Trust and Triumph

The Amberloq face their greatest fears to secure the Crown of Dornte.

Valorous Thornebane might have envisioned her genetically engineered soldier program being the best way to secure the Crown of Dornte, but when Andras Brass sold out and redirected the army against them, that all changed.

Now, instead of protecting Dornte, Gen-3 soldiers threaten to undermine everything they’re trying to rebuild in the quadrant.

With the financial backing of greedy citizens funding their treachery, Lark and her mates must rebuild the Amberloq force and eliminate the threat once and for all.

Their quint is set. The Amberloq forces are ready. The final battle has begun.

Lark
Smoke and dust fill my lungs as I gasp for air, the taste of ash heavy on my tongue. My eyes burn as I blink, grit irritating them as I scan the scene of chaos. The once grand library of the Amberloq mountain retreat has been reduced to a smoldering wreck.
Books are scattered across the floor, pages torn free, singed and fluttering like burned leaves. The shattered remnants of shelves jut out at odd angles, threatening to impale anyone who comes too close.
I’m disoriented, lying among the wreckage, trying to piece together what happened. Jagged concrete is stabbing my wing and, by the wet warmth spreading down my hip, I’m pretty sure I’m bleeding.
It comes back to me in a blur at first and then rushes in with terrifying clarity. Shift and I were leaving the kids to help with the search for the Gen-3 infiltrators.
When the bomb went off, we were approaching the door to the corridor. A deafening explosion detonated, and the power of the blast threw us off our feet and sent us flying.
“Shift?” I cough out his name and push up onto my elbow.
“Here.” Shift’s deep voice is strained but steady.
I find him in a push-up position, sprawled over River and Bay with a heap of wood and shelving lying across his back.
Scrambling on shaky legs, I stumble closer. “Shit. Are you all right?”
“It’s not me. The boys are unconscious and if I move, I’m afraid they’ll be crushed by the debris falling on them. They are much frailer than I am.”
As quickly as I can, I grab the end of a piece of broken shelving and sling it off to the side. I take a few more minutes to dig them out and then I’m helping Shift to his feet.
“Are you all right?” I brush off his shirt, my adrenaline pumping as I take in his disheveled appearance. His golden hair is streaked with soot, and his clothes are singed and torn.
“I sustained minimal damage.” Shift grunts, wincing as he straightens. “My system is functioning well within acceptable ranges. I am more concerned about you. Where is this blood coming from?”
“I’m not sure,” I say, more worried about the angry red burns on his arms and the blood dripping from a gash on his forehead. “You need to heal yourself first.”
“Already working on it. Now, let me see.”
Without waiting for a response, he tugs my shirt up my ribs and my pants down my hip. There’s no use arguing with him. He’s a healer and one of my mates. There’s no way he’ll let me check on the others until he’s sure I’m good first.
While he tends to my injury, I watch his wounds mend before my eyes. His hands are heaven as he channels his molecular realignment ability and knits me back together.
When he straightens, I breathe a sigh of relief. “Now the others.”
He scans the room, his golden eyes filled with concern. “You find them, and I’ll triage their status.”
“Right.” I pull my pants back up and bend to check on the two teenagers at our feet. River’s marine blue feathers are battered and covered with drywall dust and debris, but I don’t see any injuries.
Bay has a few minor cuts and scrapes marring his skin, but nothing that we need to worry about right now. “I think they’re fine.”
Shift seems to agree and moves toward the kids pinned against the window wall. “They are already regaining consciousness.”
I spot a hand poking out from beneath a pile of broken wood. It turns my stomach to know that the kids I protected for two years in the goblin camp have been targeted by this level of violence when they are working on rebuilding.
I grip the edge of what looks like a broken shelf and lift with all my might. It doesn’t even move.
“Shift. Help me with this debris.”
Together, we unearth Warren, freeing him from confinement.
“Where is your damage?” Shift’s hands move over Warren’s arms and legs, assessing his injuries. When he brushes his sides, the young warrior winces. “You have sustained several breaks along your ribs. Lay still for a moment.”
While Shift works on him, I continue to search.
River and Bay are both awake and sitting up now. “Once you feel up to it, help us find the others.”