Of all the things she could have done upon returning to Lyriumia, having to divide and conquer between helping Amneris and Lvaane, and the attack on Iraliya were not on her list. Actually, no, that wasn’t entirely true. Carmin had been expecting something to happen for days now. She just didn’t know what. The one time she wished her power had told her about an attack instead of some vision of a battlefield . . .

Carmin had been enjoying a nice cup of lava tea when word reached her and the Court. They’d split up from there. Hathor and Kayla went straight to Amneris. Jay, for some reason, went to find Ema. This left the rest of the Court to help defend the Sky City.

In theory.

What really had happened was Zoe and Nikki rushing off to warn the other five cities, just in case, leaving only Carmin and Dan to fly to Iraliya as fast as they could. As they moved, Leo’s message came through. He and Colt were on their way. Guards and Soldiers were already within the city as always.

Carmin had the image of the Sky City in her mind.

Of the Six Cities of Lyriumia, Carmin found this one the most beautiful of them all. The round city of Iraliya floated above the clouds on an ancient technologic platform, slowly circling the planet. Glimmering silver towers stood proudly in the sun, separated with green grass, cool wind currents, and rivers of pink-white cloud. Clouds fell from the rounded edges of the city as though they were waterfalls.

This was not what awaited them.

The silver towers were scorched black as fires spread through the city at an alarming wait, clouds of smoke bellowing from the smoking ground and towers alike, blocking out the evening light of the sun. Multi-coloured energy blasts appeared here and there as blows were traded between the city’s attackers and defenders. Some were in close combat, others being cases. It looked to be a one-sided battle, and they were losing.

As they approached, Carmin could see who led the strike.

Kek stood on a platform of magic, the colour such a dark blue it was almost black. A strange decision to have one who could not fly lead an attack on a floating city miles and miles above the planet, right on the edge of the atmosphere. Surely there was a reason for that . . .

Carmin exchanged a glance with Dan. He nodded at her. They would save the people first, everything else could come in second. There were procedures in place for in case they lost Iraliya. Lives were more important than buildings.

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Leo and Colt caught them as they were about the enter the battle zone.

“Fancy meeting you two here,” Leo yelled over the wind. “Hope you’ve got a plan, Strategist.”

“Get civs to safety,” Dan called back. “We can deal with Kek once they’re out.”

“It is more complicated than that,” Colt said, bringing is hoverbike up next to Carmin. “Someone decided to guard the items from Iraliya. We cannot let Kek get them.”

All eyes went to Leo.

“Dude, seriously?” Dan asked.

“Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time!” he countered.

“It’s Iraliya,” Carmin said. “First line of defence on Lyriumia. And you put the items there instead of Lapide?”

“I didn’t think they’d think they were there,” Leo explained.

Carmin shook her head. “We can argue about this later.”

“Right,” Dan said. “You two get the items to safety. Car and I will get the people out.”

The three nodded.

Leo and Colt shot ahead to confront Kek.

Carmin and Dan split up to take on different sides of the city.

* * * * * * * *

Carmin wasn’t met with any resistance as she circled the city. It was strange, to say the least. She’d expected some of Kek’s warriors to come after her. Surely the Terpolites wouldn’t want anyone to escape. So why was no one stopping her?

A shrill cry of what sounded like joy answered the question.

Ema rode a hoverboard through wind currents. She spotted Carmin and leaned forward, the speed of the wind picking up.

As the Fae woman came closer, Carmin realised she was not alone. Jay gripped her tightly from behind as the pair tag-teamed the warriors who’d been on the way to ambush Carmin.

With the last one taken out, Jay waved at Carmin. The two Fae zoomed off to help Dan.

* * * * * * * *

Carmin landed in the city, looking around with wide eyes at the extent of the damage. Broken walls, shattered windows, scorched ground. Some of the buildings had even collapsed!

She armed herself with her twin blades, cautiously making her way through the ruins of the once great city.

A moving shadow made her move forward, knives at the ready. She stopped in time to find a small group—a family, she presumed—hiding behind the rubble. They recognised her immediately. The group called out to others coming out of their own hiding places. None appeared to be seriously injured.

They hadn’t been able to leave. The main exit passages had been blocked off. Others had been killed as they attempted their own escape. Carmin assured them they would make it. They followed her through the ruins.

The group reached the edge of the floating platform, Dan and has own group waiting. He smiled at his wife before jumping, flying in the lead. The rest of the group followed, Carmin taking up the rear. Ema and Jay followed close by just in case.

They were met with no resistance. Kek’s warriors paid them no attention as they left.

The group made it a safe distance from the city when a resounding BOOM! filled the air. Seconds later, Kek and his warriors flew into the sky, leaving the planet.

Carmin turned to her husband who now hovered beside her. She squeezed his hand.

As much as they wanted to go after Kek, getting these people to safety was the priority.

With one last look over her shoulder, Carmin flew to the front of the group and led them toward the ground.