Chapter 32
THIRTY-TWO
Kallie
Traveling has grown tiresome. The constant back and forth, never settling or being able to relax for even a day, is starting to weigh me down. Mentally and physically. I’m stuck in fight-or-flight, and if I’m not careful, sometime in the very near future, my body is going to drop from shock.
Out in the distance, it’s barely visible, but when the light hits it just right, the shimmering iridescent barrier comes into view. My shoulders slump, and dread quickly fills me because I’m almost out of time.
Focus on the task at hand, Voraxis says softly, clearly listening to my thoughts.
What exactly is the task? When he doesn’t respond, all the resentment I’ve been harboring bubbles to the surface. What are we even fighting for?
It’s simple, Firebird. It may not seem like it, but at the foundation, the choices are clear. And know I will support you in whatever decision you make.
This is off to a great start.
The hard truth is, you’re fighting for your life.
For the lives of everyone in Siderium. I understand it’s heavy.
Everything fell onto your shoulders in the span of a short time.
But trust me when I say, if you want to leave and never come back, that’s what we’ll do.
Tears brim my eyes at his confession. Where you go, I go.
No questions asked. Even if I don’t agree, I’m always on your side.
Sniffling back the snot caused by all his sappy words, I soak them in and reflect. Written between the lines of everything he said…it’s about morals. Morally I can’t abandon the people of Siderium, leave them basically defenseless when I have the power to stop it.
Somehow you took a heartfelt sentiment and turned it into a nice way of saying I’m selfish, I muse, trying to lighten the mood.
I would never say that. Only think it so you can reflect as you’re eavesdropping. I laugh unexpectedly, shaking so roughly Odeyssa jerks awake.
“What’s going on?” she asks frantically.
“We’re nearly there,” I tell her, feeling the weight press down on me again.
Leaning down, I wrap my arms as far as they’ll go around his neck and rest my cheek against him, uncaring of the rough scales scratching against my cheek or how they make their mark, embedding themselves into my arms as I squeeze tighter.
What if something goes wrong? A tear skates down my cheek, wetting his scales.
You can’t control the what-ifs. Just how you react to them when they arise.
When did you become so wise?
Always. You just never listen.
Are you calling me stubborn?
If the shoe fits… I chuckle, appreciating that he can be so lighthearted in the situation we’re in. I don’t know what I would do without him.
Sitting up, I’m disappointed to see we’re already descending. I was so caught up in our conversation I didn’t notice the shift. Once he touches down, Odeyssa slides off instantly, but I stay on because, for some reason, this feels a lot like goodbye.
Wiping away the fallen tears, I pull myself together and follow Odeyssa. The silence is deafening. Not even the wind breaks up the blanketing quiet, and it feels like a sign, just not one I can interpret.
“I need to see Donni,” I state.
Odeyssa looks confused, pulling her eyebrows close. “Despite how I’m feeling, I really think my dad can help.”
“Why are we still arguing about this? I’ve stated multiple times we don’t know if he can be trusted,” I point out, getting aggravated.
“How do we know we can trust Donni? Or anyone, for that matter?”
“If my options are between another king or a florist, I’m going with the latter.” How is this not clicking for her? I was certain after the news came to light, that would be the last thing she would want to do.
“But he can help!”
“He’s a liar!” That was a low blow. Even for me. She takes a step back, face slack like I’d struck her. I might as well have.
“Dessa, I’m sorry. My brain is all—”
“Don’t you think I know that, Kallie? I understand your apprehension—fuck, I’m apprehensive about it.
He lies, he keeps secrets, but who doesn’t?
” She has a point. “But he’s all I have left.
” I can tell this is killing her, eating her up inside.
She didn’t need me lighting a match to a house already on fire.
Treetops sway in the sudden gust of wind, offering a nice breeze from the unrelenting heat.
Voraxis’s body shifts, more rigid than he was a moment ago.
I peer over in the direction of the dense forest, scanning the front but not seeing anything out of the ordinary.
What is it? But then I remember telling Callum where we were going, and how I completely forgot to mention it to anyone else.
Oops.
“Hey, guys, It’s fine. I—” Voraxis ignores me, sending a growl in the direction of the trees, blowing smoke out of his nostrils.
Before I can explain further, Callum appears through the brush.
He walks at an even pace—steady like you would a leisurely walk—and I hate the flip my heart does at the sight of him.
That despite everything, one conversation when he was himself was enough to crack the fortress I’ve built around myself.
Just as I’m about to tell them it’s okay, another figure steps out from behind Callum. And my heart…the one that just did a somersault? It freezes before falling out my ass. This doesn’t make any sense. He wouldn’t have told him where we were? Right?
I believed him, went against all my instincts and listened to this stupid organ in my chest, and the entire time, my head was telling me it was a bad idea, that he couldn’t be trusted. But that’s the caveat…I didn’t trust him.
I believed him.
Now I’m starting to think that might’ve been worse. Callum wears a devilish smile, the one you wear when you believe you’ve won. “Kallie, what a surprise,” he muses, eyes sparkling. Immediately, I command fire to my palms, ready to attack.
“You tricked me.” I meant it to come out harsh—lethal—but instead, it showed my hand at how hurt I am—choked up and holding back tears.
Odeyssa’s eyes burn a hole in the side of my skull. I turn my head and see the look of betrayal I wear like a second skin. “You told him?”
“It was so easy too,” Callum chimes in as his sidekick hangs back, watching this unfold. “Turns out it just takes a half-ass apology and a long, lingering gaze to have you eating out of my palm.” He thinks his words hurt, but all they do is leave dents in my armor.
With a tick of my head, an ember glows on the ground by my feet. I stare at him, and once his eyes lock with mine, I entice the flame forward. It threatens to catch the rest of the dry grass ablaze, but I keep it contained to a singular line, pointed directly at Callum.
Neither of our eyes waver, and he starts a stream of shadows on the ground, perfectly in line with mine.
“Are you sure you want to play this game?” he whispers down the bond I thought was closed off.
I don’t let it rattle me. Instead, I keep my expression blank and slowly close the connection until I’m left alone with my thoughts.
Our lines stop just inches apart. I only know by the intoxicating pull his power has toward mine, and I have to fight every urge to combine them. Odeyssa’s energy shifts, and before I can tell her not to do anything rash, Voraxis releases a ferocious roar.
He has syringes, he warns. My eyes beg to dart down, look at his hands, but he inches his shadows toward my flame, and I match him, only a breath separating them.
It’s sudden, the way the switch inside me flips. One second, I’m thinking of how we’re going to get out of this mess, and the next…the smile of death pulls at my lips, and I’m starving for chaos.
He must see it too, because the shadows try to recede, but I send the flames barreling toward them, and when they meet, it’s like a euphoric high.
An explosion of destruction, separating our two sides and spanning out the length of a football field.
It reaches heights I can’t see, going up into the light-blue sky with ease.
But I don’t waste any time. Sprinting forward, I can hear the distant plea of Odeyssa not to engage and feel the distinct beat of Voraxis’s wings as he takes flight.
But I don’t turn around, don’t respond as I barrel my way through the darkness, blinded when I’m in the center, but it does nothing to slow down my path.
I know where he stands, can feel the wrath radiating off him.
However, there’s something I don’t take into account, and it could be the sliver that separates life and death.
Callum hides in the shadows, slinking around where nobody can see.
And I just gave him the ultimate chess board.
In the center of the storm, the smoke is thick, but I push through. Getting to the other side, I shouldn’t be surprised when he’s no longer standing in the same spot. Neither is his tagalong.
I spin in a circle, listening for any sign of where he’s hiding.
Odeyssa screams for me on the other side, but I tune her out, honing in on one particular sound I know all too well.
His heartbeat is like a calling card, one that mine—unfortunately—answers.
Turning away from the smoke, I know he’s inching close.
Even without the signs, the scent of eucalyptus will give him away every time.
We have to get out of here, Voraxis demands.
No! I bellow. We fight. Callum’s hand swings up, most likely to inject me with whatever poison they’re carrying, but one of my shadows snaps out at the last minute, locking in around his throat.
The syringe drops to the ground, and I turn around, not hesitating before stomping on the barbaric weapon. He grimaces in my hold but easily gets out. The smoke begins to fade, from what I’m assuming is the help from Voraxis’s wings. “What was your game plan?”