Explosions sound from all directions. Shrieks and cries begin only a few moments later. Soon families and shop workers flood onto the main street, driven out of their homes and shops by the explosions. Their faces show confusion and fear. Dozens are injured from the explosions alone, blood dripping onto the street. A small child stands ahead of me, alone and screaming for her mother. I consider turning on the rebels and assisting the people, our plans to infiltrate the rebels be damned, but that won’t help them in the long run.

Rebels emerge from the alleys, armed with weapons and magic. They attack with no warning. Bodies drop to the ground all around me, and I’m frozen in place at the escalation of violence. From what we’ve learned, so far there have been very few casualties resulting from the rebel attacks. Today’s offensive is going to be a massacre.

Shaking all around us indicates there’s another bomb coming. It pulls me out of my trance, and I use aether to create an invisible shield of light around my friends and as many people around us as I can muster. This isn’t a distraction, like Krantz claimed—it’s a slaughter.

Fionn’s and Silene’s eyes widen in horror. They waste very little time, jumping into the fighting but using their magic to discreetly ensure weapons don’t hit their marks and blowing children out of harm’s way with gusts of wind. When a large male turns his sword on a mother and her two children hiding under a barrel, a gust of air conveniently rips the sword from his hand. More and more rebels arrive, looting stores, starting fires, and causing terror wherever they go. Before I can do anything to help, Krantz is urging me to follow him down an alley that hasn’t been bombed. I hesitate. It was one thing to go along with this plan when I thought the worst that could happen was property damage and a few injuries. This is so much more than that.

“Go,” Silene whispers, using her air magic to carry the murmur to my ears only. “With violence like this, Royal Guards will be here soon. We’ll do what we can until they arrive. Don’t let these bastards get a single stalk of thayar from that tower.” I lock eyes with her for only a moment before turning away, praying to whatever gods will listen that I can put a stop to this.

I follow Krantz down the alley, then over a retaining wall that brings us to a higher level of the city. We trek along a side road, and as we walk, other fae join our group every few blocks.