Let the Storm Break (Sky Fall #2)(74)

“Raiden won’t get anywhere near her.”

“If you really want to make sure of that,” Os snaps, “you’d give

more of us the power to protect you two.”

“The wind spike was all I needed,” Gus reminds him. “And if

Audra’s going to make them for us, she should get started—now.

While we still have enough winds.”

We all turn to the window. The sky is a clear, perfect blue, but

the trees in the grove are mostly still. The morning breezes that usually stir their leaves are whisking away. Spooked by the change in the

air.

Vane slips on his shoes. “Will you be okay without me for a few

minutes?”

He’s talking to me, but Os is the one who answers. “Your responsibility is here, Vane.”

“Actually, I thought my responsibility was with every innocent

person in this valley.”

“And you think you’re helping them by wasting time warning

one groundling?”

“He’s my friend.”

“That’s not good enough.”

“For me, it is.”

“Maybe you should let him go, sir,” Gus interrupts. “You know

he’s going to do it anyway.”

Os doesn’t agree—but his silence is enough.

Vane pulls me in for the briefest of kisses—so light I’m not

sure if our lips even touch—before whispering for me to stay close

to Gus and making his way to the window. I can’t help smiling as

he jumps outside and I hear the thornbushes crunch, followed by a

high-pitched yelp.

“So smug in your betrayal,” Os grumbles as soon as Vane’s flown

away. “You swore an oath—have you forgotten that?”

The words sting more than I want them to, and it takes me a second to find the right reply. “I’ve never stopped serving the Gales—

but my loyalty lies with my king. As I thought it was supposed to be

for all of us, now that he’s stepped into his role.”

“Has he now?” Os laughs without humor. “Do you know how

many guardians we’ve lost since Vane stepped into his role? Forty-one.”

He kicks one of Vane’s shoes across the room and it slams into the

wall hard enough to leave a black scuff. “Forty-one loyal, dedicated

soldiers who kept up the fight after you abandoned your duties. All

while we have a leader who harnesses an ultimate power he refuses

to share with anyone—except you. A leader who we thought had

at least been trained for this moment by our most dedicated child

prodigy. And yet Feng told me Vane knew almost nothing when he

took over. Did you do anything besides seduce him?”

My eyes sting with shame, but I fight back the tears. What Os is saying might be true—but I have to believe that

Vane shared his heritage with me for a reason, and that with the

Westerlies’ help we’ll be able to win the coming battle.

Voices outside break the uncomfortable silence.

Os sighs. “Excuse me. I need to go lift the morale of my soldiers

before the fight—not that there’s much I can say. Without the power

of four, we all know someone’s going to die today. We just don’t know

who, or how many.”

He stalks out of the room, followed by Solana. She doesn’t look

at me, but I can see her judgment in the straight line of her shoulders

and the sway of her hips.

Gus sighs. “Well, that went well.”

“I’m sorry you have to deal with all this—and thank you for not

correcting me.”

He nods, staring at the floor before he steps closer and whispers,

“You have had the fourth breakthrough, right?”

I study his face, making sure I can trust him. “Yes.”

He releases the breath he’d been holding. “Then maybe we have

a chance. Vane’s a terrible fighter.”

“I know. I tried to—”

“Relax, I didn’t mean that against you. My dad didn’t get very

far either—and he’s one of the greatest fighters in the Gales. Was,”

he corrects.

Guilt surges inside me, hot and sharp. “I’m so sorry—” “Please don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. And in a weird way,

I think this was what he wanted. He never got over losing my mom.

Now he doesn’t have to miss her anymore.”

The only thing I can say is what we’re always supposed to say at

a moment like this. But this time I force myself to believe it’s true.

“Now they’re together in the sky.”

Gus nods and looks away.

I leave him alone, heading toward the door.

“You don’t have to stay with me,” I tell him when he follows. “Vane will kill me if I let you out of my sight. And it’s probably

better if I stay out of Os’s way right now.”

I can feel all the guardians watching us as we make our way to

the date grove. It’s strange to see so many of them gathered together.