Chapter 791

"No," I say, shaking my head, a little frantic.

"Ari!" Jackson bites out, and I snap my head back to the front ahead of me, realizing that I got distracted - that two of my whirlwinds are faltering.

"Shit shit," I murmur, more curses rushing through my mind as I force more power into the original whirlwind and set it again on its path. But I don't start the other two, instead snapping my head back up to the tanks and exploding them into flames, one by one, before they can even reach the bulk of our forces, of my people.

"Fuck, man," Roger murmurs, awed as he takes in the mess of twisted steel that litters the battlefield, as I collect the fire from each of them into a swirling mass larger than the rest - into a hurricane of fire that now stands between the forces and the Atalaxians coming for them.

Because I'm not letting it happen - I'm not letting my people die -

"Ariel!" Rafe barks out. "You can't concentrate on defense! That's not part of the plan!"

"I'm not sacrificing them!" I shout back, pissed off.noveldrama

He grabs my arm, forcing me to look at him. "Everyone on this battlefield - everyone is as willing to sacrifice themselves as you are, okay!?"

I stare up into my brother's face, shocked by the rare emotion there.

"You need to concentrate on offense, Ariel!" he shouts down at me, shaking his head vehemently. "We need you to take them out - do you understand me!? Not just protect! They - they've got Jesse - we don't know -"

I gasp, even as Roger grabs Rafe and hauls him back, scolding him for bringing Jesse into this, for letting his emotions shine through.

"Do they?" I ask, whipping my head to Jackson.

"No," he bites out, snarling as he looks over at Rafe. "Or, we don't know, Ariel - I don't know why Rafe said that - he's letting his emotions run away with him -"

I frown, looking back towards the battlefield, knowing immediately what I want. If they did take Jesse? If they're holding him?

God, I could kill them all.

I grit my teeth, concentrating on the hurricane of fire, and slowly begin to build it.

"You need to be on the offensive, Ariel!" Rafe barks out, deeply misinterpreting my action.

I ignore him.

"Roger!" I bark out. He snaps his head to me. "Tell Cora to cut the storm. Let them send their air force. If we have any planes in the air, get them out."

"Wh-what?" Roger sputters.

"Oh fuck," Jackson whispers, staring down at me.

"Do it!"

There's a long pause of silence

before Roger does as I say, his hand snapping to his ear piece as he

sends my orders down the line to my father. It takes a few minutes to go into effect, for the storm to dissipate, for the steady hum of aircraft to build in the distance.

I don't say a word the entire time, simply building the hurricane, letting it grow. Whatever the Atalaxians send in the meantime I destroy, adding the fuel to the fire even as I pull on Jackson's incredible well of strength. Building something huge, something unstoppable.

Rafe wants offense? I'll give him fucking offense.

"Steady, trouble," Jackson murmurs at my side, watching as the incredible force I've conjured turns steadily in the center of the battlefield. "Hold some back," he urges, steady. "Just in case."

"No," I growl, completely unable to imagine anything that could stop me now. My canines elongate and

rage pumps in my heart. My whole body begins to hum with it, warm and steady and true.

"Ariel," Jackson's word is anxious. But I ignore him, my eyes snapping to the sky as little dots begin to appear.

"What's that?" Rafe murmurs, snapping his face towards Roger.

"Shit," Roger whispers, tilting his head up. "Shit..."

The rumble of aircraft is louder and louder, building until -

I don't even blink as the armada of

fighter jets appear, streaking through the air, heading right for us. God, hell but they're fast - faster than I thought they'd be. I grit my teeth, my fangs bared, wondering if I've overstepped myself - if I've gone beyond my means

But I don't let the doubt sit long. Because Atalaxia has seized their chance, just as I hoped they would. And they've sent every plane that they've got.

I begin to tremble as I try to be patient, to let them come, to fly over my hurricane of flame. My breath comes in tiny pants as I try to begin to move the huge fire. But it's so heavy - so much slower than I thought-

"Pull it back, Ariel!" Jackson barks out. "The big one - collapse it! Go smaller, take them out one by one like you did with the helicopters!"

I take in an unsteady breath, trying to do as he says, snapping my head upwards as I concentrate on the planes that soar above me. I concentrate on them one by one, my magic moving fast, the panes exploding almost as soon as I set eyes on them -

But there's so many - it's too much -

God, have I completely miscalculated? Have I doomed us all with my arrogance and my rage?

It's only a moment before the planes reach our lines of troops.

And then the bombs begin to drop.