Page 26 of Damned and Broken Gods (Labyrinth of Gods #2)

One by one, they swooped, and one by one, the drohi mounted, some leaping over the edge of the bridge like Araz had only to rise a moment later, and others waiting for the bird to land before climbing on. Soon all the drohi were in the air. Circling. Waiting.

Knots formed in my belly, and the familiar hum of anxiety bloomed in my chest.

“We can do this,” Dharma said, stepping closer.

There was a quiet determination in every demigod’s face, all except Vick. My heart sank because what the fuck were we going to do about him? My attention flicked back to Garrit, who had his head tipped up to the sky, then to his thunderbird who sat, eyes closed. An idea formed in my mind.

I approached him. “Garrit?”

He turned to me. “Yes?”

“We’re short a drohi, for Vick. The young dark-haired guy?”

“Ah, yes, I did notice a discrepancy in numbers.”

“He doesn’t have a drohi.” I explained the situation as concisely as possible. “So you see, there is no guarantee that any drohi will be free to catch him, unless…” I tipped my head to the side, lifting one shoulder.

His eyes twinkled. “Does that work on Araz?”

My eyes went wide. “What?”

He blinked, his expression smoothing out. “Never mind. As much as I would love to help you, it is against the rules. I cannot. I’m sorry for your friend.”

He said it as if Vick was already doomed. I couldn’t let that happen. “It’s fine. We’ll figure it out.”

I hurried back to my friends. “Okay, so let’s go over the plan to make sure Vick is covered.”

“Three drohi are watching him as well as us. It will be fine,” Joe said.

“And Araz.” I smiled at Vick. “He’s on board.”

I looked over at Bina, Alia, and Elata, standing a little to one side but within earshot. They knew the situation with Vick, but none of them had offered assistance.

I caught Bina’s eye. “It wouldn’t hurt you to offer to help.”

Her lip curled. “If you want to be taken in by his lies, then so be it, but we know better.” Her voice rose to counter the howl of the wind. “He’s a coward who caused his drohi’s death, and we will not take any risks for him.”

“The Vayujaari are here!” Garrit called out. “Get in a line. Now.”

Above us, the thunderbirds climbed higher, still circling, the figures on their backs nothing but faceless shadows. And on the horizon frothed a storm, clawing and rolling toward us.

Was that the Vayujaari?

“Move!” Garrit ordered. “Side by side. They are not the most patient of creatures, and they do not wish to be here.”

We scrambled to get into a line, and I ended up between Dharma and Vick.

The air felt thinner, each breath harder. Shit, shit, shit. I looked up at the thunderbirds, desperately searching for Araz.

“Fuck!” Dharma cried. “Look at them!”

The storm fractured into figures running in the air. Figures made of cloud and mist, threaded with lightning and seeping mist and fog. The scent of ozone spiked, and the air crackled, snapping at my skin, shocking it so that every hair quivered and tugged.

The wind’s howl became a unified voice. “By wind, wave, root, and flame, with lightning’s vow and frost’s claim, we answer the call of the soul that sings the song we remember.”

Seven figures made of ether landed on the bridge between us and Garrit, bringing a cold mist with them. It swirled around their calves and spiraled up in tendrils to twine up their arms and around their necks.

Seven powerfully built elementals stood before us—three males and three females.

All wore similar outfits: brown pants tucked into boots and gray shirts that both fit their upper bodies but flared out and flowed at the hips.

Their height and forms were similar. But their coloring was slightly different.

One woman had silvery skin and eyes like mercury, another had pale blue skin and eyes so pale they looked white, while the third woman had green hair and a mossy gaze.

The men were slightly taller and bulkier.

One had hair like fire and glowing golden eyes; the other was pale, his lips dark blue, his eyes like the first bite of frost, and standing beside him was a male with pearlescent skin and eyes like green fire.

The last had flowing locks of blue and green and twin iridescent pools for eyes.

I caught the scent of a storm followed by the sweet aroma of a summer breeze, but in the next moment came the cold, sharp scent of a winter’s day chased quickly by the balmy heat of the peak of summer.

The mist rolled toward us, and the scents surrounded us. The woman with the mercury eyes and silvery skin stepped forward, her silver gaze burning a path down the line we’d formed.

“You will be chosen by echo,” she said. “But there is no promise that an echo will hold.” She turned her head to the side, her gaze flicking back to her companions. “Make your choices.”

The guy with the hair like flames stepped forward first. He walked over to Dharma, bringing the air of summer and the smell of life at its peak with him. “I am Jaantor of the Emberheart, blaze without chain. If your passion is true, we will ignite the skies; if not, then your name will die in ash.”

Um…What the fuck?

He held out his hand to Dharma. “Will you accept?”

“Not like I have a choice,” she muttered, then louder, “If you do decide to drop me, please give me a heads-up. A warning?”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “That is not part of the vow, but as you asked so politely, I shall give you this heads-up warning .”

“Great.” Dharma took his hand. He pulled her against his body. Mist rose around them, and they shot up into the air.

One of the thunderbirds peeled off after them. Chaya, no doubt.

Another Vayujaari came forward and stood before Joe. It was the female with green hair and moss eyes. “I am Thalara of the Rootwoven. Bear the weight of truth, be grounded in it, and we rise; honor false crown and you fall.” She held out her hand. “Do you accept?”

“In for a penny…” Joe took her hand and, like Dharma before him, shot up into the air. Above us, another thunderbird left the circle and followed.

The man with the frosty eyes made to walk forward next, but the mercury-eyed women held up a hand, and he halted.

Her gaze fell on me, narrowing slightly. She walked toward me, and my stomach dipped with a mixture of emotions I didn’t understand.

“Zarael of the Stormbound. If your pulse mirrors the storm, then rise with me, but if your courage flickers, you will fall.” She tipped her head to one side and held out her hand. “Will you accept?”

I looked up at the thunderbirds, wishing I could identify Araz, gave the air a thumbs up, and took Zarael’s hand.

Her grip sent an electric shock up my arm, but before I could cry out, I was enveloped in mist and cradled to her chest. My stomach dropped as my boots left the ground. All I could see were her mercury eyes, a stationary point in the vortex surrounding me.

The air crackled and stung, and a strange warmth rushed over my skin.

Zarael’s eyes narrowed slightly, and her voice echoed around me. “Would you like to see the journey?”

No. Yes. No. Fuck it. “Okay.”

The mist parted to reveal clouds far below. I was tethered by wind, my chest facing the world, my back pressed to Zariel’s elemental form. A thunderbird appeared below me, the silver feathers on its head glinting in the sunlight. Araz looked up at me, his eyes bright against his brown skin.

How long before the Vayujaari knew whether to keep us or drop us?

Long seconds passed, and the elemental grip around me remained firm and stable.

I relaxed, searching the skies for the others.

Dharma was far ahead wrapped in a vortex of air threaded with crimson, to my left was a vortex threaded with green, but no visible demigod.

It had to be Joe, though, because Mahira flew below it.

To my right was a vortex of pale blue. It opened a little, and I spotted Vick’s terrified face. I couldn’t see behind me but sensed that we were good.

For now.

Long seconds passed. The world below rushed by, and heat bloomed across my back—Zariel’s presence making her known.

I was starting to relax when a scream cut through the hum of wind. My pulse stuttered as I caught movement up ahead.

Dharma falling.

My cry of alarm didn’t have time to air before she landed on the thunderbird below her. She clung to Chaya as the bird dropped altitude until both her and her drohi were nothing but shadows on the bird’s back.

Another scream. Distant. Behind us.

Then another.

Fuck.

A fourth.

I looked to my left and my right in time to see Joe’s Vayujaari pick up speed, putting distance between Mahira and her thunderbird below.

And then she dropped Joe.

He fell in silence, but Mahira’s scream was loud enough for them both. She dove, her thunderbird cutting through the air like a bullet, eating the distance between her and Joe.

“Help!”

Vick?

He fell, arms and legs flailing as if trying to catch the air.

I looked down at Araz. “Araz! Save him!”

The wind snatched at my voice, and for a moment I thought Araz didn’t hear me, but the blaze in his eyes told me he had. “You promised!”

The next moments seemed to pass in slow motion.

Araz looked ahead, then below, where Vick had vanished into the clouds. Falling, picking up speed as he hurtled toward death.

And I was still safe. Still held tightly. Heat at my back, Zarael wrapped around me like an impregnable force.

Surely the danger had passed.

Araz must have concluded the same because he shook his head, his lips pulling back in what I imagined was a growl before he dove through the clouds after Vick. I waited, heart battering my ribcage, eyes scanning the clouds below.

Mahira’s bird burst through with her and Joe on board.

Araz? Where was?—

“Forgive me,” Zarael said.

“What?”

The vortex holding me in the air vanished. I remained suspended for several heartbeats, and for a split second I doubted what had just happened.

Then gravity confirmed it, snatching me from the air and pulling me down.