“Your Deva blood must be making you a target,” C’ael said.
“So what, we let you out and you’ll let the others out when we leave?”
“Yes. We not harm anyone. We go.”
“Leela, you can’t trust them,” Kalani said.
“She was a god once. And this…” I shook my head. “None of this is her fault. The gods that signed the oath and broke it condemned others to this fate.” I stepped closer to the bars, and Alliana couched slightly so she was eye to eye with me. “I’m giving you my trust, Alliana. Please do not break it.”
The nostril slits in her head flared and snapped closed. “I give you oath, no harm come to the people of this camp in your absence. I not release the others until everyone is gone. But you cannot be here when I open the cells. Not all resist your light.”
“Very well.” I crossed to the wall where the cell key hung. One key. A master key.
I held it out to C’ael. “Let her out once I leave.”
C’ael exhaled sharply, his brows pinching in a frown. “No, I’m coming with you to the storm city.” He tucked his hands into his pockets.
I didn’t have time for this. “You can’t come with me. I don’t have Pakshiraj, and the moona won’t carry anyone but the riders who raised them. Kalani will fly me there, but there’s only room for one on the back of her chaysavar.” I looked to the Danava princess for confirmation, and she nodded.
“I don’t need wings in order to travel.”
I arched a brow. “Transference? You can do that?”
He frowned. “I have no idea what that is. I just…move.”
“Sounds like transference,” Kalani said. “But you’ll need to know where you’re headed and have been there before. And the longer the distance, the more energy it will consume.”
“I can do it,” C’ael snapped. “Leela and I are connected through Iblees. I can find her, so I can find the place where she will be.”
Yes, we were connected in a way I didn’t fully understand yet. He’d entered my dreams before, so I had no doubt he could find me if need be, but I needed someone I trusted to stay here. Someone the people knew and respected.
“I need you here. I need you to be a leader in my place. To keep these people safe. It’s no easy role. Can you do it? Please?”
C’ael’s jaw flexed, and he speared Yudh and Dhoona with a fiery gaze. “You two will keep her safe.”
It was a statement. Spoken with the kind of authority I’d only seen him depict once when defending me against Craven’s barbs.
Yudh tipped his head to the side. “We vowed to protect Leela, but even if we had not, we would gladly lay down our lives for her.”
I shook my head. “No one needs to lay down their lives.”
C’ael’s shoulders relaxed. “You’ll come back.” It wasn’t a question.
“I have every intention to. But if I haven’t returned by sunset, it means something’s gone wrong. In that case, get everyone out of here. Keep them safe.”
He sucked in a breath, his shoulders bunching once more, and I thought he would argue, but he pressed his lips together and nodded. “You can count on me.” I held out the key, and this time he took it. “I’ll get them to safety, Leela, but then I will come find you.”
I inclined my head. “In that case, I’d expect nothing less.”
Chapter 4
GET OUT OF MY WAY STORM
The weather shifted the closer we got to the vayujaaris’ city. A persistent lash of icy wind rose, accompanied by needles of moisture gleefully pricking my skin.
Kalani curled her body closer to Raja, her chaysavaar, and I clung to her, head down, cheek pressed to her back to shield myself the best I could from the elements.
Yudh and Dhoona were either somewhere behind us or flanking us. I didn’t have the fortitude to look. Chill had my bones in a killer grip, and I was pretty sure I was frozen in place now.
