Chapter 383

I glance to the left even as my fire sweeps through the enemy line, consuming everything in sight, realizing that even though I’m raining destruction on our foe there’s still…so, so much more work to be done. There are just so much of the Atalaxians. And they’re starting to respond, to turn on my whirlwind of flames, to fight back.

I watch, curious, as the enemy begins by trying martial force, shooting at my flames with shells and bullets. But that does nothing but make me smirk as I continue to destroy everything before me, the flames reaching out to snag tanks and trucks off the ground, reducing them to ash. And it’s not just what’s on the ground, either. I see the flash of Cora’s lightening in the distance, but some helicopters manage to get into the air, heading for the flame. Eager, the blaze reaches for them with what looks like demonic hands, snagging them out of the sky and smashing them to the ground in flaming arcs that look like meteors falling from the sky.

I breathe deeply as I work, joy humming through me, satisfied, finally, to feel like I’m doing something when I have felt so…so helpless in the past weeks and months. And even as joy pulses through me I feel myself shaking too because it’s not nearly as effortless as it was, even if I am hungry for it.

“Steady, girl,” Jackson murmurs, squeezing my hand, pressing himself close to my side.

I nod and loose a shaky breath, pushing forward.

Eventually the Atalaxians get clever and begin to spray my fires with water, which actually does affect them. My magic is mystical, after all, but the flames are very real – they react as any other flames would. I flinch at the first spray from some kind of emergency fire truck, feeling the spray almost as if against my own skin. And I frowning, wondering what to do.

“Start again,” Jacks murmurs with a shrug, glancing down at me. I glance back up at him and nod, realizing that he’s right.

So I simply drop the whirlwind, giving up on it. I can barely hear it as a great cheer goes up from the Atalaxian forces, who think they’ve won.

That is, until I just make their firetruck explode and use it as fuel to build a second whirlwind, which rises higher and stronger than the first.

“Does she get tired?” Roger asks, his voice low.

“I don’t know,” Rafe murmurs back, worried.

“She’s fine,” Jackson snaps, glancing over at them.

“I’m fine,” I murmur, concentrating.

“To the right, Ari,” Jackson says, his focus fully on me and the work we’re doing. “Do you see it?”

I flick my eyes to the right, frowning, seeing the swell of Atalaxian forces marshalling, moving towards my fire in some vain attempt to stop it.

“What do you think?” I murmur to my mate. “Split it, or fresh flame?”

“Whatever you think, fire sprite,” Jackson softly replies, the joy he takes in seeing me work with my magic alight in his voice. I take a moment to shift my gaze to him, loving him a great deal, loving his pride in me.

But there’s only a moment for that before I refocus on the battle, using two tanks as fodder for two new whirlwinds of flame that I set right in the Atalaxian path as they attempt to send aid to those being attacked by my original fires. The two new blazes sputter shakily to life, climbing unsteadily up into the sky before I move them forward.

Jackson frowns, glancing down at me, sending more power down along our bond.

I glance back up at him. “It’s not you,” I murmur, shaking my head. “It’s the stupid…wind. It was easier before, more responsive.”

“Okay,” he says, nodding. “Don’t worry about it now, we can experiment later. Just concentrate on this. You’re doing amazing.”

I do as my mate bids, sending the two new whirlwinds out to wreak destruction on the foe.

“Got it,” Roger snap, nodding once with his hand on his earphone. Then he turns to me. “Ariel, can you…talk while you work?”

“I can,” I say, even though I don’t move my eyes to him. I sigh through my nose, frustrated at how much more difficult this is without Luca at my side. I wonder, again, just how much help I draw from my mates when they’re by my side when they work. I mean, is it just their magic that they lend me? Or something else too? Some kind of…balance.

“Your dad gave me a report,” Roger says, working fast. “The Atalaxians were surprised, which is what we wanted, but they’re responding now, sending everything they’ve got. Are you ready? Can you handle more?”

“Yup,” I say, nodding once. “Bring it on.”

There’s a long pause but then Roger nods. “Okay.” He turns away, murmuring into his ear piece.

“They’re trying to distract attention from you, Ariel,” Rafe says, stepping close and leaning down to speak to me. “Do you see, over there?”

Rafe points to my right, where the Moon Valley forces are swarming, almost as if they’re protecting something at their center. Instantly I realize what they’re doing, drawing enemy fire away from me so that I can work.

It works, too – almost as if they were called, Atalaxian tanks appear in formation and begin to roll right for that spot of swarming forces.

I gasp, immediately dismayed – because it’s not like those swarming Moon Valley forces are just drones and empty trucks – it’s people – my people – and we’re using them as bait –

“No,” I say, shaking my head, a little frantic.

“Ari!” Jackson bites out, and I snap my head back to the front ahead of me, realizing that I got distracted – that two of my whirlwinds are faltering.

“Shit shit,” I murmur, more curses rushing through my mind as I force more power into the original whirlwind and set it again on its path. But I don’t start the other two, instead snapping my head back up to the tanks and exploding them into flames, one by one, before they can even reach the bulk of our forces, of my people.

“Fuck, man,” Roger murmurs, awed as he takes in the mess of twisted steel that litters the battlefield, as I collect the fire from each of them into a swirling mass larger than the rest – into a hurricane of fire that now stands between the forces and the Atalaxians coming for them.

Because I’m not letting it happen – I’m not letting my people die –

“Ariel!” Rafe barks out. “You can’t concentrate on defense! That’s not part of the plan!”

“I’m not sacrificing them!” I shout back, pissed off.

He grabs my arm, forcing me to look at him. “Everyone on this battlefield – everyone is as willing to sacrifice themselves as you are, okay!?”

I stare up into my brother’s face, shocked by the rare emotion there.

“You need to concentrate on offense, Ariel!” he shouts down at me, shaking his head vehemently. “We need you to take them out – do you understand me!? Not just protect! They – they’ve got Jesse – we don’t know –“

I gasp, even as Roger grabs Rafe and hauls him back, scolding him for bringing Jesse into this, for letting his emotions shine through.

“Do they?” I ask, whipping my head to Jackson.

“No,” he bites out, snarling as he looks over at Rafe. “Or, we don’t know, Ariel – I don’t know why Rafe said that – he’s letting his emotions run away with him –“

I frown, looking back towards the battlefield, knowing immediately what I want. If they did take Jesse? If they’re holding him?

God, I could kill them all.

I grit my teeth, concentrating on the hurricane of fire, and slowly begin to build it.

“You need to be on the offensive, Ariel!” Rafe barks out, deeply misinterpreting my action.

I ignore him.

“Roger!” I bark out. He snaps his head to me. “Tell Cora to cut the storm. Let them send their air force. If we have any planes in the air, get them out.”

“Wh-what?” Roger sputters.

“Oh fuck,” Jackson whispers, staring down at me.

“Do it!”

There’s a long pause of silence before Roger does as I say, his hand snapping to his ear piece as he sends my orders down the line to my father. It takes a few minutes to go into effect, for the storm to dissipate, for the steady hum of aircraft to build in the distance.

I don’t say a word the entire time, simply building the hurricane, letting it grow. Whatever the Atalaxians send in the meantime I destroy, adding the fuel to the fire even as I pull on Jackson’s incredible well of strength. Building something huge, something unstoppable.

Rafe wants offense? I’ll give him fucking offense.

“Steady, trouble,” Jackson murmurs at my side, watching as the incredible force I’ve conjured turns steadily in the center of the battlefield. “Hold some back,” he urges, steady. “Just in case.”

“No,” I growl, completely unable to imagine anything that could stop me now. My canines elongate and rage pumps in my heart. My whole body begins to hum with it, warm and steady and true.

“Ariel,” Jackson’s word is anxious. But I ignore him, my eyes snapping to the sky as little dots begin to appear.

“What’s that?” Rafe murmurs, snapping his face towards Roger.

“Shit,” Roger whispers, tilting his head up. “Shit…”

The rumble of aircraft is louder and louder, building until –

I don’t even blink as the armada of fighter jets appear, streaking through the air, heading right for us. God, hell but they’re fast – faster than I thought they’d be. I grit my teeth, my fangs bared, wondering if I’ve overstepped myself – if I’ve gone beyond my means.

But I don’t let the doubt sit long. Because Atalaxia has seized their chance, just as I hoped they would. And they’ve sent every plane that they’ve got.

I begin to tremble as I try to be patient, to let them come, to fly over my hurricane of flame. My breath comes in tiny pants as I try to begin to move the huge fire. But it’s so heavy – so much slower than I thought -

“Pull it back, Ariel!” Jackson barks out. “The big one – collapse it! Go smaller, take them out one by one like you did with the helicopters!”

I take in an unsteady breath, trying to do as he says, snapping my head upwards as I concentrate on the planes that soar above me. I concentrate on them one by one, my magic moving fast, the panes exploding almost as soon as I set eyes on them –

But there’s so many – it’s too much –

God, have I completely miscalculated? Have I doomed us all with my arrogance and my rage?

It’s only a moment before the planes reach our lines of troops.

And then the bombs begin to drop.