Let The Wind Rise (Sky Fall, #3)(82)

I think . . .

The wind definitely has a personality—but it’s also still a force.

If we really need it, maybe it’ll pull through for us.

Otherwise we’re on our own.

This feels like one of those times when it’s up to us to figure it out—and I know I can do it.

I can kill Raiden.

I owe it to Gus, and my parents, and all the Westerlies who died protecting my language.

This is my fight.

It’s time for me to end it.

It’s just the how part that’s especially tricky.

We’re down to him and me now, so . . . am I supposed to, like, smack him with a white glove and challenge him to a duel?

Better question: How do I beat him?

“Please,” I whisper, my words automatically switching to Westerly. “Help me figure out how to end this.”

Audra lies back beside me and together we listen to the melodies drifting through the air. At first it all sounds the same—just songs about the turbulent day fading into a calmer night. But slowly the lyrics shift, and one in particular catches my attention: Born of the sky

Resting on the earth

So much lost. Even more to gain

Seek your ally

Discover their worth

Triumph through peace and pain

Audra told me one time that sylphs are caught between two worlds, since we have ties to both the wind and the ground. So I’m guessing that first part is basically the wind agreeing that yep, this fight’s up to me.

But who is my “ally”?

And more importantly—why does the process have to involve pain?

Can’t I triumph through peace and something else? How about fluffy bunnies?

Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, “attack of the bunnies” sounds super terrifying. I’m imagining a pack of red-eyed, fanged, killer rabbits when Audra mumbles something.

“What did you say?” I ask, shaking my head to de-bunny my brain.

“All my instincts tell me that if we try to invade Brezengarde, we’ll never get out.”

I agree—though I’m not loving how casually she slipped the word “we” in there.

Then again, maybe she’s the “ally”?

Except I already know her “worth.”

“There has to be a way to lure him away from his fortress,” she says. “Something he can’t resist.”

“Like the language he’s been trying to steal for the last couple of decades?” I ask. “Or a chance to recapture the prisoners who embarrassed the crap out of him by escaping? We offered him both, and instead of showing up, he sent his whole freaking army—and then he offed them. It’s like the guy has finally snapped. And, uh, if he was scary when he was just an evil dude trying to take over the world, imagine what he’s going to be like now that he’s gone nuts? He’s probably turning Brezengarde into a maze of deathtraps, and he’ll just stay in there, blasting stuff with his Shredder before taking long bubble baths.”

“Bubble baths?” Audra asks.

“You should’ve seen his bathroom.”

Audra sits up. “That’s right! Do you still have the whistlepipe you stole from his bedroom?”

I only make it through half a nod before she’s on her feet, mumbling about finding her mother as she runs through the battlefield.

The Gales have the bodies mostly cleaned up, and now they seem to be preparing the wounded for transport.

“Where do you think they’re going to take them?” I ask Audra.

“There’s a base not that far from here. They set it up after your parents were killed, so they could keep an eye on you during your adoption process.”

Well, that’s . . . weird—but I guess all that matters is that they have supplies to treat the injured.

If everyone pulls through, we might have about twenty-five guardians left—still a ton of losses, but not as brutal of a ratio as the last battle. And hey, it’s more than Raiden has, which still feels so wrong. I wish I could figure out why he killed everyone.

We finally find Arella at the highest point in the field, perched in the center of the hill with her arms stretched toward the sky.

“What are you doing?” Audra asks her.

Arella jumps, and then rubs her injured shoulder. “I’m trying to find your father’s songs. I haven’t seen his Easterly since the day I left the Maelstrom, and I’m starting to fear Raiden has taken control of it.”

The words stop Audra cold.

“If he has, we’ll get the wind back,” I promise her. “I’m ending Raiden as soon as I can get close to him.”

She nods, blinking hard before taking a deep breath and focusing on her mother. “I think I know how to convince Raiden to leave Brezengarde,” she tells Arella. “But I’m going to need you to send him a message.”

Arella smiles. “I thought you didn’t trust me.”

“I don’t.” Audra’s jaw is so tight, it looks ready to snap. “But I need you to send a bird marked with the code you and Raiden used to use.”

“Why would you want to waste time with that?” Os asks, coming up behind us. “Sending the wind is much faster.”

“Yes, but sending the wind won’t shake him up,” Audra tells him. “I saw how tense he was around my mother’s ravens.”