by Ella Summers
“For once, I want to be somewhere where I can be a normal person,” I told Allegra.
“But we’re not normal, Cadence,” she laughed. “Neither of us are. We’re soldiers in the gods’ army. We’ve been chosen, blessed by the gods. I stopped being normal the day I first sipped the gods’ Nectar, and you…” She smirked at me. “Well, you’re the daughter of an angel. You were never normal to begin with.”
“Thanks,” I said drily.
Allegra laughed again. “I mean it in all the best ways, Princess.”
Princess. My fellow initiates had given me that nickname on my first day at the Legion, an acknowledgement of my angel father. Like ‘Legion brat’, it wasn’t a term of endearment. Except the way Allegra said it.
“But who wants to be normal when you can be extraordinary?” she continued. “Not I. Not when I have the chance to make a real difference, to leave my mark on the world, to leave it a better place than before.”
“Wise words.”
“They’re your words,” she told me. “I’m just borrowing them.”
I opened my mouth, then snapped it shut. I had said those words. And it was hard to argue with your own logic.
“Perhaps I have never been normal,” I agreed. “And I don’t want to be either.”
Allegra raised her glass and drank to that.
“But for just a few minutes, I’d like to sit here and pretend to be like anyone else. I’d like to be somewhere that no one knows me, where no one has any expectations of me. Because soon I will be an angel. And this might be my last chance to have the luxury of sitting in a bar and doing absolutely nothing. Of being absolutely nothing.”
“If quiet, simple anonymity is what you want, Cadence, then let’s do it. Best to get all the nothingness out of your system now. Because as an angel, everyone on Earth will know your face. Your likeness will be featured in the paintings that adorn the great halls of libraries and train stations, of government offices and angel fan message boards.”
“Don’t you think you’re exaggerating just a tad?”
Allegra chuckled, then took another sip of her cocktail. She’d had even more to drink than I had. It was a good thing Legion soldiers had a fast metabolism and a high tolerance for alcohol, or my father might have had to send soldiers to carry us out of the bar. Now that would have been a stellar start to my angel career.
I sipped from my glass. “You might have been exaggerating, but you’re not completely wrong. As an angel, many more people will know my face. It will be hard to go by unnoticed. And I’ll have new responsibilities. I’ll have a territory to rule and soldiers to command. And no time to visit friends.” I sighed.
“Cadence, don’t you worry about that now,” she said, her tone serious. “Concentrate on making yourself strong for the ceremony to come. We’ve weathered a lot of shit together. We’re not going to let a few miles, or even the oceans or plains of monsters, come between us. This is the real deal—true friendship—and it will endure.”
“That’s what I thought when the Legion sent Eva to Storm Castle, but then her letters came less and less frequently. And now I haven’t heard from her in weeks.”
“Eva is a flake,” Allegra said with a dismissive flick of her hand. “She always was and always will be. You’ll be getting so many letters from me that it will fill your new fancy angel bedroom. You’ll have so many of my letters piling up that you won’t be able to walk. You’ll have to swim through them. It will get so bad that you’ll have to order me to stop writing to you.”
She grinned at me.
And I laughed. Allegra had been a lieutenant when we’d met. I’d leveled up more than she had, but she’d never acted resentful or jealous of me. In fact, she’d always told me that I was good luck. That some of my magic and good fortune rubbed off on her. That I helped her level up faster than everyone else.
“You’re a good friend, Allegra,” I told her.
“You bet I am. Now how about you order your very good, incredibly awesome friend another cocktail? If I’m still walking straight when we leave the bar, I’ll consider this outing a failure.”
“Definitely.” I raised my glass, then ordered a new drink for each of us.
While I waited for them to come, I thought about friends. Sure, I hoped to make new ones wherever I was going, but people had a hard time seeing past my name, past my father. And now that I was an angel myself, now that I’d receive an angel name of my own, making new friends would only get harder.
Of course, there was always the chance the Nectar would kill me rather than make me an angel, a danger we Legion soldiers faced with every promotion ceremony. And then I’d be too dead to worry about friends. How was that for a silver lining?
But no one seemed to think that would happen. I’d come this far, demonstrated powerful magic, and I was the child of an angel. My future was all-too-certain.
Allegra’s phone chimed. She glanced at the screen, then laughed.
“What?” I asked her.
She showed me a photo on her phone. It was of the grand hall of Berlin’s Legion office.
“General Silverstar isn’t sparing any expense when it comes to your ascension ceremony,” Allegra commented.
I sighed. Red roses were everywhere. Literally. Dad must have cleaned out every florist within a hundred miles of the city to pull together that many flowers. And then there were the other decorations. My father was obviously on a mission to single-handedly drive up the price of gold.
I zoomed in on the corner of the photo. “Are those diamonds hanging from the gold trees?”
“According to Sergeant Gills, there are also trees with rubies and some with sapphires,” Allegra told me.
“I wish he wouldn’t go overboard.”
“It’s only because the General is so proud of you.”
“His way of showing how proud he is of me is why no one can stand me,” I sighed. “They think I’m some princess getting special treatment.”
“Hey, don’t you worry about them. You got where you did because of what you can do, not because of what your father can do.”
“But it is because of him, don’t you see? He sent me to take charge of the mission in the Black Forest to rescue Colonel Beastbreaker. Because he knew that such an act was the key to my getting promoted.”
“Of course he knew. The General isn’t stupid. Yes, he sent you there to give you a chance. But once you were there, it was you who proved yourself. He didn’t do that for you. You did it all yourself, Cadence.”
“According to him, I almost ruined that chance.” I lowered my voice. “He is not happy I used my unusual skills back in the Black Forest.”
Allegra’s eyes lit up. She knew of my ability to absorb magic. She’d seen it years ago, when we’d been on a mission together, and she had kept my secret all this time. That was just another example of why she was a true friend.
“Were there any witnesses?” Allegra asked me.
“No. The Dark Force soldiers were on the other side of a rather large debris pile. Captain Walker was unconscious, and Colonel Beastbreaker and the rest of our army had already escaped through the tunnel.”
“So how did your father find out about it?” Allegra asked me.
“Because he knows everything. As soon as I gave him my report, he picked it apart and declared that I couldn’t have escaped the Dark Force’s barrage unscathed. He told me that if he’d figured it out, another diligent Legion soldier could do it as well.”
Allegra stirred her electric-blue umbrella inside her electric-blue cocktail. “He’s right.”
I frowned at her. “Hey! You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I am,” she assured me. “General Silverstar might be scary as hell and tough on you, but we both know that when it comes to looking out for your best interests, he’s got your back, Cadence. You need to be more careful. If the demons got wind of what you can do…” She added in a whisper, “Or even if the gods got wind of it.”
I s
ighed. She was right. And my father was right. I had to be more careful when it came to hiding my weird powers.
Allegra promptly changed the subject, obviously sensing my discomfort. “Any idea where you will be assigned once you become an angel?”
I shook my head.
“I hear East Australia is available,” she said. “Pray that you get that territory.”
“Why?”
“Because the angel who commands West Australia, the neighboring territory, is a hunk.” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down.
“I’m sure the First Angel has more important criteria for choosing my new post than the hotness of the angel commanding the adjacent territory,” I laughed.
“I fear you’re right about that,” she said with a dreamy sigh.
No, I did not know where my new assignment as an angel would take me, but I wouldn’t be staying here. Two angels weren’t ever posted to the same territory. Angels didn’t get along all that well. They were territorial by nature, and if they were too close to each other for too long, they started fighting for dominance.
Angels required designated borders and responsibilities. They needed a clear hierarchy. Otherwise, they started fighting one another rather than fighting the real enemy. The Legion of Angels had learned that early on in its history; keeping too many angels too close to one another had contributed significantly toward so many of our own defecting to the Dark Force. Clashing egos, raging tempers, territorial instincts enflamed. At least that was my father’s theory. It was not a widely-accepted theory, but still, everyone knew putting two angels in the same territory was, at best, a recipe for disaster.
So I would end up somewhere else in the world. My promotion would take me away to some new place, some new adventure. And I’d be leaving all that I knew behind me.
My watch beeped.
I glanced down at it. “That’s my friendly reminder to get my butt back to the office.”
I rose from my seat. My future awaited.
4
New Angel
I stood inside the glass observatory, which sat at the top of the highest tower in the city. The building was home to the Sydney office of the Legion of Angels, the gods’ army on Earth. The Legion’s sapphire spiral building towered over even the tallest skyscraper, an unmistakable reminder to humanity that the Legion towered over all. Far below, bridges arched over the crystal harbor that embraced the city, but I wasn’t looking at the view. My eyes were fixed on the angel in front of me. Nyx, the First Angel.
With pale skin that shimmered like moonlight, blue eyes like sapphires, and long hair as black as a starless sky, there was nothing human about the commander of the Legion. Her aura pulsed with magic, beautiful and unyielding, the drumbeat of the immortal. Nyx was dressed in the black uniform of the Legion. It was the same neck-to-toe black battle leather that I wore, but the First Angel also donned a cloak that flowed down her back like a crimson waterfall, its silky trim kissing the ground.
Angels could make their wings appear and disappear at will, a feat of magic that required an enormous amount of willpower. They used their wings to intimidate people at least as often as they did to fly. The First Angel’s wings were not out now. She didn’t need them to intimidate me. I was intimidated enough already.
“Cadence Lightbringer,” Nyx said, my name a punch of power beneath the melodic lilt of her voice. “Lightbringer. I trust you like your new angel name.”
It was not a question. Angels rarely asked them. They made statements of fact, considering themselves too all-knowing to require anything as pedestrian as a question.
No, not themselves. Ourselves, I reminded myself. I was an angel now too. Oddly, I didn’t feel any more omniscient than I had before the transformation, before that special sip of Nectar.
“You are wondering why you’re here,” Nyx said, watching me closely.
Her hair flowed around her, slow and graceful, like she was underwater. I made a concentrated effort not to stare. Even though I’d met the First Angel many times and witnessed her magical splendor up close—and mimicked that hair myself a few days ago when I’d pretended to be Nyx—there was just something mesmerizing about it. Something both delightful and, well, honestly, a tad bit spooky.
“I expect you have a mission for me, First Angel,” I replied.
The Legion had made me an angel only yesterday. Each angel was responsible for one of the world’s territories, commanding the Legion soldiers stationed there. Nyx hadn’t assigned me a territory yet, and she wasn’t known for wasting time. I did wonder why she’d brought me all the way to Sydney rather than simply summoning me to her office in Los Angeles, but I didn’t voice the question. Nyx would tell me shortly. There was no reason to appear impatient. The Legion frowned upon such behavior.
A part of me couldn’t help but wonder if she was in fact giving me the territory of East Australia, the one whose neighboring angel was a ‘hunk’—at least according to Allegra.
“Yes,” Nyx said. “I have a mission for you. A covert one that you must not share with anyone.”
I bowed my head. “You can count on my discretion.”
“I know I can,” she said, her smile as kind as her eyes were calculating. “Your record is exemplary. Never a toe out of line.” She almost sounded disappointed.
“You disapprove.”
A familiar, foreboding tingle tickled my shoulder blades. I hadn’t yet figured out how to control my wings. Whenever I got too nervous, they tended to just pop out—which had already happened twice this morning. Each time, it had taken a good half hour of concentration—and lots of scowling—to will them to vanish again. The last thing I needed right now was to humiliate myself in front of the First Angel. She might question her decision to promote me.
“No, I’m not disappointed in you. Not at all.” She cleared her throat softly. “Though you do make it quite impossible to ever punish you.”
“I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say.
She waved her hand. “Never mind. There are plenty of other soldiers to punish.” Nyx leveled a glance my way, magic sparkling in her blue eyes. “Though not one of those soldiers has ever shifted into me.”
Damn. So she’d heard about that.
“I wasn’t aware that is against the rules,” I said.
“It isn’t.” She folded her hands serenely in front of herself. “Yet.”
Gods, was she offended? I couldn’t tell. She stared at me, never blinking. The silence stretched on.
“It was certainly an innovative move,” Nyx finally said.
I still couldn’t tell if she was offended.
“Thank you.” I struggled to keep my voice level, swallowing the rising intonation that would turn that solid statement into a feeble question. Angels didn’t ask questions.
“You will make a good angel,” Nyx said with a crisp nod. “Moving on to your assignment. It’s a rescue mission for one of our own. You are familiar with Major Eva Doren.”
Yes, I knew Eva. She’d been on my mind a lot lately.
“She was the soldier in charge of training my initiation group,” I said.
We’d met on the day I joined the Legion, the day that had changed my life forever, the day I’d drunk the first sip of Nectar, the most potent poison on Earth. That one simple sip was designed to separate those who had what it took to join the Legion of Angels from those who did not. For those of us who passed the test, the Nectar unlocked our magical potential. Everyone else died an agonizing death. That brutal dichotomy was par for the course at the Legion.
“You and Major Doren are friends,” Nyx observed, watching me closely.
The Legion didn’t forbid friendship, but the angels constantly reminded us of the dangers of holding on to our humanity. After all, we Legion soldiers weren’t human anymore. As soon as we drank our first sip of Nectar and survived, we became something else. Something not quite human. I’d survived eight sips of Nectar—each one more potent than the previous, each one leveling u
p my magic, bestowing me with a new power.
“Yes, Eva and I are friends,” I said.
Though we were not as close as we’d once been, though she’d not answered my last few letters, I still considered her a friend. We’d been together since my Legion journey had begun—up until she’d been sent away.
“I haven’t seen Eva since she was assigned to Storm Castle two months ago,” I continued.
I supposed Eva’s new assignment as Storm Castle’s Sea Dragon, one of the four Legion soldiers responsible for making sure the Earth’s elements were in harmony, was keeping her busy. Her enormous responsibilities undoubtedly left her with no time for a personal life anymore.
Most people joined the Legion to gain power—either for personal gain or to use their magic to save their loved ones. But like me, Eva had joined to make a difference, to put an end to the monsters that plagued the Earth, both those who roamed the plains of monsters and those who walked the Earth in human form. Sometimes you had a sacrifice a little for the greater good.
“Last week, Storm Castle fell under attack,” said Nyx. “Colonel Idris Starfire, the angel of Storm Castle, was killed. Major Doren was abducted.”
“Do we know who was behind the attack?”
“The rogue dark angel Hugo Darkstorm,” Nyx said.
My heart thumped a heavy, foreboding beat. The only thing worse than a dark angel was a rogue dark angel.
“This attack has left Storm Castle without two of its four Dragons,” Nyx continued.
The four Dragons of Storm Castle were Legion soldiers who possessed an uncommonly powerful grasp of elemental magic. Each Dragon ruled over a magical element, keeping it in balance. The Sky Dragon controlled wind and lightning. The Earth Dragon had power over trees, quakes, sand, and metal. Colonel Starfire, the Fire Dragon, reigned over fire and heat. And Eva, the Sea Dragon, was the mistress of water and ice.
From the castle, the Dragons kept watch over the Elemental Plains, which in turn kept the Earth’s elements in check. Without Storm Castle, without the Dragons, the unbalanced magic on the plains of monsters would overrun the Earth and cause a calamity of natural disasters.
