeling then. Now they symbolized hope.

My men had arrived, and they had brought the wyverns with them.

"What the hell is that!" A soldier nearby sounded off in shock.

My father's frame was heavy, almost suffocating, but as his gaze moved skyward in reaction to his words, I used his distraction to my advantage. I pulled on everything Steele had taught me about disengaging from my enemy.

With a buck of my body, I shifted my frame just enough to bring my knee up and into his stomach, hard. He groaned in surprise and pulled back just enough that it allowed my other leg to come up before landing a hard kick to his chest. The force of the kick sent him falling backwards against the wood platform.

"You little bitch!" he roared.

Rolling to my right, I used my cuffed hands to support myself enough to stumble to standing, immediately pulling the chains that were attached to my wrists toward me defensively. The guards who had been holding them had dropped them when my father attacked me, and I didn't want to give anyone an easy chance to hold me captive once more. Gripping the chains, I wondered briefly if I could use them as weapons.

When no one made a move to attack me, I was momentarily confused. Until I realized that in the chaos of escaping my own situation, everyone else on the platform had been staring skyward. When I followed their gaze, I found I could hardly blame them.

The late sunset skies were choked with wyverns darkening the space with their massive, scaled forms, casting fire of all colors down onto the surrounding military buildings. Archangels and commanders shouted orders as the crowd began to scream in panic, attempting to both run and fly away, but they were caught by the surrounding burning buildings.

"I've never seen this many before…this isn't possible," the closest soldier to me, a few feet away, spoke in a hushed whisper.

In the distance, I saw four familiar angels racing toward me as Niz flew ahead of them, clearing a path forward. My knees very nearly buckled in relief— they were really here.

"No!" my father snarled in realization, no doubt seeing the joy in my expression while looking at me from across the platform. At his angry tone, the soldiers around him seemed to break out of their dazed stupor. "Grab her—I will not allow her to escape!"

I damn well wouldn't give him a choice about it.

I would not die today.

Gripping the chains more securely in each hand, I began to swing them in dangerous circles, their weight heavy enough that I knew if I hit someone with them, it would hurt like hell. It didn't stop the soldiers from charging forward, and the next few minutes were a blur of action and motion.

I forced myself to stay light on my feet despite my choice in weaponry as I hit the first individual right in the chest, causing him to stumble back before falling off the platform completely. The others took note and began attacking from afar as I dodged swords and even bows. I managed to hit a few more soldiers with my reach, but the wild technique wasn't nearly as effective as I hoped. I wondered if I wouldn't be better taking out my dagger and trying to fight despite the weight of the chains that would slow my movement.

"Darling!" Bash's voice rang out as I snapped my head around, so incredibly relieved to see him. His power lashed out, removing four of the soldiers in one nasty blow, their corpses split in half in a rather messy affair. One I couldn't pay mind to for very long because Bash was in my space, kissing me hard.

"I love the kiss, may not be the time, though," I panted as I pulled back, out of breath. A small smile quirked the corner of his lips up, and I couldn't stop myself from leaning forward and giving him another.

"Just happy to see you." He teased as if we weren't mid battle, but he then motioned to the others on the platform who were trying to close in on us. They stepped in our direction, not bothering to stop when the corpses of their fallen comrades blocked their path forward. "Don't worry about these guys, Darling. I have them handled."

"Who has the keys to her chains?" Gabe demanded, landing on my other side and instantly wrapping an arm around my waist. I knew it wasn't the time or place, but the smile that pulled on my lips at his appearance was undeniable.

"I do," my father called out with a cocky, victorious tone that didn't quite match the potential outcome of this battle. He walked forward, though he remained securely surrounded by soldiers. The platform could hold around thirty individuals, but right now, it felt a bit more wobbly than I would have liked. I briefly wondered if the fighting below was affecting it.

"Right. I'll take those from you," Steele soared in from out of nowhere, grabbing the keys out of his hand before tossing them to Gabe. The man moved so damn efficiently. I thrust my wrists forward, thankful for Steele making quick work of the situation so I would be able to actually fight.

The enraged scream from my father as he called out for the soldiers to continue their attack was almost comical as Gabe began to fight them off in earnest. The chains came undone from my wrists, dropping down with a heavy thud and I immediately drew out my dagger.

"Up in the air now, Little Star," Gabe demanded. I gritted my teeth as my wings throbbed in response. "You don't need to fight anymore, we've got this."

"As much as I appreciate that, I can't fly!" I explained before motioning to my wing, dodging a blow that came my way. His gaze sharpened on the injury with fury as he began to cut down to the soldiers in earnest with Bastian. Up in the sky, I could see Niz and Ronan fighting in tandem to stop anyone else from joining us on the platform. I didn't know where Steele was anymore, but I had no doubt he was still close.

When I heard my father call my name from across the platform and saw that he was trying to reach me, I realized Gabe was right. I needed to get up in the air immediately. At least until I could find a better vantage point to fight from.

A hard, muscular arm appeared out of nowhere, lifting me from the platform, and as my stomach swooped, I looked up to find Steele. In a swift movement, he used the sword gripped in his other hand to slice through someone's chest as they attempted to attack us. Dislodging the body from his sword, the frame fell downward and landed in a pile on the ground.

"Princess, I don't have words for how pissed I am right now."

"Are you serious?" I growled, staring up at him in shock. The audacity of this asshole. "You can't be pissed at me?—"

"What the fuck happened to your wing?" he asked, ignoring my statement and continuing to fight off soldiers while holding me against him, shielding me with his body as much as he could.

I decided at that very moment that I wanted to go back down on the platform. I wanted to be able to fight if I couldn't fly. I felt useless up here, especially if all I was going to do was argue with Steele.

"I was captured like the wyvern yesterday—it was my father, the one you took the key from," I called out over an enraged battle cry from below. When Niz bellowed a second later, my gaze darted across the sky to find him, and that singular moment of distraction was all he needed.

My father came out of nowhere, slamming into Steele and dislodging me enough that I fell. Nothing stopped or slowed my descent, my broken wing flapping uselessly and painfully in the air behind me. I fell the entire height of the platform, hitting the ground hard with a wheezing groan.

I impacted so hard that, for a moment, I questioned if I would ever be able to breathe again.

Someone roared out my name, but the space around me flickered, darkening as a massive figure stood over me. I drew in a wheezing breath, struggling to get a hold on my body as a crazed look filled my father's eye. He plucked the dagger from my hand and brought it to my throat.

"Now you can join your mother. It's a fitting end, as you were both such disappointments to me."

The blade sliced across my throat.

A broken, garbled scream left my mouth, the mere second seeming to slow as several things happened at once. Pain exploded through my body. The scent and taste of blood filled my mouth. Fire exploded in the air above my father's head as a sword sliced through his neck, instantly decapitating him. Steele stood behind my father's headless body, kicking the corpse roughly to the side before kneeling down next to me, panic infusing his gaze. His hands moved over me, seeming to falter on where to touch me, as true fear turned his expression into one I'd seen only once before—when Amelia had been hurt.

"Bastian—we need you. Now." His command rang out loudly, but it sounded off, almost as if I was under water.

Gabe appeared by my side as my vision began to flicker in and out, his hand smoothing over my cheek. "Kieran, Little Star, look at me."

I could feel my eyes growing heavy as Bastian and Ronan's voices both sounded around me, but all I could manage to focus on was Gabe's emerald eyes. "No," Gabe demanded, shaking his head at my lack of a response. "You cannot die on me, Kieran. I need you."

Was I really dying? After all this?

"Gabe," I whispered, feeling like blood was pooling in my throat and clogging my ability to properly respond.

"I thought we had more time." His words filtered in and out as my mental state shifted from reality to unconsciousness and back again.

Black spots dotted my vision. Time… What an interesting concept. It felt like so much of it had passed since I'd escaped from Alfemir, but…

Time…

I hadn't had nearly enough of it with any of them.

"I love you, Little Star," Gabe whispered, choking on the words as my consciousness flickered once more.

Those words brought a peaceful smile to my face as permanent darkness closed in around me.