Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
A chill breaks out over my skin, scattering goosebumps beneath my leathers as I wake. The streaming sunlight bounces off the stark-white snow outside the window, causing my eyes to squint as they open.
Instinctively, my hand raises to shield my eyes but ultimately finds purchase against my temple as a headache resounds against my skull. Sitting up, the previous dull ache quickly becomes an overbearing pounding.
I don’t accept.
Instead, I push the pain back as I stand, squeezing my eyes shut a couple of times, like it will make it go away. Haze coats my vision as I take in the room, and clarity snaps into focus when I remember where I am and what we’re doing here.
Before I can ask the pressing question, 306 speaks. “Maybe we should head back. I’m sure the commander is losing his mind, wondering why we haven’t returned.”
“That’s the stupidest thing you’ve said this entire time,” I deadpan. “We’re so close. I can feel it.”
He crosses his arms. “Now you sound like the stupid one. Besides, he didn’t even tell us where she is.”
“Where is Atticus?” I inquire, knowing if he’s not here, there’s a good chance 306 killed him already. Anger bubbles through me, eating away the cold that had been there. That was my kill. Mine. Just like her.
No, she isn’t.
Yes, she is.
No, she isn’t.
Yes, she…
“You don’t remember? You blacked out from one of his vines constricting your airway,” he explains, some of his words running over each other.
“Then, one of the vines blasted me back, and I woke up just a few minutes before you came to.” He speaks with conviction, and if I was anyone else, I might’ve believed him.
But there’s no way, absolutely zero chance he got the upper hand.
I eye him warily. “You’re going to stand here and tell me that he got the upper hand on both of us?”
“It surprised me just as much as you.”
Suddenly, the ringing in my ears returns, like a slow, steady hum.
And although my gut reaction is to wince, cover them in hopes to drown it out, I don’t.
Instead, my jaw clenches, applying enough pressure to turn my teeth into fucking diamonds as I restrain myself.
Silently, I turn on my heels and stride out the door but not before noting the subtle drop of his shoulders, almost like he let out a sigh of relief.
Not taking 306 at his word, I clear the rest of the house, needing to see with my own eyes that it is empty.
Not that it takes long to do so. Aside from the bedroom, there is only the bathroom and the one room that has the living area and kitchen combined.
A small linen closet rests off the main area, but it only houses a few shelves, not leaving any room for someone to hide.
“I told you he was gone,” 306 states when I close the closet door.
But nothing about what he told me sits right, and in the back of my mind, I know he’s lying.
The ringing in my ears stays persistent, growing louder like a war drum.
Ignoring him, my feet carry me toward the front entrance, but when my hand grips the knob, it’s like I’m transported back in time.
To a memory I didn’t know I was harboring.
The sound of her feet echo behind me as she stomps her way over the threshold.
Her attitude is palpable but so intriguing.
The defiance she exudes is rather annoying, but a part of me finds it absolutely alluring.
She’s infuriating. Every deliberate delay, every pointed glare, petty rebellion—she wears them like armor.
And I’m the idiot who keeps trying to pry it off.
Because the moment I turn and look at her, really look at her, staring at the realm in awe, her fae features enhancing the beauty that’s always been there, all the other stuff buzzes like white noise.
She had complained just days ago that her arms hurt while doing her hair, and I don’t know why I did it.
But seeing her disheveled over something so small, against all the other countless things that could’ve coaxed that kind of reaction from her…
it made me think that she was finally reaching her breaking point.
It wasn’t complicated and almost soothing taking each strand and intertwining it with the rest. Although, the only thing running through my head at that time was how they would look wrapped around my hand, pulled back with force as I drove deeper inside her.
My cock swells at the thought, and I do what I can to tamper it down.
She asks a lot of questions. Granted, if the roles were reversed I would to.
But sometimes she gets too close, and there have been times I’ve wanted to tell her the truth.
Every time, actually. But I can’t. So driving her attention to something else seems to be the best route.
Having my mother take her for training lessons gives me some much-needed space—not because I don’t want to be in her presence.
No, it’s the exact opposite. The distance is not a want but a need.
Because, at some point, I don’t know if I’ll be able to restrain myself from the carnal urge to have her—claim her.
It’s engraved in my soul, my bones, and all I do every waking moment is yearn for her to be close.
Instead, I push her away, keeping her at arm’s length until I simply can’t bear it any longer.
And I so selfishly steal the faintest touches, quick glances, until I find myself fully submerged inside her mind, and before I know it, the exit is like a maze, full of twists and turns threatening to trap me inside with her for eternity.
Not that I would mind.
The walk to the barrier is long—by foot, that is. Each passing second, I can feel her energy deplete, and I catch myself holding in a chuckle each time I remember how much farther we have to go.
“There’s another way to get there,” I admit, watching her face morph from irritated to intrigued.
“I don’t know if you’re up for it, but for my own sanity, I would rather risk it than listen to you bitch for the remainder of the trip.
” Clearly, she doesn’t want to admit defeat, that she’s tired and hungry. Her pride would never allow her to.
It was bound to happen at some point or another. I’m not sure why it feels like a monumental moment, but I guess, in some ways, it is. I feel exposed—like she’s seeing me naked for the first time. Shadows billow out behind me, dropping the glamor and unveiling the wings I’ve kept hidden from her.
There have been so many instances that I’ve used them for dominance, to showcase that I am, in fact, the most dangerous one in the room.
Being born with wings is a rare occurrence—so much so that my mother had no idea what was happening when they began to sprout.
The pain was agonizing. The healers did the best they could to keep me comfortable, but that was all they could do.
Now they’re like an extension of me, just like my magic.
And the feeling of stretching them out is indescribable.
But nothing beats the look of awe Kallie wears, her jaw nearly unhinged.
The beauty of it all is the free access to her thoughts.
My wings flutter as I listen to each of them unapologetically.
She’s never been one to voice any opinion other than the normal hatred and disdain. But there’s always so much going on up there, so much underneath the surface she wants to keep hidden from everybody else.
At some point between the over-analysis of my ‘defined features’ and how I look ‘otherworldly,’ I can’t contain the smile any longer, and I let it come out full force. “Please, Princess, tell me again how ‘otherworldly beautiful’ I am.”
“You have wings,” she states, not at all acknowledging my statement.
“And here I thought you weren’t observant.” I take my time closing the distance between us, loving the way she gawks at me. “We can’t fly the whole way, but you can reserve some energy for the real hike.”
“The real hike?” she exclaims. But she realizes her mistake a little too late.
Another question down, which I’m not keeping track of.
Not really. It doesn’t irritate me in the way she thinks.
I’ll listen to as many questions as she wants to ask.
Listening to the sound of her voice keeps me grounded to the present, instead of thinking about all the chaos that awaits us.
It doesn’t mean I’ll answer them all.
Her anger is palpable as I taunt her. “I’m going to carry you like the princess you are, doing all the hard work while you lounge in my arms and feel that fresh breeze fan across your cheeks.
” I knew the boop on the nose would send her into another realm of rage, but I simply just couldn’t help myself.
I don’t ask permission, the look of defiance on her face doing something to me, and before I know it, I take her into my arms. Her arms wrap loosely around my neck, and I wonder why it’s so hard for her…
to just be. Always on guard, always in a state of fight or flight.
Maybe that’s partly my fault, being the reason she’s so broken and damaged. But not beyond repair. All those walls, the ones she keeps secure around her mind, body, and soul are only there to protect herself.
I can’t blame her for that.
“You’re going to want to hold on tighter than that, Princess.”
“I think I can manage, thank you.” The last part goes up an octave—or three—indicating that she thinks she knows it all, and it will be my pleasure to prove her wrong.
“Whatever you say.” I push off the ground with more force than necessary, relishing in the way her scream gets lodged in her throat and the feeling of her head burying into the crook of my neck.
The loose grip she started with has now turned suffocating, but I don’t mind.
Absentmindedly, I pull her in a little tighter, not knowing when I’ll be able to have her this close again.
I even us out, closing my eyes briefly while taking in the feel of it all. Between the wind beneath my wings and Kallie clutched in my arms, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.
“This is incredible,” she says softly. I’m transfixed on her, on her beauty and the way she takes in the scenery, because I know she appreciates it too.
“It’s the second-most beautiful thing this world has to offer.” The comment slips out, like it was too important to keep trapped in my never-ending thoughts.
She brings her gaze to me. “What’s the first?” But I can’t bring myself to answer. Instead, I stay focused on keeping her calm. Fuck, I need to keep myself calm. The beat of my wings threatens to mimic the one of my heartbeat, slowly rising the longer she stares at me with curiosity in her eyes.
One of her hands pulls off my neck, and there’s a brief moment when I think she’s going to jump—not necessarily to die but just to be annoying, because despite the constant bickering, she knows I’d never let her hit the ground.
But she never drops. Instead, her body pushes a little closer, but her eyes are transfixed on something behind me. For a moment, I think there is some sort of attack, but that goes right out the window when the faintest hint of body heat appears next to one of my wings.
“Don’t.” It’s not harsh but more of a subtle plea. Because, especially with her this close, if she were to run a single finger over a feather, all bets would be off, and I’m not sure if I could contain myself.
She pulls back sharply. “Sorry, I thought—” I know what she thought. They’re new, and as she’s stated multiple times, they’re magnificent, and she just wanted to see how they would feel beneath her touch. But from the look of hurt she wears, I know she took it the wrong way.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“It’s fine. I heard you loud and clear.” This isn’t how I wanted the day to go. This wasn’t how this moment was supposed to play out. Frustrated with myself, she goes back to the loose touch around my neck, looking anywhere but at me.
“You’re not understanding. It’s not that I don’t want you to touch them.
I actually think about you touching them quite often.
” But I know I’m just talking in circles, unable to get a complete thought together because whatever moment we just shared is gone.
The realization hits hard, just like the pang in my chest, because I know she’s stubborn—silently rebuilding a wall that must’ve fallen.
The memory fades away, dumping me back to the present. 306’s hand lands on my shoulder. “You alright?”
That’s a loaded question. “I’ll survive.
” Annoyance bubbles inside me at the fact that we missed Kallie by such a short window and that Atticus got away.
But that doesn’t add up to me. Suspicion sinks deep, but I try to push it to the side, choosing to table it for a later date.
Right now, time is of the essence, and I have no clue how long I was out.
“We need to get moving. Who knows how far he’s gotten,” I exclaim.
“You know where we’re going?”
“There was something so familiar about him, and there’s only one place that comes to mind.” A pregnant pause passes before I continue, curious if 306 has any clue what I’m talking about. But if he does, he doesn’t voice it. I release a long sigh, thinking about the trek that awaits us. “Vaiterra.”