“Could they have been following her?” I ask.
“If they have, they probably know where I live,” she says, mumbling some quiet curses under her breath. “I’m going to have to find somewhere else for us to stay. They won’t ever lay another hand on her.”
I bite my lip. “Adrestia has a penthouse in town. I can take you there for now.”
Avyanna rolls her eyes. “Adrestia is one of the reasons Roxi took off in the first place, so I’m not sure that would be a great idea.”
I scoff. “Well, you’re the biggest reason I took off.”
“Me? Why?”
“Because of the way you look at Adrestia, and the way she seems to revere you. I’m not sure what happened exactly between you guys, but I know you still have feelings for each other, and I can’t get in the middle of that right now,” I say, staring at the floor.
Avyanna approaches me. “Adrestia and I were together a long time ago, and her family stuck their noses where they didn’t belong. She didn’t stop them, and things quickly went south. I have no interest in letting that ever happen to me again, so while I may still have feelings for her I don’t want to admit, a relationship between us will never happen again.”
“Never say never, Avyanna,” I mutter.
She gives me a sad smile, her ice-blue eyes reflecting the depth of her emotions warring inside her.
Chapter fifteen
Looking into Vaelyn’s stormy grey eyes like this, I feel something else I haven’t felt in a long, long time—intrigue and desire. I don’t understand it. Could it be because I smell Adrestia on her? Am I still drawn to Adrestia as much as I was all those years ago?
What I told Vaelyn about Adrestia was the truth; we likely couldn’t have a functioning relationship after what happened. I’m not sure I could trust her again, even if I wanted to. But then Alaric’s claims come back to me:You really think she just stood by and let them do as they pleased with you without interfering? How the hell do you think you were able to get out?
Maybe it’s time I finally talked to Adrestia about what happened.
“I’ll take Roxi to Adrestia’s under one condition,” I say.
She raises an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”
I take a deep breath. “You go with us.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and stares into my eyes. “Fine.”
“Just ‘fine’? No argument?”
“I have nothing better to do right now. And I’d like to make sure she’s okay,” she says, nodding toward Roxi.
“That’s understandable. Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me. They really did a number on her.”
I take a deep breath to keep myself from losing it again. “Are you able to fly with Roxi in your arms?”
She nods. “My wings aren’t attached to my arms.”
“Good. I need you to take her for me, please. It’ll look really strange if I waltzed into Adrestia’s apartment building carrying an unconscious, naked woman.”
“That’d be interesting to witness. At least she’s wrapped in blankets,” Vaelyn says, holding back a laugh. “So, I take it you can’t fly?”
I shake my head. “I wasn’t graced with that ability. I have tried to change into several flying supes, but I’m not able to get the wings to work.”
“Interesting, but unfortunate. I can carry her with no problem, but I won’t be able to carry you at the same time. So I can fly you there one at a time, or you can head there on foot by yourself. The only problem with that is that I don’t know the address or how to get there from the ground. If you could fly, it would be a totally different story, and you could follow me.”
“It’s fine. What do you remember about the surrounding area?”
She shrugs. “Not much. I didn’t really have a chance to look around while I was on her balcony. I did notice that her building was the tallest in the city.”
