I even us out, closing my eyes briefly while taking in the feel of it all. Between the wind beneath my wings and Kallie clutched in my arms, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.
“This is incredible,” she says softly. I’m transfixed on her, on her beauty and the way she takes in the scenery, because I know she appreciates it too.
“It’s the second-most beautiful thing this world has to offer.”The comment slips out, like it was too important to keep trapped in my never-ending thoughts.
She brings her gaze to me. “What’s the first?” But I can’t bring myself to answer. Instead, I stay focused on keeping her calm. Fuck, I need to keep myself calm. The beat of my wings threatens to mimic the one of my heartbeat, slowly rising the longer she stares at me with curiosity in her eyes.
One of her hands pulls off my neck, and there’s a brief moment when I think she’s going to jump—not necessarily to die but just to be annoying, because despite the constant bickering, she knows I’d never let her hit the ground.
But she never drops. Instead, her body pushes a little closer, but her eyes are transfixed on something behind me. For a moment, I think there is some sort of attack, but that goes right out the window when the faintest hint of body heat appears next to one of my wings.
“Don’t.” It’s not harsh but more of a subtle plea. Because, especially with her this close, if she were to run a single finger over a feather, all bets would be off, and I’m not sure if I could contain myself.
She pulls back sharply. “Sorry, I thought—” I know what she thought. They’re new, and as she’s statedmultipletimes, they’re magnificent, and she just wanted to see how they would feel beneath her touch. But from the look of hurt she wears, I know she took it the wrong way.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“It’s fine. I heard you loud and clear.” This isn’t how I wanted the day to go. This wasn’t how this moment was supposed to play out. Frustrated with myself, she goes back to the loose touch around my neck, looking anywhere but at me.
“You’re not understanding. It’s not that I don’t want you to touch them. I actually think about you touching them quite often.” But I know I’m just talking in circles, unable to get acomplete thought together because whatever moment we just shared is gone. The realization hits hard, just like the pang in my chest, because I know she’s stubborn—silently rebuilding a wall that must’ve fallen.
The memory fades away, dumping me back to the present. 306’s hand lands on my shoulder. “You alright?”
That’s a loaded question. “I’ll survive.” Annoyance bubbles inside me at the fact that we missed Kallie by such a short window and that Atticus got away. But that doesn’t add up to me. Suspicion sinks deep, but I try to push it to the side, choosing to table it for a later date. Right now, time is of the essence, and I have no clue how long I was out.
“We need to get moving. Who knows how far he’s gotten,” I exclaim.
“You know where we’re going?”
“There was something so familiar about him, and there’s only one place that comes to mind.” A pregnant pause passes before I continue, curious if 306 has any clue what I’m talking about. But if he does, he doesn’t voice it. I release a long sigh, thinking about the trek that awaits us. “Vaiterra.”
TWENTY-FIVE
Kallie
Rage boils my insides, melting everything to a puddle of goo in the pit of my stomach as we silently continue through the forest. Ambroyss. My own father—for all biological purposes— is the one that kept me. Tortured me.
No. It was Callum. It was both of them. Callum earned my trust, let me believe I was safe, and now, all the comments about him being a traitor? All the disgusted looks, stares? They all make sense. I was just too blind to see the truth that was staring me right in the face.
“What do you mean it was yours?” Odeyssa finally asks, keeping a few paces between us.
My steps come to a halt, and I turn to face her. I don’t speak for a moment, letting the gravity of this confession weigh on my shoulders a moment longer before exposing what feels like another sin. “Ambroyss. He’s the one who took me.”
“But I thought—”
“Technically,hetook me. But it was under Ambroyss’s order,” I clarify, not wanting to speak his name into existence. “Either way, it doesn’t matter now. However, finding my necklacedoes.So let’s just focus on that.” Because if I focus on the former, I might break from knowing that not only did he betray me, but my own father did as well. And why? Because of some stupid, ancient prophecy?
Her eyes bounce side to side, wheels turning as she begins putting the pieces together. “So that means…” She trails off, her eyes finding mine with a look of pity.
“Yes.” I push through gritted teeth. “I’m the princess that supposedly died in that fire.” The silence is deafening while watching her process the information. But she must absorb it well, because she doesn’t ask questions. She doesn’t say anything.
I’m relieved because it’s a topic I would rather not talk about right now. I don’t wait any longer. Instead, I turn on my heels and focus on where we’re going to sleep tonight.
The trees became barren miles ago, and if I didn’t know any better—and if I didn’t have Voraxis flying overhead—I would’ve thought we were walking in circles.
It happened suddenly. First, the trees and bushes became scarce, leaving us nothing to look at other than the dry, splintered earth. Then, slowly, the ground became covered in dense fog, causing our movements to slow.
Thunder crackles above.I’m coming down. We need to find shelter.Voraxis’s voice rattles inside my skull. I don’t know what shelter he’s talking about. There’s nothing here, unless he thinks the fog will protect us.
