“Did they just–”

Adalyn’s voice is cut off in the rising panic of the crowd, shouts and screams mixed together.

Liam steadies me, as the members of the Black Band roughly shove anyone who tries to run.

“They blew up the old warrens!” I shout.

Adalyn scowls, not exactly in the moment. “They blew up our home,” she hisses, more than a little angry.

“Not the point!” Liam shouts, pointing to a doe being lifted by two bucks. “The cause has finally made its move!”

“By blowing up our home…” Adalyn hisses under her breath.

Some people point up, and I glance up to see a flying rabbit circle over the crowd.

“A flying rabbit,” I say, hysteria creeping into my tone. “Natalia has flying rabbits. You guys are nuts.”

“No, we don’t!” Adalyn says, dragging me forward. She leaves me and Liam for a moment, swiftly pilfering a sword from a Black Band member–one who was too busy wrestling with the crowd.

“Weapon,” Adalyn says. “Let’s go.”

“Where?” I demand. “We’re surrounded, and until something bad happens, we’re stuck here.”

Adalyn can’t speak before the flying rabbit shouts suddenly, “The seed of the new world smolders! But a fire comes first. Bear the flame!”

“Get back!” shouts a doe, the crowd complies. Adalyn vanishes into the crowd as it surges back, and Liam grips my hand. Panic is in his eyes–he doesn’t want to lose me.

And in one deafening explosion, the statue that desecrates the sacred standing stones, falls in a heap of stone and metal, acrid black smoke rising.

The flying rabbit is in the air again, gliding, every single eye following his flight. He lands on the seventh standing stone, and shouts in a clear voice, “Now, rabbits of First Warren, join your fellows in the fight! Free the younglings, fight the enemy! For the Green Ember and the Mended Wood!”

The crowd surges in many directions at once.

“Stupid ankle,” I hiss under my breath, but push through the pain to run a little faster.

Liam makes sure I stay with the crowd before darting off, grabbing a fallen sword, and joining the fray.

I stare blankly at his retreating back. Me, the commanding officer of one of the most elite Terrelain divisions, not fighting?

It’s an injury, Faye. Soldiers have to rest after injuries, my father’s voice echoes in my mind, effectively shaking me out of my stupor.

Most parents have found their children already, but a few of the younger ones are struggling.

I move forward, trying to find order in the chaos of the attack.

There’s a screech, but barely anyone stops except the already panicked younglings.

“Oh, for the love of–” I say, dodging a Black Band member, who seems to have picked me as his target.

I continually dodge another one of his attacks, pain lacing up my leg. I grit my teeth and fight past the pain. I reach for my knife, the one that Adalyn gave me, and falter when I find it’s missing.

Quickly, I grab the attacker’s wrist, and twist it in a way that I know isn’t natural. There’s a sick snapping, and he stumbles back, clutching his wrist.

“You little–” he hisses.

I’m already gone. The crowd seems to have lessened, showing the resistance members fighting the Black Band, and out of the corner of my eye, I can see the raptor sentinels and Falcowit getting closer. If they get here, death will rain from above.

It would be a poetic way to go.

Some people swing onto the balcony where Prince Winslow is standing, and one of them points a knife at Winslow.

They must be brothers, reminding me of a certain pair of brothers I used to know.

The other one, an older black buck, begins to fight Daggler.

My gaze breaks away from them as a resistance member hurriedly drags me to somewhere safe, despite my protests.

“Stay here,” he says firmly.

I scowl.

I turn to the groups of people huddled together. “Does anyone have a weapon?” I demand, arms crossed.

Because I, Captain Faye of the Terrelain Guard, don’t go down without a fight.

Adalyn

A shout rises up, and many things happen at once. I nearly get lost in the chaos of all of it, but enemies tend to find me quickly. Weezie breaks off with some of the resistance to lead the families away to the safest havens in the city. A blood-curdling screech interrupts the movement, but most of the people ignore it and keep moving. The rabbits who infiltrated the crowd work all the harder to focus the escape.

Liam is already lost in the chaotic movements, and I can see Faye weaving through the crowd.

I look up in alarm, seeing that the raptors, led by Lord Falcowit are speeding back. Wolves are pouring out of the dam fortress, by the hundreds, and I estimate they’ll be here in a matter of seconds. A few arrows skitter on the stones near me, breaking me out of my trance. I turn and see a few archers aiming their arrows at me and a few people around me. I duck into the crowd and kill some distance between me and them.

In the chaos, I could hear Daggler shouting angry orders. Packslayer begins his descent, and shouts and clashes of steel against steel block out any discernible noise.

I immediately go into action. Joining the resistance members, we press hard against the wolves, in a flurry of flashing silver and shouts of pain.

My vision begins to blur as exhaustion takes over me, and I can hardly see out of my left eye–blood leaking down and blocking my vision.

Fight, I scream to myself. Father would fight. So should I.

Before I could attack any more wolves, an ear splitting explosion shatters the air, followed by a few more blasts. The wall explodes. The wolves are put off for a minute, the raptors surprised, and there is a gap. And the gap fills.

Thousands of rabbits swell forward, banners waving, indicating their different citadels. Relief fills me–we might have a chance at winning this. Cheers rise up as the sight of the causers fill the fighting rabbits with new vigor.

And we fight for our freedom.

Formatting wasn't working out on this chapter for some reason so sorry if it looks weird lol

this took me ages to write bc my brother was reading Ember Rising and I only recently reclaimed it from him lol

anyways, yesterday it was snowing. IN APRIL. ITS RIDICULOUS. it cannot be SNOWING 😒 (and it wasn't even good snow, it melted after five minutes)

I detest writing action scenes...but next chapter's gonna be fun cuz we have ✨speeches✨