Torn Sky (Rebel Wing Trilogy, Book 3) (Rebel Wing Series) by Tracy Banghart Page A

if willing her to understand.
    Galena leaned against the back of the chair, suddenly tired. She felt the threads of the war slipping away from them. No matter what they did, Balias always seemed to stay out ahead.
    Lieutenant Latza cleared his throat.
    “Yes, Lieutenant?” Pyralis didn’t turn around.
    “Alistar isn’t going into his meeting with Ward Balias empty-handed.” The Lieutenant gave Galena an earnest look. “Alistar will share intel with Balias, enough to get back into his good graces. Ward Nekos authorized the plan.”
    Galena flicked her gaze to Pyralis. “What intel?”
    Pyralis headed back to the table. “He’s going to tell Balias we know about the bomb, that we questioned him about it.”
    Her eyes widened. “Won’t that give Balias an even
bigger
advantage?”
    Latza shook his head. “It’s sound intel that Balias can use other spies to back up. It’ll help Alistar gain his trust. And if Balias thinks the weapon is threatened, he’ll send more troops to defend it, or he’ll transfer it to a safer location. Between Alistar and our other channels, we’ll know when and where . . . and we’ll make our move.”
    Looking around at the men gathered in the room, Galena tried to accept that this was all they could do. They’d put their trust in Alistar, in this plan. Perhaps more drastic measures wouldn’t be necessary.
    Pyralis glanced at her over his shoulder before turning back to the commanders. “Thank you, gentlemen. That will be all.” Pyralis waited for them to close the door before he got up and returned to Galena’s side. “What was that?”
    She turned away from him, to look once more at the glittering city. She was trying to save all this, just like he was. “I apologize,” she said. “I should have shared my concerns with you privately first.”
    She wished Pyralis would take her back to his house, where they could sit on the balcony, blanketed by the night, and try to slough away the jagged shards of this day.
    “I’ve never heard you speak like that,” Pyralis continued. “What you suggested . . .”
    Galena abandoned the view for the man beside her. She stepped up to him, cupping his face in her hands. “What I suggested may become a necessity. Can’t you see that? We may
have
to be ruthless. Brutal. In the end, it could be the only thing that saves us.”
    She waited for him to answer, willed him to understand. She would do anything to protect this dominion. Even if it meant becoming a monster.

Chapter 17
    By the time Aris and Milek returned from Feln and the post-mission briefings concluded, it was nearly midnight. Aris crept into her bedroom as quietly as she could. Dysis and Pallas were already asleep, buried under blankets on their cots.
    Instead of climbing into her own bed, she shuffled around the room gathering her nightclothes and a fresh uniform for tomorrow. Milek hadn’t gotten a chance to speak with Commander Helos about sharing a room, but they’d decided to sneak a night together anyway.
    She closed her trunk slowly, but the snick of the latch sounded loud in the silent room. One of the figures shifted in the bed and sighed. Hurriedly, Aris rolled her clothes into a bundle and slipped into the washroom for her toothbrush and face towel.
    “Aris?”
    Startled, Aris turned, expecting to see Dysis in the doorway, but it was Pallas.
    “Everything okay?” Aris whispered.
    “We heard there was an attack on Feln.” The blue safety lights that ran along the floor of the washroom gave Pallas’s face an unhealthy glow. “Did you get there in time?”
    “Almost.” She hated the fear reflected in Pallas’s eyes. “We stopped the attack, but a bomb blew within the stationpoint, just like at Spiro. A few people died.”
    Pallas drew into herself, and the dim light picked up tears against her cheek. “This is never going to end, is it? We’ll keep fighting until they kill us all.”
    Aris gave the girl’s arm a squeeze. “No. We’ll keep fighting