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Back The Endless Skies
Chapters (57)
  1. Copyright Notice
  2. Dedication
  3. Map
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  55. Also by Shannon Price
  56. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  57. Newsletter Sign-up

Skies. I leap from the edge of the cliff to a new spot by a neighboring tree, drawing the human’s gaze to me. As he opens his mouth for what I imagine would be another threat against my body, I loose two knives and grin as one sinks itself surely in the hand that gestured, and the other in his leg. The human howls in pain just as his horse rears, but I realize quickly that the animal isn’t reacting to his rider’s sudden movement … but to the edge of the cliff surrendering to gravity.

Roots pop and snap as they’re torn from the ground. As the tree tumbles, it smashes into others. I blink furiously as a blast of dust and pollen billows around me. The human grabs his gun from his side and points the barrel at me. I dive as the bullet embeds itself in the branches just above my head.

Desperately, I climb up and onto the thickest of the trees that I can reach. Finding a branch, I grab onto it. It snaps immediately, and instead, I reach for the knot of wood where it stuck out from, the best I have as I fall and slide toward the beach below us.

The human fires again, just as the ground gives.

I wing a prayer skyward, hoping once and for all that the Endless Skies will still take a deserter like me. Sandy earth, splintering branches, and the heavy thud of trees colliding with one another swallow me in their jaws.

Rowan An’Talla, they’ll say. She left and died on Balmora, without her friends. Without honor.

I close my eyes and scream.

28

CALLEN

Wiping the sweat and dirt at my brow, I whip around toward the cypress trees. One of the riders is out of sight. The other’s horse paws idly at the ground, a body swinging idly from its side.

She got away. She must have. But that scream …

“Callen, behind!” Ox shouts.

I duck just as another rider comes up behind me, his sword meeting the empty air where my heart would have been. I duck around his right side, swinging my shield behind me so that it collides with the human’s knee. He howls in pain as his horse carries him in a wide arc away from me.

One rider shouts above the others, and the remaining humans retreat, forming a line out of range of Ox’s reach. Sethran spits on the ground, blood coming with it.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Human got me with a punch,” is his reply. “He could have shot me.”

“Are you sure?”

“That weapon is fire and lightning—yes, he had the shot,” my commander says. “But he didn’t take it.”

I step back, panting heavily. “Which means they don’t want us dead.”

Ox takes Sethran’s other side, eyes fixed on the remaining humans.