This is the moment when it finally dawns on me that they knew we were coming. We’ve walked right into a trap.

Part of what makes you a Skyhunter is the rush of rage that fills you in the seconds before you attack. Now, as I gear up to move, I can feel that same rush coursing through my veins with blinding heat. Talin had told me of how my eyes glow, transforming me from a young man into something monstrous. Along with this fury comes fear.

I hate the rush. I hate the feeling. And yet, every time it appears, I can’t help but want more of it, hoping that if it swallows me completely, I’d never have to know the destruction I’ve created. Better to hide, right? Better to lose yourself.

I close my eyes; the world around me narrows into a funnel of light.

Then I stand and extend my wings. If the others at the station see me now, they should know I am directing every bit of the soldiers’ attention to me. The guard closest to me freezes, her eyes wide in terror at the sight of me. She waves frantically to the team behind her, but it’s all she has a chance to do. I brace myself, then surge toward the train. If there is nothing we have to stop the train with, then I will have to attempt to inflict the damage myself.

Soldiers dart out of my path as I hurtle toward the train’s massive wheels. My bladed feathers clip against their giant metal spokes, and sparks fly. The hit sends ripples of agony through me, but I grit my teeth and saw desperately into the wheels again.

My attack is no explosion—but the force of me throwing all my weight against the train makes the entire structure rock sideways with a loud groan. The wheels’ spokes bend sharply at the impact, scraping hard against the wheels themselves and bringing the train to a halt.

The others seem to sense immediately what I’m doing, because when my attention shifts to them for a moment, they are already out from their hiding places and rushing into battle in an attempt to get to the train car. I see the blur of Jeran’s figure. He reaches one of the patrols first and twists, blades flashing through the air. Nearby, Adena leaps against the train station’s shed, scales it in an instant, and launches herself off, gun firing.

I turn to face the Karensan soldiers. All the while, my mind whirls with the same question. They knew. They knew. How did they know?

The soldiers have no time to react. All they can do is lift their blades. Some of them point their guns at me, but I slide into a crouch, one of my wings shielding me from their barrage of bullets. I seize the first soldier by the collar and fling him aside; I grab his fallen blade and swing it viciously at the second soldier.