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"Duck," I shout as another wind spike blasts a wind him withtoward Vane

I scream as he scraround Another windmill explodes next to him, and he dives to the sand and misses most of the shrapnel

I order my Southerly to drop me near Vane, but another wind spike whooshes toward e to duck The force spins me into a windainst theme streaks away

There are no healthy winds to call My breath is knocked out of me as I crash to the sand

"Audra!" Vane screams He sounds far away, and I can’t tell if it’s because the winds are so loud or because he’s been pulled away Or h the pain

I stu down my cheek My hand turns red with blood, but I dry it on my pants and press forward I feel for a draft--any draft--to call, but find only broken, useless winds

The Stormers crippled the air

Crippledthe eerie winds But every draft I destroylike needles as it weighs me down and clouds my path I press forward anyway I have to help Vane

Dozens of wind spikes explode aroundme in rubble I shove myself free of the dirt, rocks, metal, and who knohat else in ti blood and dirt fro with the windslicer For one second the wall of windy ray drop fro forward as they bind hiray coil of drafts

A wall of arctic wind sla a waterfall The force overpowersto hold on to my weapon as I drown in the vicious, broken draft

Vane shouts et tossed backward by another icy blast It pins rown chilly thorns

I hold the windslicer to the airstreah to showI can’t hear--but it looks like "Don’t do it"

Then the Stormers form a pipeline and shoot him out of the storainst my chest like a frozen whip I barely notice the pain

I won’t let the I’ve worked for--sworn to--coht should shake me, but it actually fills me with calm I wonder if my father felt the sa all of them to surround me so I can surrender myself to them

The shattered, ruined drafts won’t answerI can do I can’t surrender myself if the winds won’t take me

Tears stream down my face I want to scream Crumble Collapse

But over the roar of the storhter

I open my eyes and find a Stormer a few feet in front of rins like a lion stalking his prey "Noe can’t have you sacrificing yourself That would ruin everything"

He slams me with a cold, ruined Northerly Another frozen whip, this tihs as I wipe blood offall over the desert, worrying ere up against sohost of a Gale But you’re just a scrawny little girl with the sa trick up her sleeve as her father Too bad for you ere ready for that play this ti the wind out of hs as I hack and wheeze "Don’t worry If you want to die, that can easily be arranged"

I screath fills me

I never wanted to die

I wanted to save Vane

I will save Vane

My grip tightens on my windslicer

They can break the winds But they won’t break uardian they’re dealing with

CHAPTER 51

VANE

I expected to screaht

But as the Storround, away from Audra, away froe

This is what they did to my parents To countless Westerlies

They won’t do it toWesterly--I can break some stupid wind bonds

The streams of cold, se ainst thehten more Not my etting fuzzy,th I don’t know if that’s possible, but I’m not about to sit around and find out

An Easterly streaks by and I order it to slam into my bonds It bounces off like rubber At least it responds I h above those creepy busted winds down in the storainst it, like they’d turned rough Hard

I guess I should’ve grabbed a knife before I left I can move ets close

Metal slicing through flesh Blood splashing on ht the sudden nausea and dizziness

I’et out of this with rainbows and sunshine If it takes violence, I will pull together the guts to use it

Not that it rabbed was a stupid packet of pain pills