A Shade of Vampire 82 A Circle of Nine - Bella Forrest Page 0,74

destruction enough times to boldly move forward. The longer we survived, the more fearless we became. Nethissis’s presence fueled me, too. I wanted her to make it safely to the end so that Death might restore her body and life. She deserved that and so much more.

Esme

After watching Nethissis’s body burn and understanding how twisted Danika truly was, Kalon and I made an executive decision and convinced Sofia to head back to the hilltop instead of trying to free Derek. Danika had claimed she could smell us in the crowd—it was a warning sign meant to deter us from trying to get to Derek. The palace would’ve made us vulnerable to capture, since the crowd couldn’t cover for us inside.

With a heavy heart, Sofia agreed, and we rushed back to the hilltop. Just in time, too, as Trev had just returned with encouraging news. He’d used some of his Rimian neighborhood kids to smuggle fireworks out of the city’s markets, and he’d had them placed around the city, ready to be lit at his command.

“Any sign from Derek yet?” Amal asked. “I’m sorry you couldn’t get to him.”

Danika’s actions had shocked the rest of our crew, too, but none of us had the time to really take it all in. Ridan and his team were about to enter Visio’s atmosphere, and we needed to get the shuttle up in the air to keep the sky-watchers distracted.

Sofia shook her head. “I can still feel him, so our Telluris link isn’t broken. But he’s not answering any of my calls,” she said. “He might be unconscious.”

“I hope you understand why we had to leave,” I said, feeling the need to reiterate earlier arguments I’d made in favor of leaving Derek in captivity. Sofia put a hand on my shoulder, wearing a weary smile.

“It was the right call,” she said. “We need to protect Ridan’s shuttle, first and foremost. We’ll figure out a way to get Derek out later. I certainly don’t plan on leaving my husband there for much longer.”

Thayen frowned. “So, how is this going to happen? Distracting the sky-watchers, I mean. You only have the shuttle, right? I don’t think it’ll be enough.”

“Which is why I had my Rimian friends whip out the fireworks,” Trev said, grinning like a devil. “With enough flashes in the sky, the watchers won’t pay attention to anything coming from the outside. They’ll be too busy trying to locate and neutralize us.”

“We need to make sure they don’t catch our shuttle either,” I replied, looking at Amal and Amane. “You two are the most precious members of our team. I’m not comfortable with letting you fly.”

Amal sighed. “We’re good pilots.”

“I don’t doubt that. But if the airships somehow shoot you down, we lose you. You’re not just our best chance at finding the day-walking cure and at stopping the Black Fever,” I said. “You’re our friends. Our partners!”

Sofia agreed. “Esme is right. I’ll stay with you girls. We’ll be right here, where no one can find us. Esme and Tristan can fly the shuttle, and Valaine, Thayen, Kalon, and Ansel can keep us company.”

“I could help,” Ansel said, though he didn’t seem that sure of himself.

“With what?” Kalon replied. “You can’t fly the shuttle. You can’t work any death magic that might help them, since you never got that far up the Darkling ranks. You’re better off making sure Thayen stays safe. I need you here, not out there.”

Ansel blinked several times, as if still wrapping his head around Kalon’s words. “You need me? Do you mean that, brother?”

“I will always need you, you foolish little brat,” Kalon replied, hugging his younger brother. For a moment, I could almost hear Ansel’s mind drifting away as he settled in Kalon’s embrace. He’d needed that kind of affection for a long time.

“Tristan and I will fly the shuttle, like Sofia said,” I chimed in. “Trev will have the fireworks detonated. We’ll just have to time it properly.” I looked at Sofia. “How much longer until Ridan is close to make his entrance?”

Sofia checked her watch, which was set to a universal GASP time we’d programmed all our devices to, for ease of communications and operations. “In about twenty minutes.”

“That means the sky-watchers might spot them coming, too,” Trev said, glancing my way. “You should take off and start making yourselves known to the sky-watchers. All you have to do is stay in the air for twenty to thirty minutes.”

“That’s correct. Once Ridan’s shuttle pierces the atmosphere, he’ll