Chapter 33
XXXIII.
My heart batters my rib cage, and I close my eyes, counting in my head.
“Well, Princess.” Ferus clucks his tongue. “I didn’t think you had it in you. You have more guts than I gave you credit for.”
I swat at the sword behind me and growl. “Ferus, tell them to lower their weapons. This is done. I just want to go home.”
Ferus studies me before waving at the men behind me, and the pressure against my back disappears.
The moment they’ve backed away, I pull the strings of my cape from my neck and let it fall to the ground. There are gasps as my wings unfurl.
I leap off the bridge.
Attero calls my name as I fall, but I don’t stop. The heat and smoke from the fires increases as I descend, suffocating my lungs and pricking my eyes with tears. I blink to clear them as I search for Nate in the flickering green below.
Don’t let me be too late.
Relief floods me when I spot him. He’s still falling, but he hasn’t hit the fire yet. I angle toward him and straighten my body like an arrow. Heat lashes at my dress, searing holes in the fabric. The sparks burn my skin, but I don’t slow until I reach Nate.
I catch him with a grunt before he touches the flames and pull him into my body. Then I spread my wings.
Please let these damn things work.
The wind is knocked out of me as we’re yanked backward, as though we’re being sucked into a giant vacuum.
My grip loosens, but he loops his hands around my neck, the same way I’d held on to him in the snow.
We stagger through the air as I get used to using my wings, dropping so close to the flames that they singe the toe of my boot, then jetting beyond the bridge, high enough to make my ears pop.
“Devica?” Nate’s voice is thick against my shoulder.
“Shhh. I need to concentrate. I’ve never flown before, and I really don’t want to drop you.”
Nate’s arms tighten around my neck, and I manage to level out our speed, navigating around the jagged edges of the walls.
My wings are strong, bearing our combined weight without effort. Even though I’ve never used them, the feathers are as much a part of me as my arms and legs. They do what I tell them and sail us over the river like we’ve done it a billion times.
I now understand why Father mourns his wings. Like him, I was born to fly. Unlike him, I refuse to fall.
Especially now.
Arrows pierce the sky as we zoom over the bridge, but I dart around them with ease and laugh down at the souldiers.
They dart back and forth like ants, Ferus barking orders and smacking them when they miss us.
I cackle, the same way he did when my fire sputtered out. Now who’s embarrassed?
“Is that all you’ve got?” I call as I fly by one last time for fun.
Ferus screams and hurls his sword. I knock it with my boot, and it plunges into the pit. He curses, and I swear he’s redder than usual. I almost wish I had more time to circle them and tease him further, but they’ve no doubt called the chariots by now.
Attero doesn’t move. He watches us, shoulders hunched, sadness pulling at his features.
I swallow the lump in my throat. I’ll never see my best friend again.
I can’t come back here.
I’ve instigated a war between me and my father. It’s a war I’ll never win.
I follow the bridge toward the exit, my body vibrating. The souldiers shrink into insects in the distance, their cries insignificant buzzing in my ears.
The portal shimmers before me, and I pause in front of it, treading the air with my wings.
Portals. Yet another thing Mr. B. forgot to cover.
How do I get through?
There’s no knob or lever. No Exit sign. No magical light that screams “THIS IS A MYSTICAL PORTAL OUT OF HELL.”
I bite my lip.
In books, portals typically aren’t solid. Characters go through them like any other door. It’s easy.
Sure. Totally easy to fling myself out of Hell into a place I’ve never been.
My arms shake, and Nate slips. I catch him before he falls again.
Well, we can’t stay here forever.
Here goes.
Closing my eyes, I plow into the shimmering circle.
Holy shit.
We’re split apart, and I no longer have control of my wings. I’m tugged from behind like I’m magnetized. My eyes may as well be closed for all I can see in front of me. Everything’s pitch-black.
I cry out as I’m ejected onto hard ground that scrapes my bare legs.
Easy, my ass.
The light is blinding. I moan and cover my face, but it’s not enough. All my senses are screaming.
Blaring horns and roaring motors pierce my ears. Something rancid pricks my nose.
The ground burns my skin. I curl over and wrap my wings around myself to block it all out.
Did I die in that river, and this is my Hell?
“Oh my God.” Nate’s voice is the first thing I recognize through all the noise. “You actually did it.”
I don’t move. If I open my wings, I’ll have to see his face, and even with my eyes closed, it’s all I can see. The pain in his eyes when I said those horrible things on the bridge. They were lies, but they hurt him all the same.
If this is my Hell, I deserve it.
He gently shakes my shoulder. “Devica, look. You have to see this.”
Moaning, I open my wings slowly and blink against the light. It takes a moment to get used to the brightness, but I gasp as our surroundings come into focus. Things I’ve only seen in photographs or read about in books. A sidewalk. A bird. The sky. A single sun.
“We made it,” I whisper. “We’re on Earth.”