“No, it’s not,” I fire back. I can’t keep it in. If what Shirene says is true, then nothing I worried about since leaving the Heliana matters. I want to fight, even to the death. “Seth is right. There are still children we can save. And those children matter. Listen to that!” I say, pointing angrily toward the city. “Our people are fighting. Our friends are fighting.”

Shirene flinches. “Rowan, the heir is dead. You know as well as I that the Heliana relies on the prince’s magic. And now there is none. There is no hope.”

“Maybe not for the prince,” I fire back. “But I felt my magic come back to me once we hit the Cliffs, even after the city was in the water. I refuse to give up. Not after everything we’ve lost.”

Taking my share of the cure, I shove it into Sethran’s chest. “Here,” I say. “Take this to the other children. Or have someone else do it. I’m going to fight.”

Before any of them can say anything different, I grab Callen’s hand and pull him with me. He follows, and the two of us leap from the Queen’s Tower in our human forms. For just a moment, we’re falling. For just a moment, we grab onto each other, his lips meeting mine.

In the next, we’ve both taken our lion forms. Sweeping low along the rooftops, we fly toward the fight.

Screams and roars echo at us from all sides, peppered with the sound of gunfire as we land two streets back from the front lines. My blood pounds wildly in my veins.

Someone from his cohort must recognize Callen and calls out his name. He responds, following the voice into a building that is usually a school for dancers. We take our human forms as we duck inside. The wide wooden floor is littered with dust and blood, but in the midst of it is Callen’s father.

General An’Kivva looks up when he sees his son, his mouth gaping for just a moment. A look of relief crosses over his face, before quickly returning to his usual, serious expression. The advisors at his side call his attention back, but the look is enough for Callen.

“They gave him a command,” Callen says in disbelief. A small smile crosses his face.

“I bet everyone is being called on to help,” I reply.

He nods. “I’ll find out where he wants us.”

Callen’s just stepped away when out of nowhere, arms wrap around my shoulders. I push at my attacker instinctively, until I recognize the smell of the perfume on her skin. Vera always buys the expensive stuff.

“You!” she says. She releases me from her grasp, and I turn around, only to wrap her in a hug. “You are so stupid. How could you?”

“I know.”

“What were you thinking?”