“Which is a symptom of her illness.”

“What illness?”

“Dragon Fever.”

“Dragon Fever?”

“In layman’s terms, the flu, Colonel.”

He let out a derisive snort. “That’s impossible. Soldiers of the Legion do not catch common illnesses. We are immortal.”

“Just because you’re immortal, that doesn’t mean you can’t catch the sniffles,” she replied. “Or any number of other ailments. As you should remember from your visit last year when I treated your little…problem.”

Colonel Fireswift’s face turned as red as hell’s inferno. Nerissa watched him with perfect serenity, her mouth drawing up in challenge, like if pushed she would announce to the whole room what he’d had.

“Take her out of here,” Colonel Fireswift said, looking away from Nerissa.

Whatever she’d treated him for, he was obviously too embarrassed to look her in the eye. It seemed the Colonel had a few weaknesses of his own. And I intended to find out what they were.

Nerissa lifted Lucy into her arms and carried her out of the ballroom. I let out a silent shout of victory. My friend was safe—for now at least. But we had to get Nero back.

Drake stomped down on my foot, and I realized everyone in the room was staring at me. From his high place on the stage, Colonel Fireswift was staring at me with sinister delight. He must have called my name while I was lost in my own thoughts. I tried to look confident as I strode up to the stage.

“The final test of the ceremony,” Colonel Fireswift declared to the whole room with a cold, dark smile.

I had a feeling the order had been intentional. He’d wanted me to see people die, to make me realize I was mortal after all, that I could die, no matter what level I was. This was just another one of his mind games.

“Coming down with the flu too?” he asked me with a challenging sneer.

I countered with a big smile. “Nope. I’m in perfect health.”

I refused to let him get to me. I would make it. I had to save Zane, and I wasn’t going to allow some silly Nectar to defeat me. My body was meant to have Nectar. I could do this. No problem.

“Sip now of the gods’ Nectar,” said Colonel Fireswift. “Consume the magic of their third gift. Let it fill you, making you strong for the days to come.

“For the days to come,” everyone repeated.

I took the goblet he offered me and drank it all down, every single drop. The Nectar’s sweetness ignited my senses, waking me up. It was the most perfect, most delicious thing I’d ever had. I soared on the euphoria of a magic I was meant to have.

And then I crashed. The sweetness soured in my mouth, turning to acid. Instead of sweet ecstasy, the Nectar tasted like the poison that it was. My throat burning, my blood boiling, I staggered to the side. My head was spinning. I was drowning.

Was this the end? Was this what the others tasted before the Nectar killed them? I collapsed to the ground, convulsing. Agony ravaged my body. I felt like I was being turned inside out. I felt a sudden surge of pain pierce my chest, and then the darkness swallowed me.

13

Of Heaven and Hell

I dreamt I was an angel, flying on silver wings, my red hair fluttering in the wind. I walked down the streets of the golden city, looking up at the red and orange sky. The ground shook with earthly tremors as another angel landed before me. He dropped to one knee.

“Sierra,” he said.

“Why do you bow before me, Calin?” I asked him. He’d been doing it ever since we’d first met, and no matter how many times I pleaded with him to stop, he just kept doing it.

“Because you are the Keeper,” he said. “You are our savior.”

I didn’t feel like a savior. I felt…lost. Like I’d inherited someone else’s destiny, like I’d been thrown into a war I didn’t even understand, a war that had been raging since the birth of magic.

“Sierra, we must hurry.” Calin took my arm, leading me toward the gateway to the Treasury. “They are coming. You need to don the armor and wield weapons of heaven and hell. You need to save us all.”

I woke up in a hospital bed, feeling like I’d been flayed, then left out to burn in the scorching sun. I was alone in a dark room. Outside, a full moon shone brightly over the city, mixing with city lights born from a million different sources.

I managed to sit up, but I had to fight for every inch. A hand brushed across my forehead. I turned my head to find Nero in the chair beside my bed.

“Hey,” I said, my voice shaking.

“Hey.”

We stared at each for a few minutes in silence—I because it hurt to talk, Nero because, well, he’s Nero.

“I got your message,” he finally said.

I managed a smirk—or at least half of one. “Which one?”

“All twenty-two of them. You must have really missed me.”

“Well, just look at what happens when you’re gone.”

Nero clenched his jaw.

“I take it you’ve heard of the changes Colonel Fireswift has made around here.”

“Yes.”

“Has Nyx?”

“Yes.”

“And? What is she doing to stop him?”

“Nothing.” The word sank like a stone between us. “He was following her orders to get her more higher level soldiers. Last night, forty-two were promoted.”

“And twelve people died,” I growled. “Not initiates, Nero. Established soldiers of the Legion.”