by Adam Silvera
“The love isn’t gone,” I say.
She jumps down from the ledge. “That’s why this all hurts so much! I’m carrying their teachings, I exist because their prayers were answered by their companions, but their remembrance ceremony brought me no comfort. I yelled at our new commander during the hour of silence so we would have a strategy in place to avenge them. That night every other Halo Knight stood tall in a field as all our fallen were set ablaze by their phoenixes until they were nothing but ashes. Meanwhile I was on the ground and crying in the shadows.”
This moment she had reminds me how furious I still am that the Blackout didn’t allow me the chance to have a public ceremony for my parents.
“I cremated Atlas with my phoenix fire,” I say. “I keep his ashes in a bottle he gave me.” I reach for her shoulder to comfort her, but pull back. “I understand how lost you feel without your parents. Don’t even get me started on losing a loved one. Pray to your holiest of phoenixes you never have to feel that burning fire of grief because it’s real and it’s unstoppable.” Somewhere out in this city are the people responsible. “I’ve been feeling touched by death after all of my losses this year. It’s time I start making others feel the same. If you came here to avenge your parents, let that be your compass.”
“I kept you alive so you could point me in the right direction. Introduce me to Emil Rey and then you’re free to go.”
“What if we partnered together? I don’t have the Spell Walkers, and you don’t have the Halo Knights, but we both want the Blood Casters dead.”
Tala considers me and holds out her hand as if she’s about to challenge me to an arm-wrestling match. “Do you vow to take lives for those that are lost?”
I take her hand in mine. “Absolutely.”
Tala squeezes three times and I do the same unsure if that’s important or not.
“May their deaths be forevermore,” Tala says as she releases me. “So where is Emil?”
“He might still be in a hospital with his brother, but it’s possible they’ve moved on by now.”
“You told me you knew. I should’ve gotten Wyatt to come with me, his companion Nox is a brilliant tracker and—”
“I have other ways to find out,” I say. “I just need my phone.”
We return downstairs and Tala retrieves my power-proof vest, car keys, and phone from a box in the closet. Maybe she thought this would’ve slowed me down from escaping if I woke up when she wasn’t around. She’s very wrong. I unlock my phone, and when I search Brighton’s profile on Instagram to send him a message, I see a new post. He’s alive and well—too well.
Brighton’s eyes are burning like an eclipse and he’s carrying sapphire fire sourced from the phoenix that Tala’s parents died defending.
Twenty-Eight
Another Knight
EMIL
I really hope I’m living this life right.
I got to trust Brighton and let him prove himself, but I’m not an idiot; I know his ego can bring out the worst in him. Arrogance alone is one thing. Arrogance paired with superpowers is another. I’m responsible for Brighton now more than ever.
He’s all over the news this morning. Clips from last night’s live event are on every station and only a couple outlets are reporting it fairly. The others are excluding how we prevented the Blood Casters from achieving something that would’ve been catastrophic. All they see now is another target to fear at a time when there have been an increasing number of allegations against celestials. This isn’t helping Sunstar and Shine as the election approaches or the community as a whole.
The reports are heartbreaking: there’s an invisible high school coach spying on students in the locker rooms; the boss who threatened to burn his assistant from the inside out if she kept refusing dates with him; the mother who blinded the children who bullied her son at school; and so many more stories that paint gleam as weapons. Hope continues shrinking. I don’t think I’ll ever see this country as strong as I trick myself into thinking it can be.
I turn off the TV as Prudencia comes out of the shower fully dressed with a towel around her head. It was a lot harder to get sleep alone last night since Prudencia stayed in the room with Brighton, but I get it. They’re finally giving themselves a shot and there’s no better time than now. Life is short, especially when locked into a war, and having extra lives hasn’t exactly done me any favors.
“How’s Bright handling his fame?” I ask.
Prudencia lets out a deep sigh as she sits on the couch that used to be her bed. “I woke up to him literally drooling on his phone.”
“Eighteen years of sharing a room with him and that’s a first,” I say.
“It would’ve been a little more charming if it didn’t have me wondering how late he was up reading comments about himself.” Prudencia’s eyes glow as she telekinetically opens the window and lets some fresh air in. “I promise I don’t intend on using my power for everyday things.”
“You’re making up for lost time.”
“For a war I never wanted to fight in,” Prudencia says. “But with Atlas dead, Maribelle gone, and your powers down, we’re going to need extra help.”
I’m about to tell her how I don’t want her picking up my slack when a blurry wind sweeps toward us, and Brighton appears with his phone. “Whoa,” he says as he balances himself. “I don’t recommend doing that right when you wake up.” He sits beside Prudencia. “Maribelle DM’d me last night. It must’ve been right after I fell asleep.”
“What does she want?” Prudencia asks.
Brighton reads out the message: “The stars took care of you after all, Brighton. Your second shot at life couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m working with a Halo Knight to take down the Blood Casters. But Tala wants answers on the deaths of her parents. Bring Emil to the eighteenth floor of the First Nebula Lofthouse. We can all work together and maybe even save Eva and your mother. No Spell Walkers.”
“Wait, why does the Halo Knight want to meet with me?” I ask. “Does she think I killed her parents?”
Anxiety strangles me.
“I doubt it, bro. Maribelle is the first person to make a case on how you won’t kill anyone. Tala probably wants to know what happened to her parents.”
“Then she’ll probably kill us for having phoenix blood.”
Brighton pops up. “Maribelle does too, so unless her ghost slid into my DMs we should be fine.”
“Quick history lesson, Bright: the Halo Knights killed Keon. What do you think is going to go down if she knows about my past lives?”
“We’re going to keep you safe. Look, Iris has been searching for leads every day and returning back with nothing. This Halo Knight may have her own connections that can lead us to saving Ma. You’ll never be able to live with yourself if something happens to her that we could’ve prevented. I’m getting ready.”
He dashes down the hallway.
He’s so eager to get out of here that he isn’t considering the obvious differences between us and Maribelle. Maribelle was born with her powers and I was reborn with mine. I’m not innocent because of everything my past lives have done, but Brighton is a traditional specter who stole his powers in this life. I’m not sure how that’s going to end well for him.
“Don’t let him pressure you into this,” Prudencia says. “I’m going to let him know how unfair he’s being.”
“No, he’s right. If there’s a chance to save Ma, I have to take it.”
Prudencia nods. “Maribelle said no Spell Walkers, but she didn’t say anything about me. I’m going with you.”
We get ready fast. It’s so screwed up to sneak away after all the hospitality Ruth and Wesley have shown us, but I’ve pissed off Maribelle enough for one lifetime and I tell myself that we’ll be back by day’s end if not sooner. It’s extra wrong when Prudencia takes Wesley’s keys and we drive away with his car.
“Maribelle knows we’re on the way,” Brighton says, putting down his phone.
“Did you tell her I’m with you?” Prudencia asks.
“You said you didn’t want to put a label on it yet.”
“Not romantically. That I’m physically coming with you.”
“Oh.” Brighton retrieves his phone again. “One sec.”
I spend the ride nervous that this is some kind of trap and Brighton keeps shooting me down and telling me to be more trusting. My anxiety has only grown stronger since getting my powers and the last time I trusted someone new he was killed because of me. I keep arguing with myself that Ma being alive isn’t some delusion, that Luna could be holding her hostage to use her as a tool later, but it’s damn near impossible to hold out hope for Ness. His very existence could upend his father’s entire campaign.
It takes us a couple of hours to reach Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn and we park a few blocks away from the First Nebula Lofthouse. Prudencia comes up with signals letting us know when it’s safe for us to follow her down the streets. She’s associated with us, but she fortunately isn’t famous like us, the Infinity Kings. Two men come out a building pushing a stroller and force us to hit a one-eighty when we see a group of women in athleisure dribbling a basketball our way. Brighton and I become suddenly interested in counting the blackened gum marks on the sidewalk like when we were kids until they pass. I miss the days where I didn’t have to wonder if strangers were going to celebrate or hate me.
Brighton and I get to the front of the building right as Prudencia comes out.
“Doorman talking to a nanny,” Prudencia says. We follow her around the corner and there’s a door by a dumpster. She telekinetically pulls it open. “Up we go.”
“Why did Tala have to be in the penthouse?” I ask.
“It’s only eighteen floors. I’ll see you up there,” Brighton says as his eyes glow like an eclipse. He blurs for a moment before freezing in place.
Prudencia has him bound with her power. “We’re all walking up together. If it is a trap, I don’t want you finding out alone.”
“You’re the boss,” Brighton says with a smile. This is some kind of game to him.
Once she lets him go, we all go up, mercifully not bumping into anyone along the way.
Brighton holds the door open at the top level. “This is going to be a lot more fun when we can all fly straight to the roof next time.”
If I can ever fly again.
Prudencia knocks on the only door and Maribelle answers in moments.
It’s been exactly a week since Maribelle last saw us at the meeting with Sunstar and Shine but the only person she regards now is Brighton with marvel in her eyes. “How are you feeling?”
“Stronger,” Brighton answers. It’s awkward watching him soak up this moment knowing that Prudencia is more than familiar that he had a poster of Maribelle in our bedroom. “Ready to work.”
“Let’s go.”
Maribelle leads us inside the loft, but we barely get to explore it before we go up one final flight of steps to the roof. There’s a young woman standing in the garden and petting the biggest phoenix I’ve ever seen up close. The phoenix could be safely mounted for flight and maybe even crush someone with one tackle. Judging by its yellow feathers I’m thinking it might be a breath spawn or a light howler. The former can explode on the spot to kill us all and the latter could strike us dead with lightning. I normally wouldn’t spiral over the different ways a phoenix might kill me, but I’m not counting on my specter presence to be welcomed by this Halo Knight. One glare from Tala confirms this. The phoenix cocks its head like it’s studying me. I wonder if it can sense the power that’s not supposed to be in me or Brighton.
“Tala, this is—”
“Who killed my parents?” Tala asks, cutting off Maribelle.
“The Blood Casters,” I say immediately.
“Which ones?”
I stand frozen on the spot. All the Halo Knights were wearing my masks and their complexions ranged. I share everything that I remember about that swift fight. There were five Halo Knights total wielding axes and swords and crossbows. One man was immediately killed by Dione before having her head cut off by a short woman. “Then June, this specter with ghost blood—I don’t know if Maribelle explained all of that—possessed some man. Nimuel, I think.” Tala’s eyes water at the mention of his name. “June forced him to kill two Haloes. I warned the woman that he was possessed and she said she was his wife. When June didn’t leave his body, the Halo told Nimuel she would see him in another life and stabbed him. But June escaped in time and then Stanton killed the woman.”
Tala is vibrating with anger.
“I’m sorry for your loss. They fought bravely,” I say.
She doesn’t seem to welcome my condolences. “We will always put our lives on the line for the birds of many lives.”
“Gravesend was supposed to be safe behind a vaulted shield, but my former boss traded her life for mine so he could get famous.”
I don’t tell Tala how I considered killing Gravesend myself, hoping it would make a difference during the ritual. I tense up reliving the moment Luna stabbed Gravesend and then me with the infinity-ender blade. I should’ve died at that church too.
“My parents died for that century phoenix, to make sure she could live and never be used,” Tala says, and turns to Brighton. “Then you stole her essence for your own gain.”
He really should dash downstairs and get far away. “Better me than Luna. I’ll avenge Gravesend with her powers.”
“Gravesend was supposed to have her own lives, her own futures!”
Tala crouches behind a bush of lilies and when she rises she’s aiming a crossbow at us. Maribelle shouts at her to stop, but it’s too late. An arrow flies toward Brighton, and he dashes out of the way and almost tumbles over the roof’s ledge. Prudencia telekinetically snatches the crossbow away from Tala and holds it close to her chest.
“Roxana, strike!”
The phoenix stands on its black talons and fires a lightning bolt toward Prudencia. I don’t think she’s going to be strong enough to deflect the light howler and thankfully Brighton dash-tackles her out of the way. The lightning bolt strikes the ground and the aftershock blasts me across the roof and I roll toward a small pool. My hearing is buzzy, but I think I can make out Maribelle shouting for Tala to stop. But maybe Tala can’t hear either because she leaps straight at Brighton. He runs circles around her and Tala holds out one leg and immediately trips him.
Even if I could use my powers, I wouldn’t dare use them against Tala, a Halo Knight who does honorable work for phoenixes, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let her try to beat my brother to death. I fight past all dizziness as I charge straight toward her, but Tala grabs me by the arm and flips me over her shoulder. She goes back and forth between punching me and Brighton, but her glare becomes deadlier.
“You started this,” Tala says. “You’re the first specter. The Blood Casters exist because of you!”
I’m trying to get my words out, but Tala’s blows don’t stop. My body is trying to heal itself, but new wounds keep coming, more blood keeps spilling. It’s possible Tala might kill me before my healing power can save me.
I wonder who I’ll be in my next life.
Before her next hit can collide, Maribelle wraps her arms around Tala and carries her into the air, demanding that she put an end to this.
I try catching my breath to ask Brighton if he’s okay, but my power keeps involuntarily trying to heal me and I can’t stop it. I have to endure the pain. Prudencia grabs my hand and I squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. For the first time in my life I feel like my grip might be strong enough to break someone’s bones. Once the burn subsides, Prudencia fully turns her attention to Brighton, who isn’t self-healing. There is pink and red bruising around his right eye that’s closed shut. I wonder how he feels about being more trusting to strangers now that he’s groaning in pain.
Commotion above catches my attention and Tala wrestles out of Maribelle’s grip and drops down onto the rooftop. She sh
oulder rolls toward her crossbow and aims it at my chest. I don’t have it in me to move. I close my eyes and wait.
“Tala, don’t!” a guy shouts in an English accent.
I’m covered in shadows of massive wings and for a delirious moment I wonder if there’s a British phoenix that speaks with the ease of humans like my favorite childhood cartoon. But of course that’s nonsense. I look up to see who saved my life and there’s a pale guy with brown hair riding what has to be an obsidian phoenix judging by its glittering black feathers. The guy is wearing a leather jacket with feathered sleeves as black as the phoenix—another Halo Knight.
The obsidian lands smoothly on the rooftop and if I wasn’t already intimidated by the sheer size of this phoenix, a whole foot taller than the light howler, I fully tense up as those dark eyes that look hollowed out of its face stare at me. The Halo Knight dismounts and there’s a dirty white satchel hanging from his broad shoulder. From what I can make out underneath his open jacket, his white shirt is pressed tight against his pecs. He extends his cautious hand toward Tala as he approaches me.
“Why are you following me, Wyatt?” Tala asks.
“You’re my friend—and because Crest said he’d increase my book budget if Nox and I tracked you down.” Wyatt offers Tala a dimpled smile that doesn’t win her over. “You know Nox; he loves a hunt.”
“I don’t need your help.”
“Clearly.” Wyatt gestures at me and Brighton. He helps me up with his sweaty hands and we seem to be the exact same height judging by how I’m able to stare straight into his eyes, which are as blue as Brighton’s flames. Between the patchy stubble arching along his jawline and the smell of cedarwood, it’s as if Wyatt has been hiking in the wilderness for days. There are three thin scars down the side of his neck, possibly from a phoenix, but too small to come from Nox. He wraps my arm around his muscular shoulders and guides me to the stone bench to rest.
“Do you have any idea who they are?” Tala asks.
“Emil and Brighton Rey—the self-proclaimed Infinity Kings.” Wyatt knows who we are. Time will tell if that’s good or not. “Pardon me, darling, but I’m not familiar with you,” he says to Prudencia.
