Fuck, did I miss something?
I move toward her and open my mouth to ask her what’s going on.
“My Chosen,” she whimpers, and then just like that, she shoots into the sky and takes off like a fighter jet.
I stare at her wake, confused.Her Chosen?Does she have more than just… My thoughts trail off as I realize what just happened.
The guys are in trouble.
I shove magic into my legs and sprint for the door. I seriously need to fucking learn how to fly. I slam through the wood out into the open air and scare the shit out of Ory, who was standing there looking at the sky. I skid to a stop.
“Fly me to where she’s going!” I shout at him.
“What?” he asks. “What happened? Where is she going?” he demands, looking back up at the sky like he expects Suryn to be there.
“I don’t fucking know, but someone must be hurt. Follow her and take me with you!” I scream at him again, panic burning up my throat. I’m wasting time here, but if this birdbrain can pull his head out of his ass, he’ll get me wherever she’s going faster than running will.
I stomp over to him and wrap my arms around his neck without waiting for his permission. “Go!” I bellow at him, and the order finally spurs him to action. Ory wraps strong arms around my waist, crouches down slightly, and then blasts us up into the air like a fucking rocket. I tighten my hold around his neck and try to search the sky for Suryn.
The flap of his massive wings blocks my view, but I don’t risk trying to turn around midair so I can track the Sentinel that’s tied to my Shields. Ory pulls me tighter against him, and we snap right. I think we’re headed in the direction of the castle, which sends fear crawling up my insides.
Stupid, stupid, stupid fucking Sentinel. You left your Chosen and Shields behind so you could have a temper tantrum in private. I fucking knew the Sovereign was going to try something. I’m a fucking idiot.
“You don’t know that’s what’s happening,” Ory tells me as we drop slightly, and I tighten my grip even more.
“Are you reading my mind?” I demand as I try to get my bearings.
“No, you’re screaming into my ear. Something else could be happening, so just calm your glowy shit down so we can assess the situation before you magic fry people,” he tells me.
Sure enough, when I look down, I see that my runes are glowing purple. I have to stop myself from reaching out to the guys mentally.What have I always said about distractions in the middle of a fight?I remind myself over and over as Ory circles the side of the castle and aims for a broken wall of windows that looks terrifyingly familiar.
I don’t feel anything that would indicate that my Chosen are hurt, but that doesn’t reassure me as much as I’d like as we dive through the wall of shattered glass, passing the table that’s pushed up against it. I immediately recognize what was my suite of rooms in the castle, but it’s pure fucking pandemonium inside. I call on my long sword and clap the hilt to make it two weapons. I send out a pulse of Sentinel magic that sends fighters in my immediate vicinity flying through the air, and then I stop in my tracks as sky-blue eyes and blonde hair come walking toward me out of the crowd.
I shake my head, trying to understand what I’m seeing. No. No, no, no, no, no… It’s not fucking possible. I take a step back and try to understand what’s happening. Laiken? How the fuck is my dead little sister here?
29
She walks slowly toward me, and I can feel a sob working its way up my throat.
“How?” I ask her, lowering my weapons as I search her face for some kind of explanation.
Her soft giggle fills my mind as she begs me to play the slap game. She places her small hands in mine, and I wait to pounce on her and tap her hands before she can pull them away. She laughs and laughs as I get her over and over again. We’re so carefree and happy in this moment that I never want it to end.I blink and that memory fades.I’m back in the field with the soft green grass and little white flowers.
“I spread your ashes,” I tell her, stunned, as I try to make sense of what’s going on, her happy giggle still ringing in my ears.
Ory is in the background, spinning so fast that his wings are cutting people down. But I can’t focus on him or the other fights going on all around me—all I can see is her.
Laiken doesn’t say anything as she closes the distance. The look in her eyes is hard, which confuses me even more. Why is she mad? But before I can ask her any of this, she shoves a sword through my chest. I gasp, shocked by the pain of the wound. The pain in my soul as my Laiken twists the blade and leans into me.
“Die,” she growls at me, spittle flying from her rose pink lips to land on my tear-streaked cheeks.
I choke on pain and sorrow as her hate-filled gaze bores into me. Gone are my memories of her sweet laugh and her kind voice. In this moment, as Laiken looks me in the eye and demands my death, all the good I know of her turns to ash in my mind. I’m so fucking confused, and everything inside of me feels like it’s fracturing.
“No,” I plead, and I can’t tell if I’m answering her order or begging for this not to be happening.
This isn’t right. None of this is right. Wake up, Vinna. Wake the fuck up!
Laiken pulls the sword from my chest, a sickening smile on her face. She pulls her arm back, and I can tell from the angle that my little sister, my guardian angel, is about to cut off my head. My instincts scream for me to do something, and just as the blade arcs down toward me, I lift one hand to block it and shove my long sword through her throat with the other. I scream as I watch her eyes go from merciless to shocked. She collapses, and I let go of my weapons to catch her and pull her into my lap.
