Chapter Twenty-Eight: Fall of Kings
The burning citadel fell like a second moon.
Chunks of flaming metal rained across Manhattan, smashing rooftops, igniting towers, sending civilians screaming into streets below.
Sirens multiplied.
Car alarms wailed.
The sky itself seemed to burn.
And at the center of the ruined avenue, everyone looked up and understood the same truth. That if it hit whole thousands would die.
*****
Cassandra
Her knees buckled.
Too much power had left her body too quickly. The bond surge with Cicilia had broken the citadel’s shields, but not its mass.
Her vision blurred.
“I can’t…” she whispered.
Jason was at her side instantly.
“You can.”
“No,” she said, furious at weakness. “Not alone.”
Maxwell crouched on her other side, checking her pulse with maddenin
