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  It was a mosh pit of violence. Hundreds of lacravida surged against thousands of Liberty Union allies. Friends, superiors, subordinates—it didn’t matter—if they held a firearm, they were a target.

  Aurania spun and grabbed her axe, yanking it from the pillar in a show of brute force.

  Riza released the Commandant and sheathed her dagger. With a big smile on her face, she said “Bye Kade!”

  Then she hopped off the stage—athletic and graceful.

  Aurania glanced at Admiral Marrow—his eyes wide staring at her axe—then she turned and leapt after Riza.

  Violet and Amalia were playing pure muscle defense—holding the crowd back while Veolo had the time of her life. She punched, kicked, grabbed a firearm she saw and yanked it free—then jumped up and started bouncing off heads and shoulders like a ricochet.

  A young human officer came up with his sidearm half-raised; Aurania backhanded it from his grip and shoved him into the arms of a passing lacravida sergeant, who hauled him backward like he weighed nothing.

  Inelius appeared and clocked an LU lazarco, then quickly ducked as a chair flew past.

  Aurania roared and charged forward, plowing through a knot of LU infantry like a battering ram. She hip-checked one to the deck, swung the pommel of her axe up into a sidearm, then stepped forward and shoved with her shoulder.

  Amalia zipped behind her—swept a low kick to three separate pairs of legs—then came up swinging fast. Throat, sternum, gut—three more people staggered backwards.

  “Rrragh!” Soren’s voice clapped a shockwave through the air as he ignited on the balcony. He wouldn’t dare turn his powers on any of the LU personnel—but that didn’t mean he couldn’t scare them. He vaulted the railing and floated down too slow for one that obeyed gravity.

  The crowd staggered back as he landed—the burning white of his hair and eyes giving off the visage of an angry spectral god.

  He started walking towards them, the masses parting until the crowd of bodies prevented them from moving further. Once they realized he wasn’t actually attacking, a few got brave and tried to tackle him.

  They may as well have tackled a locomotive.

  He strode at a calm pace, steadily moving forward. People were hanging off his arms, legs, trying to weigh him down by any means possible—he moved as if they weighed nothing.

  Inelius plowed into the fray on Aurania’s left, dragging two soldiers away from Violet, then slamming them both together like cymbals. Violet shoved her elbow into a marine’s gut, then used his own forward motion to flip him over her shoulder. Veolo was behind Aurania on the right, throwing a flurry of haymakers from what she could tell.

  Riza…

  Aurania looked around.

  Where is Riza?

  Then she saw her.

  While they were busy with the bulk of the crowd, Riza was walking through solo. Soren might have looked terrifying.

  Riza actually was.

  She wasn’t in a fighting stance, she kept her arms at her sides until she struck—but everyone seemed too scared to get close.

  The few who tried went down. Hard.

  Aurania realized Riza had a grin on her face—she was enjoying this.

  “Come on!” Riza hollered. “You gonna give up your one chance to throw hands with me?!”

  A few more tried valiantly. Her hands were like lightning—finding throats, collarbones—one guy, she clapped a hand on each side of his head and his knees just gave out.

  “Amalia,” said Soren.

  Aurania looked over and saw he had reached them. His hand was held outstretched.

  Amalia grabbed on and suddenly—

  Soren hurled her through the air.

  “Wooo hooooooooo!!!” She squealed as she arced through the air, landing like a bowling ball in a cluster of LU troops.

  Soren held his hand out again. “Violet.”

  She looked at his hand, looked at his face, then just said, “Pass,” and went back to fighting.

  He started to ask Veolo but then she started hopping across heads and shoulders again, making her way towards Amalia.

  Soren looked silently at Aurania.

  “Don’t even think about it.” She went back to cracking heads.

  The brawl swelled and shifted, the chaos breaking into eddies of violence around them. Step by step, the team pushed for the double doors on the far side of the pavilion.

  Aurania’s muscles burned—not from fatigue, but from the restraint it took not to kill. She wasn’t here to butcher soldiers who didn’t deserve it. But if they stood between her and the door, they were at least getting moved.

  She shoved one marine with her forearm and slammed the butt of her axe into another’s stomach, folding him over. Inelius was just ahead, bulldozing a path through two armored shorn like he was clearing brush. Veolo and Amalia carved paths through the crowd to regroup near him, moving like twin comets—unpredictable, fast, and brutal.

  They pushed another five meters when Aurania felt it—a flicker of instinct that made her spine bristle.

  “Right flank!” she snapped.

  Three Liberty Union soldiers emerged from the crowd with rifles raised, cutting a path perpendicular to the team’s line—coming in fast with fingers on triggers.

  Before any of them could react—

  WHAM!

  All three were blindsided—tackled so hard their weapons spun from their hands midair.

  The blur that hit them resolved into two lacravida in LU uniforms.

  Aurania didn’t recognize them, but they didn’t hesitate. One pinned a soldier’s arms behind his back with brutal efficiency. The other delivered a single elbow to the head of a struggling marine, knocking him flat. The third attacker tried to crawl away, only for one of the lacravida to plant a hoof on his back and pin him to the floor.

  There was no time to speak but Aurania nodded to them as they continued.

  Soren kept plowing forward. One man threw himself in front of him with a taser baton and Soren just swatted him aside like a wrecking ball through drywall. The man sailed backwards into the crowd, knocking half a dozen to the floor with him.

  “Doors are thirty meters,” Soren called out.

  “Then get us there,” Aurania shouted, and raised her axe overhead. “All of you! Stay tight, push hard!”

  Veolo hollered something unintelligible—but she sounded excited—and vaulted past them again. She kicked off a shoulder, landed in a crouch, and swept three soldiers off their feet in a single wild spin.

  Amalia was right behind her, laughing like she was on an amusement ride, throwing elbows and knees with vicious precision.

  Violet grabbed Inelius by the collar and yanked him back just as a baton almost connected with his head.

  “Thanks!” he shouted, punching the armored attacker so hard his helmet cracked.

  They were twenty meters and closing.

  The bulk of the troops were behind them now—Aurania turned to keep their rear covered as they advanced toward the door. She held her axe horizontal, creating a barrier between the crowd and her team.

  Someone grabbed the haft—she pulled and headbutted.

  Ten meters.

  On her left, Aurania heard a collective “Oooohh,” like a group of onlookers watching someone in a cage match take a nasty hit.

  Then someone yelled, “Shit!” and flew up out of the crowd.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  The masses parted and there was Riza.

  They had actually managed to make her sweat.

  “Last chance!” Riza yelled out to her fans as she stepped into formation with Aurania.

  And with no hesitation, Teru leapt out of the crowd, fist cocked back.

  Riza caught her by the throat.

  The women locked eyes.

  “Go on,” Riza growled at her.

  Teru swung hard, connecting with Riza’s cheekbone.

  “Hah!” Riza whipped her head back to look at Teru, grinning wide.

  Then she returned the blow and threw her back into the crowd.

  Right before they made their exit, Riza yelled out, “Fucking proud of you Teru!”

  Soren ripped the double doors off their hinges and advanced through.

  The hallway stretched out wide and sterile, no troops in their path—for now.

  “Move!” Aurania shouted.

  They surged forward.

  Riza took the lead with Veolo and Amalia close behind, darting ahead like bloodhounds unleashed. Inelius and Violet ran center. Aurania matched their pace.

  Soren stayed until they passed, turning to cover their rear.

  Chaos roiled in the chamber behind them. A dozen soldiers pushed through the bottleneck, shouting commands, brandishing weapons. Lacravida allies still tangled with them—but it wouldn’t hold forever.

  Soren still burned white.

  He stood in the doorway like a sentinel, shoulders squared, eyes glowing like wildfire under storm clouds.

  The soldiers paused.

  But only for a moment.

  As soon as Soren took a step backwards, the adversaries charged.

  He kept them at bay as he quickly backpedaled—Aurania turned her attention away after she saw him plunge a fist through a metal wall and rip the panel outward to make a barrier.

  The team sprinted down the hall.

  They rounded a bend—hooves slamming against the floor, alarms blaring, a rising wail of escalating urgency.

  “Tamiyo!” Veolo called over comms. “Did you get all the gear?!”

  No response.

  “Comm jam,” Inelius said.

  “Get to The Ghost,” Aurania said. “Make sure nothing got left behind. Then we move to the Aether ship.”

  They hit a corridor junction—two LU marines stepped out with sidearms drawn.

  “Down!” Violet barked.

  But Amalia had already launched forward in a sliding sweep—legs scissoring low and fast. One man went down. Veolo leapt over her, grabbed the other by the neck, and slammed him headfirst into the bulkhead.

  “Keep moving!” Aurania ordered.

  They ran.

  Another turn. Footsteps behind them—more LU troops closing in fast.

  Soren was jogging to catch up, putting a gap between himself and their pursuers. He turned and extended an arm out, then closed his fist. The entire hallway crumpled inward like a pipe that someone had clamped down too hard from the outside.

  They were two levels up from The Ghost.

  “There’s the elevators!” Inelius yelled.

  “Shit, locked down!” Violet said.

  “At least they’re trying,” Riza shrugged.

  They were in a square room that the hallway had opened into, overlooking the hangar. They could see the ship, they just had to get to it.

  “Hey,” Aurania pointed. “The windo—”

  Soren barreled out of the hallway and went like a cannonball right through the glass she was pointing at.

  “Yeah that,” Aurania said.

  They ran over to where he had exited.

  Soren was already on the deck, two LU marines pointing rifles at him—but they hesitated to fire.

  He quickly snatched the rifle from one, the other shot a burst into Soren’s head. Soren snapped the rifle in half and lightly tossed the pieces at the remaining armed adversary.

  He surrendered—just went palms up, tossed his rifle to the deck, then they both ran.

  Soren rubbed a hand across his head. Those gunshots must have hurt like hell, even if they didn’t leave permanent damage.

  The sounds of approaching footsteps were growing louder by the second.

  “Great job Soren,” Inelius called through the broken window. “Now how do we—?”

  “Catch me!” Amalia dove headfirst out the window, plummeting toward the hangar deck.

  Soren’s eyes went wide and he shot a hand out towards Amalia.

  She quickly slowed and then stayed in the air, about ten feet above the floor.

  “Wooahohooh,” Amalia squealed. “This is so cool!”

  He lowered her down and released her, then said, “What the fuck?! You know I can’t always control this!”

  “I had faith in you,” she said lightly with a smile.

  Veolo and Violet jumped through the window, but they opted to climb down in a slightly dramatic display of athleticism—jumping from handhold to handhold.

  It was just Aurania, Inelius, and Riza now.

  The LU troops reached them, running down the hallway from back the way they came.

  But they stopped when Riza squared off and actually raised her hands into a loose stance.

  “Go,” Riza said. She started lightly bouncing from one hoof to the other.

  “Aurania!” Soren shouted up at her. He had his arms bent, palms up like he was offering to catch her if she jumped.

  “What th—”

  She threw Inelius out the window.

  He plummeted down, flailing his arms and legs. Soren jumped up, catching him almost mid-way.

  As they touched back down, Inelius sarcastically said, “My hero,” then crawled out of Soren’s arms.

  Aurania turned back as she heard the pained grunts of several LU soldiers. There were half a dozen stunned personnel on the floor and slumped up against the wall—none of them could touch Riza.

  The sniper took a step back toward Aurania.

  Then dropped her guard.

  Riza offered a crisp salute to the remaining crowd of Liberty Union troops.

  They all went to attention and returned her salute—a couple on the floor even managed to salute back through grimaces.

  Riza spun, grabbed forearms with Aurania, and they both went out the window.

  Aurania sank her axe-blade into the wall and slid down, carving a gash in the metal as they descended.

  They touched down on the hangar deck, Riza let go of her arm, and Aurania turned.

  “What?” she said.

  Soren was standing there, eyes still glowing—but a face of gentle awe.

  “That was really…” he said quietly. Then shook his head and a small smile appeared. “Nevermind.”

  For a brief moment, there was a little quiet. Heavy breathing, scuffed boots on metal flooring as the troops above looked for a way down, and the pulse of emergency lights strobing faintly along the ceiling struts.

  Aurania stepped up to Riza and grabbed her chin. She angled her head, looking over the swelling cheek, but let her go without saying anything.

  “Any gear left behind?” Aurania asked.

  “Nope, looks like they got everything,” Violet answered.

  “They probably haven’t had time to make it all the way to that ship yet,” Inelius added.

  “Let’s get moving then,” Aurania ordered.

  They broke into a jog, boots and hooves clanging on the deck.

  The Ghost loomed at their backs, dark and still, while across the hangar the yawning cargo bay doors promised a whole new challenge. Below those decks, the Aether ship waited.

  “Five decks down,” Inelius called over the alarms.

  “Race you there,” Veolo grinned, but she stayed in formation.

  Aurania took point, Riza gliding up beside her with that same predatory calm from the brawl.

  The first checkpoint came fast—two squads of LU marines scrambling to form a barricade with cargo crates and overturned tool carts. They fired warning bursts, the reports echoing hard in the cavernous space.

  Soren sprinted ahead of the group. A couple marines opened fire and the bullets bounced off him like wads of paper. He blasted through the barricade, sending crates and personnel flying.

  By the time they could scramble back to their feet, the rest of the team was on them.

  “Get their weapons on the deck!” Aurania yelled.

  Veolo was the first to hit them, driving a knee into a marine’s chest that sent him sprawling. Amalia slid in low, swiping a leg, then pivoted into an elbow that cracked against a helmet. Violet flowed past them, her fist finding a jaw.

  As they threw the LU weapons on the floor, Aurania swung her axe-blade. It carved a gash through the floor and the weapons alike.

  Riza brushed past a marine aiming at Amalia—one sharp punch to the ribs dropped him like a sack.

  The checkpoint collapsed in seconds.

  They kept moving, shoving anyone in their path hard enough to make them think twice about standing up.

  “Stairs!” Inelius pointed. “We keep this pace, we’re there in three minutes—”

  “—Hello?!” Tamiyo’s voice broke through comms.

  “Tamiyo?!” Veolo yelled, not slowing. “Where are you?”

  “We’re stuck in one of the large freight elevators! Everything got locked down!”

  “Which one?” Violet asked.

  “3A,” Raine’s voice answered.

  Their group slowed, looked around—

  “That way!” Amalia yelled and pointed.

  They all took off running again.

  “We’re on our way, Babe,” Inelius said casually.

  They encountered no more direct resistance until they made it to where the CIPHERs and d’moria had boarded the freight elevator. When they rounded the corner, half a dozen LU soldiers were guarding the elevator entrances.

  The soldiers spotted the group, but didn’t immediately raise weapons. The lieutenant in charge of the group watched them carefully, then tossed his gun to the deck.

  “Drop your guns,” he ordered his men.

  “You’re just giving up?!” Riza flared.

  The lieutenant raised his hands into a fighting stance. “Didn’t say that, ma’am.”

  “Good man,” Veolo grinned, already running towards him.

  The lieutenant launched himself forward, one fist cocked high—his knee pulled up to his chest, the other leg trailing behind.

  Veolo had to pull up short to dodge, and she quickly kicked her leg out, causing all of the lieutenant’s momentum to be used against him as her hoof made contact with his shoulder.

  The man went flying backwards into one of his subordinates.

  Aurania didn’t even try to join the fight—then she realized none of the rest of them did either. They just watched as Veolo squared off with four standing adversaries plus two more struggling to get back up.

  Yeah, that looks like a fair fight.

  A man lunged—Veolo drove a knee into his gut.

  Another swung, she grabbed his arm and hip tossed him, slamming his body hard into the deck.

  The other two traded jabs with her but never had a chance of touching the silver-haired girl. As she sent them both flying back into the wall, the lieutenant staggered forward, one hand raised.

  “Damn, did I dislocate it?” Veolo asked.

  He grimaced. “Think so.”

  “And still trying to fight,” she circled him. “That was an impressive attack lieutenant. I might have to fuck you if we ever meet again.”

  That caught him off guard, and he caught a spin kick to his good shoulder for the slip up.

  Aurania and the group moved up to the elevator entrances, starting to figure out how to open them.

  From the floor, the lieutenant said in a pained tone, “That was a dirty trick.”

  “What do you mean?” Veolo asked casually. She strode over, crouched down, and patted him on the head. “I was serious.”