“Alright, but I’m sidelining you if things get too rough.”
This time, Oliver rolled his eyes at me.
Aspen stood there, humoring us with his presence, walking through the motions of living. He didn’t want to be here. In this hall. In his mind. In this life. I could feel it. Like the moment he woke up, the Eternal Forest called his name, seducing him toward an early grave.
I didn’t know how to help.
Oliver stepped closer to me, grabbing my hand. “We’ve got him,” he murmured.
Heavenly Hell, I loved my best friend. He was always there for me through it all, even with this. I knew Aspen wasn’t his favorite. But it didn’t matter, becauseImattered to him, which meant Aspen did too. I assumed Rune had the same logic. MJ… I wasn’t sure what swayed her. Why she turned from murderous intent like Ronen to begrudging help. But I’d take more eyes, more help.
I blinked away the stinging moisture and nodded. “Right. Let’s go.”
We walkedacross the sandy arena toward our squad, and Aspen started to veer to the left. I grabbed his wrist.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m with the Devils.”
“No, you’re not. You’re with us.”
Aspen pried my fingers from his wrist. “The guardian bond can’t influence you if it can’t see or feel a threat. This is for the best.”
“No—”
“You want a choice.”
“But not like this.”
He turned his back and walked toward the Devils Squad.
“Aspen!”
He ignored me.
“Aspen!”
Oliver stepped in front of me before I stormed after him. “Lucy, if the guardian bond is as controlling as you say, this way you’re both safer.”
“How? He’s struggling. What if, during training, he decides not to block a sword coming toward his chest?”
“I’ll keep my eyes on him. Give yourself this space. You need it.”
I stared at Aspen’s back. The thing inside me slithered awake, peeking an eye open, displeased with this development. But without seeing any threats, it had no reason to take over.
Oliver grabbed my shoulders and turned us so we switched places. “I’m your eyes. Promise?” He held up his pinky.
“Promise,” I mumbled, hooking my finger with his.
This was for the best. I just wish it felt that way.
We walked over to our squad and MJ. Her presence settled the nerves in my stomach. She had to be here to lead us. Or so Ihoped.
Ichi maneuvered to my side, slightly in front of me like a bodyguard. That shouldn’t have surprised me, but it still did.
Facing the dais, the military waited for the morning debrief. Ronen gestured to Xavier on his right, where Alexei should’ve been. But he remained bedbound. Oliver had mentioned that before Sam cleared him, Alexei’s screams could be heard throughout the wing—not from pain, but rage. Sam had explained that the icicles had killed much of the intramembranous tissue, reducing the odds of salvaging his wings to seventy percent—and the odds of ever flying again to thirty.
We gained Oliver back only to lose Alexei.
