Navigating the gnarled branches with Raea cradled against me is a nightmare. Trysten and Tate flank us, working in tandem to push aside as many branches as they can to clear a path, their muscles straining as we move as quickly as possible. One nearly scrapes Raea, but I dodge it just in time, letting it snag on my stomach.
We rush past a towering tree swarmed with coral butterflies, allmaking a home in the bark. Something deep inside me stirs, a memory of my mother whispering from the shadows of my mind. I yell over my shoulder to Ciara, urging her to grab a branch as we rush by. Thankfully, one of the smaller branches snaps under her weight, leaving us with a decent-sized twig.
“We were in hyperjump,” Trysten gasps, struggling to catch his breath as he bends over, his hands on his knees. He’s more hurt than he lets on. “Something pulled us here mid-jump.”
“We crashed in the lake,” Tate cuts in, gesturing to the sea. They must not have seen it from above. “The transport is at the bottom, but the water is so cold it nearly killed us.”
My thoughts are a whirlwind as I take in all this information, not that I plan on ever returning again. The dense trees finally give way to the beach, and relief washes over me momentarily when I spot Kellan leading the way around a rock formation.
Ciara barrels past me, grabbing four flight suits drying on a rock ledge. My gaze sweeps the beach around us. Clothes and blankets are strewn across the sand, and a med pack lies abandoned, half-buried. Trysten darts after it, snagging the med pack I had dropped alongside the other before rushing after Kellan.
We have only a few minutes of light left at best. Shadows swirl at my ankles, taunting me with their insidious whispers. Over my fucking dead body will I hand her over.
“Leave her. Let us have her,” the alluring voices say into my mind. I can feel a slimy temptation attempt to wrap around my resolve. Icy dread slides down my spine as I tighten my grip on Raea.
“We can keep them both,” another voice snickers.
As I stagger forward, the sand makes each step harder, and fatigue weighs me down. Tate gives me a gentle but firm shove, pushing me onward.
“It’s only a matter of time,” the sinister voice warns, and I know in my gut that every second we waste brings us closer to the darkness waiting.
When I finally emerge into the clearing, the ramp to the transport is wide open, but it begins to close with a low hiss as we hurry up theincline. Kellan and Trysten are already seated at the console, fingers flying over the controls.
“Hold on!” Trysten shouts back to me, his voice cutting through the din.
I barely manage to collapse into a bunk, cradling Raea in my arms. She’s still sound asleep, her petite form a comforting weight against my chest. I close my eyes tightly, focusing all my energy on hoping we break free of the planet’s atmosphere.
“Let us go, please.” I direct the prayer to the gods. It’s the first time I’ve asked them for anything in over four years.
I stopped praying, stopped asking for anything after my father never returned, and my mother’s depression took her from us. But right now, they have complete control over our fate. “Let us go.” I don’t know if they can hear me, but I’m willing to try.
The shake of the transport slows momentarily, as if sludging through mud, and then—without warning—it feels as if we’re being catapulted into space. My stomach lurches violently with the sudden shift in momentum.
“Tate, set a course back to school. Ciara, inform them that we’re on our way,” Trysten commands.
He’s not just great at being a friend; he’s a remarkable pilot, and I trust him to get us back to school. As I close my eyes once more, I let the steady rhythm of Raea’s breathing draw me under, if only for a moment. I feel mentally drained, as though every thought has been siphoned away, leaving only a dull ache in my head. All I need is a moment to gather my scattered thoughts and breathe.
My mind drifts on a midnight sea, the sky shrouded in an endless blanket of stars, daring to show off their beauty. I feel a profound sense of peace wash over me, as if a deep, healing rest has descended upon my soul. I shift slightly on the warm, undulating surface of the water, and there, shimmering about thirty feet away, I see a brilliant orb of white light glowing softly, inviting me closer.
As I lazily stroke the water, the gentle waves caress my skin with a soothing warmth, drawing me nearer to the mesmerizing sphere of starlight. Just as I sense that I’m almost within reach, a loud voiceshatters the silence, ripping the landscape apart. The world shifts abruptly, revealing an unnatural, brightly lit space with a metallic scent.
“Ryker,” Trysten’s voice calls, pulling me from sleep.
I blink my heavy eyelids open, struggling momentarily to clear my blurry eyes. The familiar sight of my best friend hovers above me, concern etched across his face. I blink again, and my gaze settles on both Kellan and Trysten standing by the bunk. While Trysten looks worried, Kellan seems torn between being pissed that Raea’s wrapped up in my arms and being confused why she reached for me instead of him.
A soft, settled hum releases from Raea where she’s still tucked into my side, her face mere inches from my neck. It feels so natural to have her next to me, as if this is where she’s always belonged.Her snow-white hair is a disheveled cascade, strands escaping from her braided locks, yet she has never looked so beautiful. The soft warmth of her breath tickles my skin, and I instinctively squeeze her a little tighter, savoring the moment. I choose to ignore the fact that she’s hardly dressed and practically lying on me under the shared blanket someone draped over us. It’s then I realize my hand is gripping her bare thigh across my stomach, and damn if I don’t go semi-hard.
I give myself two seconds to get my shit together, forcing myself to face everything I despise. My mother’s tears, the relentless disappointment etched on Cole’s face every time I fail him. An image of Clara, sitting alone in the quiet palace as she holds all her joy close, stubborn to fall into a depression of her own, while my mother deteriorates in her room, a ghost of herself. Then there’s Kellan, his arms embracing Raea as she smiles up at him. I grind my teeth as the scene sends raging hot jealousy coursing through me.
That worked.
Taking a long, steadying breath, I reluctantly shift my gaze to the two men looming over us. Their expressions are a mix of curiosity and exasperation. Kellan is seething, his rage barely contained within him. Trysten appears almost amused, despite the dried blood caked into his hair and the large bandage wrapped around his head. He understandsmy feelings for Soraea—he has for years. He was the one who called me out on my bullshit three years ago when I made excuse after excuse to visit Cole in Betas.
Trysten has been persistent in his pursuit to get me to admit my feelings for her, urging me to stop being a little bitch and to face her. The weight of my family’s issues coupled with the kingdom’s demands—it’s been too much. Plus, I can’t afford for the media to catch wind of any romantic entanglements, specifically with another royal, especially not while my mother battles her depression. It would only bring more attention to Okenen.
Raea’s fingers tighten around my shirt as if she senses my intentions, a gentle reminder of the connection between us I’ve been trying to navigate. I wrestle with the impulse to lean down and kiss her again, but Kellan’s presence holds me back. Not that it stopped me earlier when I swept her into my arms without a second thought. With a reluctant sigh, I slip out from beneath her, carefully prying her fingers from the fabric of my ripped shirt.
As I stand, I catch sight of the angry red and purple scratch marring my stomach from where that branch caught me. I’m just glad it was me and not her. Ignoring their stares, I grab a medkit and attend to the wound.
