“Yeah, they were born into the Hopeless city. Their powers are a bit stronger than mine. They’ve had longer to train their abilities. But they took me in. Helped me understand what I was. I was never alone because of them.” I glance to him. His strong jaw is tilted down as he watches his boots skim across the dry grass.
My heart warms thinking of the three of them as a family.
I wish I had that.
“Shit. We’re here,” Daxdyn says, his chest brushing against my back as we all come to an abrupt stop.
It’s felt like an eternity has passed, but the black ocean that separates this safe land from the kingdom of Juvar is now right in front of me. The ocean would probably be beautiful if the sun could cast across it. Nothing but inky color shines within the depthless sea.
Dread sinks into me at just the sight of the drifting water. The waves crash against shore, pushing recklessly at it. An enormous ship is anchored at the coast. The ship makes my stomach sink even further.
Across the broad side of the glossy ship are the carefully written words The Noble Kingdom of Juvar.
It looks like a prison all on its own.
Two soldiers enter the only building in sight. The three fae make their way closer to that building, and my steps begin to slow. I fall back until I’m barely keeping up with them.
“Stay out here, we’ll make some arrangements,” Ryder tells me as all three of them enter the only building around for miles.
The building isn’t one I’d willingly step foot in anyway. Jagged pieces of what once were the windows hang from wide openings in the brick structure. Ash taints every inch of it, shadowing it with a burnt and decayed look.
I lean against the wall, letting the char stain my clothes. Dark clouds and pollution cover the sky, shutting out the sunlight and any sign of the good mood I possessed from earlier this morning.
Two men in pressed uniforms descend the ship. My heart thrashes at the sight of them walking my way. It only takes a second for me to make up my mind. Stealthily, I slip into the building.
The door swings open with a shuddering, screeching sound. I flinch from the noise. Then, I come face to face with Daxdyn.
His posture tenses at the sight of me.
“You shouldn’t be in here.” His warm palms shove against my shoulders but, with a simple turn, I slip away from him. He isn’t his brother. He doesn’t manhandle me like his brother. Realistically, I don’t believe Daxdyn has the aggression in him to wrestle me to the dirty floor over something he barely seems to care about.
He watches me with interest as I skim my index finger along a tall table. Dust clings to my fingertips. Opened cardboard boxes litter the floors and wooden table tops. Tattered envelopes of every size are scattered haphazardly in every corner. The letters USPS graces every one of the forgotten parcels.
“They told you to wait outside. If Darrio finds you here, he won’t be happy.”
I almost roll my eyes. Is Darrio ever really happy?
“Perhaps I’ll tell him his brother snuck me in.” I look up at him from beneath my long lashes. Firmly, my lips pull together.
His mouth opens with a slight smile. “Do you always have something terrible waiting on the tip of your tongue to be said?”
At the mention of my tongue, he takes his time crossing the messy room. His fingers splay across the tabletop, an inch away from my own. The lean muscles of his chest are emphasized by his thin white shirt that’s stretched across it.
“It could just be that I’m a terrible person, Daxdyn.” The crooked smile on his lips causes me to breathe out his name on an uneven breath.
“I don’t believe that.” The warmth of his palm skims along my jaw as he carefully pushes back my long blonde hair. “You saved us from that tower. I thought I’d die up there, and you saved me.” A look of wonder gleams in his gray eyes.
The screeching of the door breaks the trance in an instant.
“Shit.” He shoves me by the back of my head until I’m crouched down. From below the table, past mounds of boxes and crinkled papers, I can barely see Darrio’s wide shoulders spanning the doorframe.
Why can’t I be in here? Because I’m a girl? Because they think they’re in charge? Or are they hiding the arrangements they are making here?
My teeth grind together just thinking about what their petty reasoning could be.
“What are you doing? We’re almost done already.”
Daxdyn tilts his head down and gives me a long, hard look before releasing his fingers from my hair and giving his brother a smooth smile.
