G I G I

Never in my life had I seen such widespread carnage.

My senses had barely adjusted to the brightness of day when I took in the sheer scope of the battlefield. We were in the Ukrainian plains, with the land stretching out seemingly to the ends of the earth. And as far as the eye could see, Imperium soldiers were marching forward. The ones on the front lines were fighting brutally with our army.

Our own soldiers were being transported in, with a dozen military planes opening to reveal hundreds of men inside. The rest of our army had come from a massive train of military trucks, which were receding into the distance. Behind us, several massive tanks were rolling up to the line. This was all we had. In the four days Hunt had been the ONNT directive again, he'd done his best to rally our troops with the governments of the world.

It wouldn't be enough.

Imperium's soldier count easily outnumbered us by thousands. They were an unrelenting sea of black against our army's olive green. In the distance, behind the front lines of Imperium soldiers, was a row of the cannon-like machines Hunt warned us about—Scorpions. Our own weapons were still being created by Jaxon's father; we hadn't been ready for the invasion. Far to the left were several plumes of smoke rising to the perfectly blue sky—the remnants of the bombers Imperium had clearly shot down.

This was why Orion had waited so long to invade. His forces were great, perhaps the greatest in history. And something told me this wasn't even all of them—he wouldn't send all his forces to one place and leave Romania unprotected. No, this wasn't even his full might.

With my teammates on either side, we ran for the front lines. As we got closer, a ray of white-hot plasma shot out across our troops. The charred remains of human bodies were all that lay there after the flames receded. I stared, realizing the Scorpions' reach was much farther than any of us imagined.

It was so loud I feared I'd go deaf—the screams of the still-burning soldiers, a cacophony of gunshots, the engines of the military planes, the roars of an entire Imperium army—

"Here." I turned to see Jaxon holding out a handful of steel-tipped arrows to me. "I made these for you. They'll blow on impact. Make them worth it."

There was no time to respond. By the time I took them, he was already going to the front lines. Despite the dire situation we were in, I found a bit of the dread unspooling in my chest. If we made it out of this, I'd thank him.

Suddenly moving swiftly, I stuck the arrows in my quiver and followed my teammates to the middle of the fight. Neve trailed me, face completely calm and focused. I half-wondered if she ever thought this day would come—when she was fighting on the opposite side.

"We'll find Arezo," I told her, knowing she was imagining her sister within the ranks of marching soldiers. "We'll find her and keep her safe."

Her mouth pursed and eyebrows set in determination. "That's right. Until then, we give Imperium hell."

I found my lips twisting into a wry smile before I whipped around and shot the first exploding arrow into the middle of the incoming soldiers. As usual, Jaxon's creations didn't disappoint. Something grim and dark in me found joy in the way the soldiers were completely blown apart. Only a crater scarred the land where they'd stood.

Bodies were then torn apart by the ends of my arrows left and right. Whenever a rogue Imperium agent broke through our lines, I shot them to death with an arrow to the heart. Shells from our tanks soared over our heads into the enemy.

Standing back a ways from the others, I was vaguely aware of them fighting together. Where they stood, soldiers were hacked to pieces. But more always rose to take the places of their slain brethren.

I also kept an eye on Neve, who was cutting down Imperium soldiers with ease—she was one of Orion's best assassins, after all. Be that as it may, I was back far enough to shoot an arrow through the throats of her enemies if she became overpowered.

One of the Scorpions struck again, razing another portion of our soldiers. It was too much. Their soldiers outnumbered us greatly, yes, but they were only able to kill a few soldiers at a time. The Scorpions took out dozens with one beam.

Taking the slight breeze into account, I pulled my arm back and measured the position of the arrow against my fingers. For this endeavor, my aim needed to be impeccable.

With a snap of the bowstring, the arrow was shot into the clear blue sky in an arc that I desperately hoped would be enough to reach my target. Being sure to keep an eye on my teammates, I watched behind the enemy lines. No one saw it coming yet.

And then it happened. The Scorpion nearest to our part of the fight was completely obliterated in a mushroom cloud of fire. I could barely make out the small black figures jumping out of its way, others scrambling about while wreathed in flames.

I felt around in my quiver, counting the amount of exploding arrows I had left. Four.

I'd be sure to save one for an emergency. Knowing the Scorpions were our most present threat, I concluded that I would take out three of them. And missing was not an option.

Pivoting with each change in targets, I let each well-calculated arrow fly swift after the last. Seconds later, they struck. One, two, three explosions, one right after the next.

My arms were tired from holding the bowstring back for so long, but I merely shook them out and surveyed the scene. This was war—there was no stopping until it was finished.

There was no apparent victor yet. Imperium was horrifyingly well-prepared for war, and despite the fact that we hadn't been, our side was succeeding in stopping their march across the plains. However, just because we were holding them back did not mean that we'd even made a dent in their invasion. It was only a matter of time before they cut us down and kept going. I could only hope that we'd get reinforcements before that happened.

For now, only that insane hope and sheer force of will was all we had.

There was a low rumbling in the distance. I stopped and listened for a moment, hoping it wasn't what I feared. The entirety of the battlefield seemed to freeze for a split second with the arrival of the sound on the horizon.

Then I saw it: an entire squadron of military jets straight out before us—sleek, perfectly aerodynamic, lethal. They were aiming to fly low above the Imperium army first. Then ours.

My heart dropped into my stomach.

They were going to bomb the living daylights out of our army.

My thoughts were wiped from my brain, terror making me reckless and stupid. When I reeled my fear back in, I began to work for a way around this. We had no Scorpions, no bombers, no anti-aircraft guns. Nothing to combat this attack.

If anything qualified as an emergency, it would be this. Reaching over my shoulder, I grabbed the last exploding arrow in my quiver and readied it against the bow. The planes were very low. Their leader would be my target. If the explosion emitted enough smoke, it could confuse the pilots following behind and make them foolish.

It was a stupid hope, but it was all I had.

I let the last arrow fly and prayed that it would be enough. The planes were close enough now to cast rippling shadows upon our army as they streaked across the sky...

There was an explosion in the sky, smoke billowing out before the first plane. The downed aircraft went into a free-fall toward the ground.

But it wasn't the only thing dropping through the air. Bombs—dark against the bright sky—fell with perfect precision.

Heads craned to watch them fall. Some of our soldiers scrambled to get away. Most couldn't. Imperium was too strong.

My eyes locked onto Neve, who was locked in battle with a massive Imperium soldier. Even if she saw the incoming bombs, she couldn't get away. I was running before I even knew it.

Explosion after explosion rocked the earth. Dust and smoke kicked up into my eyes, making me stop in my tracks to avoid being obliterated. The smell of fire was everywhere, in my nostrils, my hair, my mouth. I choked and tried to ignore the ringing in my ears. I was in shock, that much was clear. But I stumbled back to my feet anyway.

The smoke was beginning to clear. No, no, no, no—

I screamed.

Our army was decimated.

A hundred thousand bodies stuck up at odd angles, limbs and severed heads littering the ground. There was a mass of flesh and bone where the bombs had hit. Small fires still lit the corpses. The smell of burning flesh stuck to me like a second skin. It was like they hadn't been alive just seconds before.

And in the midst of that destruction was Neve.

"No!" I screamed again, stumbling to her body before it even hit me—the odd angle of her arm, the blood coating her right side. Those dark eyes were going glassy as they stared up at me.

I threw myself down to kneel at her side, taking her head in my lap. "No," I begged, turning her bloody face to look at me. "Please, no." Pressing my hands to the wound in her side, I tried to stop the blood. I really did. But there was too much. A horrible sob escaped my throat when I felt the damage done to her body. And how her heart didn't beat.

Feeling out of my mind, I shook my head. "Not you too. Please..." Even my power couldn't bring her heart to beat again—her entire right side was split open. This was too much to fix. This was too much.

Her glassy eyes. I sobbed again. Neve's lips were parted as if in surprise. A trickle of blood streamed from the corner of her mouth.

I couldn't even look at the other bodies. I couldn't look to the survivors and count how few remained—I knew there were too little to hold the masses of Imperium back. This wasn't supposed to happen. We were supposed to beat Imperium. We were supposed to win. It was all I could think as I cradled Neve's body.

She was meant to live. She was smart and brave and kind, despite her circumstances. She was going to save her sister. And she'd already saved me from myself. Neve had become my friend after I'd driven away all the others and was the sister I'd always needed.

It should have been me. I should be the split-open corpse while she lived the rest of the life she deserved. Take me instead, I begged the heavens. Good people weren't supposed to die like this. It wasn't fair that she died while I got to live.

Neve had believed I wasn't wretched and terrible and she'd made me believe I wasn't set on a path of madness. She put me back on my feet again, just as my mother had. And now they were both gone.

The large Imperium soldier she'd been fighting stirred a few feet away. I watched through tear-blurred eyes as he pulled himself up and stood over me. Before he could make a move for me, I raised my discarded bow and shot him through the eye. And then the other. He fell, dead. "Burn in fucking hell," I said to the corpse.

But it wasn't enough. The hole inside me couldn't be filled with more murder.

Someone called my name behind me. I didn't care to turn around; my eyes stayed on Neve's ashen face as I memorized every part of it. I wouldn't forget her. I wouldn't—

"Gigi." A hand wrenched at my shoulder. "Get up."

Benton. "Get the hell away from us," I hissed, hoping it came across angrier than it sounded in my own ears.

"Get up," he repeated, interrupting me. "We're retreating before they slaughter the rest of us." I couldn't look into his bloody face without being reminded of the utter devastation I felt. He was near the same condition as her—his leg twisted and mangled, left eye blackening and dripping red. Ash laid on his dark hair. It was a miracle he was even alive, given the loss of blood he was experiencing.

"Let them slaughter me," I said, voice breaking. "I don't care. She's dead. Dead."

"I know," he said, eyes on the corpse. "War is hell, Gigi."

Anger spiked through the devastating emptiness. "Why are you even here? You never cared for her. Or me, for that matter. You screwed us over and left us to die. So why won't you let me die here?"

"That's why I'm here." He shifted on his feet, looking at the approaching Imperium army. "She wouldn't have wanted you to die here with her. Neve would have wanted you to live."

"I can't just—"

Shots rang out. Imperium soldiers were shooting at the retreating army, wiping out survivors. The Scorpions were beginning to hum with rising heat.

Benton grabbed my arm and hauled me up with his remaining strength. I lost my grip on Neve and tried to scramble for her again. "I can't leave her, I can't lose her too—"

"Get your ass up," he commanded, using a stronger tone now that danger was imminent again. "I'm not dying out here and neither are you."

His hand was tight around my arm as he pulled me away from the bullets of Imperium's soldiers. I was aware of the survivors of our army regrouping and retreating, some getting up around us to run away, but I couldn't tear my eyes off of Neve's dilapidated body.

In the distance, a fire began to rage before the front lines of the enemy soldiers. It spread and spread until there was a line of fire dividing the survivors from Orion's troops. Finn's work. He'd become much more powerful since I'd known him. It was assurance that he was alive, at least.

"He's bought us time. It's now or never." Benton yanked me back again, for the fire would only hold the troops back for a few extra moments.

I took one last look at Neve's face and turned away, tears running down my face. With Benton still clutching me tightly, I let him lead me to where the few military planes still stood, engines ready.