The low timbre of his voice sounded like a promise: if I said no, he’d walk away with me—no questions asked.
But I lied. “Yes.”
His eyes narrowed, as if he wanted to call my bluff. But he didn’t. He simply placed a warm hand on my back, steady and grounding, giving me the courage to keep climbing the steps toward the man who sired me.
The man my trauma still hadn’t decided whether to blame. The man my mind knew didn’t put me in that shed or fasten theshackles around my wrists and ankles—but whose choices set off the chain reaction that nearly killed me.
Nearly made me want to kill myself.
Panic laced down my spine at that thought. My boot scuffed the step, and I faltered. Rhodes’s hands shot out reflexively, but they hovered in the space between us. There if I needed them. Somehow, he knew I’d catch myself before I fell.
I sucked in a shaky breath. The loose hairs around my face danced in the breeze. The cool air kissed my cheeks, and I could feel the connection to my air element. Either I was channeling it unintentionally, or the element was channeling me.
Whether it was the Mareki Gem, the Mareki Essences, or something ancient beyond name—
The Mareki had chosen me.
Because Iwas meant for more.
And no man, no woman, no twist of fate could shackle me.
Not again.
I lifted my chin, squared my shoulders, and picked up my pace. Rhodes kept stride beside me without question. Together, we stepped into the station of Arrow Fitzroy.
Chapter 31
My fingers tapped a restless rhythm against my thigh. A grin threatened to break across my face, but I held it back, keeping my features schooled in a stoic mask—a soldier, poised to deliver a report. Inside, though, I was humming with something far less composed.
I finally had the news Father had been waiting for.
He rose from his chair the moment we stepped into his station. His hazel eyes locked onto mine—not with relief, but with expectancy. The mission to Mageia hadn’t shaken him. It never would. Over the years, he had sent me to every edge of Kalymdor—from the salt-cracked cliffs of the southern coast to the towering wall of the northern Barrens.
Most of those missions I had completed alone. Each one a test.
Each one another silent plea for him to see me as more than a soldier—as a true blade of Hollow Summit.
Scarlet and Rhodes stepped into the station. She bore the softer cast of our shared face—gentler eyes, lips made forsmiling—but the moment she entered our father’s orbit, that softness vanished. It always did. In his presence, she became a mirror of me, expressionless and unreachable.
Every flicker of humanity drained from her the second Arrow Fitzroy drew near. Even the sound of his name seemed to snuff out her light, like a flame trapped beneath glass.
Now was no different. Her shoulders squared, chin lifted in quiet defiance. Hands at her sides, perfectly still—no tremor, no breath out of place. She wore her numbness like armor, and it fit too well.
If not for the difference in our eyes, anyone watching might have thought we’d switched places.
Nash’s voice broke the silence, drawing my gaze forward. “General Fitzroy.” He bowed at the waist, rising with practiced precision. “We successfully infiltrated Mageia War College undetected after a stay in the Shadow Glade. General Wylder asked that a message be delivered to you—privately.”
Arrow’s nod was the barest flick of his chin.
Nash continued, “The four of us scaled the castle walls and entered through a neglected terrace, which also served as our exit. Cadet Fitzroy erased her trace of the earth element before we escaped—”
“Escaped?” Father’s voice was icy.
I stepped in. “We were spotted on our way out. Chased by guards.”
Arrow’s eyes pinned mine. Then, without a word, he turned his attention back to Nash.
Nash cleared his throat, recovering quickly. “We avoided confrontation. There was no violence. The guards didn’t catch us.”
