“Breathe in slowly.” I inhale, and the air cools in my lungs.
“Imagine your breath starting in your root, then flowing through your body, out of the top of your head. Think of it like a blow hole as if you were a whale or another aquatic mammal.” I laugh, but when Ravi doesn’t join me, I know he is scowling without opening my eyes. “Once breathing and visualization are down, you will expand your aura. To practice, astral project by thinking of me.”
I play around with the exercises for several more minutes, with Ravi’s voice guiding and instructing me until his words grow distant. My focus turns all the way inward, and my magic stirs within me as I conjure an image of Ravi’s face.
Suddenly, I am weightless, my essence no longer tethered to the earth.
I still feel like me, my breaths continuing to come and go.
“You did it,” Ravi says. A whisper in the stillness.
Ravi still sits on the floor as I stand in my astral body several feet away. Pride shines in his eyes. He cradles my human body in his arms, his touch gentle yet secure. His hold is a promise of protection that both comforts and unsettles me. He won’t let anyone harm me while I am so vulnerable.
I hang out in my astral form for a few more minutes, stretching my magic to see how far it will go, flexing it like amuscle until I am sure that, if I tried, I could be with Don at the prison. Closing my eyes, I return my consciousness to my body. Then, I open them again. I’m in the gym, resting in Ravi’s arms.
“That was amazing,” Ravi says as I pull out of his embrace. His warmth lingers on my skin. I try to smile, but his grin falters when it doesn’t reach my eyes.
“Thank you,” I say without meeting his stare, afraid of what I might find there. This connection growing between us is dangerous. The gods know I could use a friend, but too much has happened, and he is still loyal to Alden.
“You are a gifted Lunar Witch,” Ravi says. “But even so, you know you can’t astral project into Kratos, right?” I freeze, and he shrugs. “After the article, it’s not a big jump to believe that’s where you want to go.”
I hug my body as if my arms are a shield. It’s no secret that Don betrayed me, but I still don’t want to talk about him with Ravi. The sooner I get out of here, the better. “I don’t expect you or anyone to understand.”
“I know all about being deceived, Leigh. We aren’t so different, you and me. You’d see that if you only gave me a chance.”
I want to believe him, but I can’t.
Ravi sighs. “Wards make it impossible to astral project into the prison. I’m sorry.”
“Excuse me.” I rise with my heart in my throat. I head out the door with Isolde hot on my heels. I need to get to my room to make the painful request to Warden Grey. My heart sinks.
One way or another, I’m talking to my uncle.
I holdthe Aurora garrison door open for two Blades before I shove my way inside. The smell of lemon-scented cleaner and old stone grounds me after the shitstorm I uncovered at Furies. Ry had texted, telling me it was safe to return home. The Council was initially angry about the shooting, but after reviewing the circumstances—that I was undercover, on duty, and saved a life—they acknowledged the man I shot would make a full recovery before serving his prison sentence. Technically, I did everything by the book. Still, the reality weighs on me—I shot a civilian. Even though they’ll recover, I discharged my weapon against someone who wasn’t military. I know how it must’ve looked, but the Council isn’t what has my blood heating in my veins; it is the article Stellan wrote about Leigh.
How fucking dare he write that bleeding shit about her after he agreed to meet her?
Now, how am I supposed to get Leigh to agree to come here? Leigh will laugh in my face.
I’ve tried calling her several times, but I keep getting her voicemail. Gods, she must be reeling. My chest aches with how much I wish I could be with her right now.
With my phone pressed to my ear, I try her again, needing to hear her voice.
I head toward my room, but before I ascend the stairs, Eddo calls out, “Wilder, wait a minute.” I freeze, unsure if he is coming over to yell at me after shooting that Epsilon, or if it’s something else. He’s probably pissed he didn’t do it.
“Not now,” I begin.
Eddo lifts a brow. “Now, hold on a minute. I wanted to congratulate you on how you handled the situation in the square today. You saved Stellan’s life.” He playfully jabs me in the arm. “I knew the real you was still in there. You just needed to be reminded of who you are, and if anyone could do that, it was Stellan. Where is he?”
“I don’t know,” I grumble as I’m forwarded to Leigh’s voicemail. If I did know where Stellan was, I would wring his neck for publishing that article after our talk. Not enough to cause any real damage, but enough to leave a mark. It’s the least he deserves when he looked me in the eye knowing he had that article about Fynn queued up while we were talking. He knew it would hurt her. He just couldn’t help himself.
“Well, I am sure he is fine,” Eddo remarks, and I frown.
Yeah, thanks to me. It’s not as if I want Stellan to suffer, or that I’ve changed my mind about him being the answer to securing peace between the Nebula and Epsilon, but I can still be pissed that he hid this article from me. He dangled it like a carrot before he left Furies, too, taunting me about whether I knew Leigh or not. I should have known he had one more trick up his sleeve.
“You made us proud today,” Eddo adds.
I blink. It’s the first time Eddo has treated me with respect for the time that I’ve been here, and it’s because he thinks I’ve chosen sides—his side. My desire to make my old mentor proud roots me where I stand, but my determination to fix this country has me giving him my back as I aim for my bedroom.
