Maeve

The battle over, I now faced around 500 Veralians, all of which were glaring at me, waiting for some instruction, some plan. The problem is, I had none.

"First and foremost! We need a place to hunker down, isn't that right Maeve?" Elyas' voice said from beside me, and I let out a deep breath of relief.

I nodded, wracking my brain. Kalon shrugged.

"I know a place... But it won't be easy to get to. We're likely to lose more people."

I arched one brow. "Where? It has to be somewhere the Mariposa won't find us."

"Their old headquarters," Kalon replied.

I winced, but Elyas perked up.

"They have another headquarters? That's perfect! Is it abandoned?"

I nodded slowly. "It is, but..."

The Veralian man I spoke to before the battle spoke up. "Then take us there. We are tired and need desperately to rest."

I let out a heavy sigh. "We can't."

"Maeve," Elyas started.

"Why not?" the Veralian argued.

"In order to get to it, you have to fly through a lightning field... Only those with the best wings and the best skills in flying can get there. I've never even ventured there myself. We'd lose too many people," I finally said, my heart sinking in disappointment.

The Veralian gave me a blank look. "Once again, I have to ask.... What other choice have you left us? We have to try."

Elyas grabbed my shoulder, turning me towards him. "We can't fit all these people in your little tent, Maeve. You wanted an army. Here it is, now you need to be able to take care of them."

I hesitated, glancing at the ragtag group waiting for my orders. Sighing once more, I faced them. "Alright. Like I warned you, the trip to this abandoned headquarters will undoubtedly be dangerous. Many of you will likely die. If you'd like to abandon ship, now is the time to do it. Perhaps you could hide in the lower tiers... However... if you choose to follow me, we will start our way there now. Make your decision wisely. Those who are following me... Try and keep up."

Kalon and I took off flying, Elyas shortly behind us. I didn't dare look back to see how many followed us. I didn't want to know. I drifted closer to Kalon.

"Do you know where this place is?"

"I know it's general direction, yes. Once we get close, we'll know. That lightning field is hard to miss."

We flew for several hours through the sunny sky. No Mariposa were following us, and I assumed they were still debriefing after the battle. We had to rise to the middle tier, and I finally chanced a glance over my shoulder. To my surprise, it seemed most of them had chosen to follow us. Up ahead were giant dark clouds, with flashes of blinding light from cloud to cloud. Torrential rain poured from the clouds, and I knew we had reached our entrance to the headquarters.

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Coming to a stop, I turned to give some instructions to the Veralians. A quick crash course on flying wouldn't do much, but it was better than nothing. "Fly with the wind and not against it! Your goal is to get as high in the storm as possible. At the highest point it is mostly ice crystals, while the lower points contain hail and more of the rain. Watch carefully for lightning bolts. The area that this lightning field covers is not long, so if you manage to survive through it, it's a quick trip. Good luck."

Turning, I couldn't help gulping as I eyed the storm. I made myself think of the old woman... my mom's best friend and the way she got trampled in the storm of people leaving the factory. I had to be brave just like her. I owed her and mom that much.

I shot forward, trying to make my body as narrow as possible. The wind immediately grabbed me in its deathly tight grip, tossing me and yanking me around like a rag doll. Flying with it, I did my best to just avoid the hail flying at me from every direction. That was much easier said than done. One struck my face, several struck my arms and legs. Bracing my arm over my face, I continued flying and breathed a small sigh of relief when the wind current released me.

That sigh of relief was cut short when a lightning bolt flashed right before my eyes. My heart stopped for a full moment, and everything went in slow motion.

In that moment, my only thought was that I hoped this would be worth it. I had to see victory. For the Veralians. For Kalon. Even for Elyas... Even for Azriel.

That thought pushing me forward, I rose through the storm, trying to avoid the areas where the wind was the strongest. My clothes hung tightly to my skin, wrapping me in their cold cocoon as the wind created a vacuum around my body. The noise was deafening, and water filled my eyes, blocking my vision. I could feel ice forming on my skin and on my lashes. My body started to burn with how icy it was. I panted, my body working overtime to even breathe properly.

I wasn't sure how I was going to make it, much less these Veralians.

Yet, I finally managed to rise above the worst part of the storm. The rain was now tiny, brilliant ice crystals flying in my direction. I caught one, looking at its sharp angles and fragility. Looking ahead, I could just barely see a light through the clouds. I was nearing the eye. I was nearing the headquarters. I was nearing salvation.

Breaking out the other side, I almost sank out of sheer relief. All these years of being an assassin and putting my life on the line, this was the most scared I had been for my life. There truly was no greater opponent than mother nature. I looked around and smiled when I saw Kalon in very much the same state I was in. I flew towards her, wrapping her up in a hug. Her teeth were chattering loudly as she laughed, hugging me back.

"We made it!" she said breathlessly.

"We made it!"

The next one to break through the clouds was Elyas, about ten minutes after us. He stopped, bent over, his hands on his knees as he panted.

"I never want to do that again," he said through breaths.

I looked to the clouds, anxiously hoping for any of the Veralians to break through. At the least, the one I had argued with. But no one could be seen.

Kalon watched me, sighing. "We can't wait out here for them. If we don't get inside and get ourselves warm, we could still die, Maeve."

I nodded. "I know."

I turned to the headquarters. It stood tall in the clouds, already an imposing structure, but even moreso surrounded on all sides by dark and stormy clouds. It was only one building but had several stories. It was abandoned due to just how difficult it was to get to. At first the difficulty gave it an exclusivity. But as the Mariposa grew in number, it just became unrealistic.

However, it made it perfect for the Veralians... if they survived that is.

Flying inside, I breathed another small sigh of relief. I was still freezing, but the building at least blocked the sheer wind force of the storm. I flipped a switch by the door, praying it was still powered. To my surprise, it immediately powered on.

Kalon smiled at my shocked look. "It's powered by the surrounding storm. That type of power will always be working. I believe there's heaters in the living quarters. We should split up and look for them."

I nodded, agreeing. We each went down separate hallways connecting to the main lobby. The walls were a bright white, with metallic grey accents. Mariposa wings hung on the wall, I presumed as decoration and commemoration. I read a sign that said I was headed towards the living quarters, and I sped up. Stopping at the first door I could, I swung it open.

I came to a fierce halt at what I saw. Laying on the bed was a skeleton, their Mariposa uniform hanging limply on the bones.