Nahomie
“Where in thestars are you taking me?”
“The only place you’ll be safe.”
I pressed my lips together.
Safe.
For how long?
Nahomie Manor was supposed to besafe. Papi built it from nothing. Manmi taught me how to shield it. I was protected on every side. I was gifted my cinderwolf by Granpapi as a companion to face the loneliness and not lose heart. Not lose hope.
Then the Farasees arrived. They brought the Ivory Rain. They brought the rotting Dyabèssa.
And now my safe place was nothing but a pile of heaping ashes that would soon float on the waves of the Ouanaviel Sea.
Safe.
Where would I ever find safety in this accursed empyrean? Who existed,livedwith enough strength, power to give me safety? Whose hands were made for war, so mine could live on in bliss and rest?
I was an angel with blackfire. With a power so cataclysmically destructive, I wasn’t ever fully allowed to exploreit to its greatest capabilities. Use it? Sure. Learn it, study it,understandit? Never. Such a thing was too dangerous. Such a thing would get me killed.
No.
The Gargorètti was wrong.
There was nowhere that existed in the Ouanaviel Empyrean where I would ever, truly, besafe.
I shifted in the Gargorètti’s arms. I looked up at him.
The billows shrouded his grotesque face as we flew through the darkened clouds.
“Safe.”
I rolled the word around in my mouth.
It tasted like a sour pack of lies.
“And where would that be, exactly?”
I leaned into his chest, utterly exhausted. Conversation alone was an effort. My wings still throbbed from being bent over in the cage. My body ached from what the Dyabèssa had done to me with bloodfire.
Bones lay curled in my arms like deadweight, making this journey even more insufferable. He snored peacefully, as if we weren’t fleeing for our lives. I couldn’t tell if Obsidian wanted to drop us into the Ouanaviel Sea below. He carried us as if we weighed only a few feathers, but I had an inkling this flight wasn’t as easy as he was making it seem.
“Back in Mortevain.”
I bristled, tension making my shoulders taut.
“Mortevain.”
I spat the name, brushing my tongue across my teeth.
“The place where you werecaptured,am I correct?”
Obsidian looked down, his glowing eyes devouring me whole. He looked amused, as if he knew something I didn’t. His pointed ears twitched. His horns gleamed under the moonlight. He was the epitome of strength, a hideous marvel, yet so gentle. So kind.
“I was taken from Mortevain Island, yes.” He looked out at the clouds, remaining tucked in the folds. His membranous wings flapped in the wind, gently pressing us forward through the billows. “But only because I was foolish enough to leave the safety of Everthorn Manor.”
