Chapter 20
Twenty
DEMITRIA
A tlas waited patiently outside as she saddled him in the dark. Nothing moved around them, the cool evening air still, and she was confident that everyone had retired to their homes for the rest of the night.
It was for the best.
They stuck to the dirt paths, making sure to avoid the concrete so the sound of his hooves made no sound. They would only have one shot at this. A few moments were all she had.
They waited in the shadows as the Guardians changed out. One minute, and she counted it down. The second Demitria watched the t’ins' heads disappear around the corner she bolted, Atlas followed behind her on silent steps, as if he knew exactly what was at stake. Heaving with everything in her, she manually maneuvered the large gate, just enough for the both of them to get through. Her arms ached from the force needed, but she shook it off. Mounting swiftly, they shot into the night. Leaving behind the only thing in the world that had kept her grounded for the last ten years.
Demitria was aware of the soft whir of the motor off in the distance. She knew Cory was out patrolling, and between her eyes and the beast beneath her, she was confident of her ability to stay hidden.
Scanning the dark abyss around them, she pushed the mount into a slow canter, holding the edges of the cloak taut around her body until she was certain they were far enough away from Solis.
Several minutes passed, maybe even an hour, before she finally stopped hearing the motor in the distance. Demitria let a shaky breath escape through her parted lips. She wouldn’t look back. Couldn’t. Fearing that if she did, leaving would be that much harder. Her eyes scanned the landscape again, begging for this journey to be easy. She didn’t have the elevated senses of the Horseman, and part of her wished she’d just waited until morning, but she knew her own questions wouldn’t be answered if she did. If she could just figure out why they wanted her dead, maybe she could change whatever it was they were so afraid of. Walk a different path than the one she was on.
She didn’t want to die. Had fought so damn hard to survive in this fucked up nightmare that she would push to her limits for just one more day. One more year. For her entire life, because twenty years was too soon for her. Her parents had sacrificed themselves so she could live , and she’d be damned to have some…some monsters take that away from her.
She pointed Atlas in a similar direction to the one she’d taken with Kellan. The last reports she’d seen placed the angels along the edge of the canyon somewhere. She’d start her search there, looking for any sort of clue on their whereabouts. They’d been spotted from time to time in the ruins of the old city beyond the mountains, and she wondered if they hid out in one of the many abandoned buildings. Her people hadn’t entered the cities in years as most had been overrun by demons the moment they fell. She would risk it, though, if it meant getting her answers.
The rhythmic beats of Atlas’s hooves pounded in time with her throbbing heart. Each step away from her lifeline brought her closer to answers. She hoped, anyway.
Hope.
Demitria couldn’t help but laugh at the audacity of her thoughts. Despite Stella’s urging to let herself feel it, to believe it, she just couldn’t open herself up for the hurt she knew would follow. So, she locked it away in the darkest corners of her mind, behind that steel-clad wall she’d erected and enforced for so many years.
Atlas flicked his ears back and forth, listening for anything that moved across the barren land that surrounded them. From memory, she knew they wouldn’t run into any other community for days yet. There was nothing until after the canyon, beyond the ruins of the city. When they perked forward again Demitria knew the area was still clear. She wouldn’t let herself feel relief, it all could change within the blink of an eye.
Her thoughts drifted back toward the community. To Jace. Even to the Horseman that was probably sleeping soundly in the infirmary. Their rooftop conversation had been… enlightening, and she hadn’t expected most of the things he’d had to say.
Kellan had been through much the same as her. Losing his mother in a most gruesome way that no one should ever have to experience. Even if he was one of them , that didn’t matter. At least…not to her anymore.
She wondered about the council. About their involvement in the lives of the beings they’d openly slaughtered. Why hadn’t any of them revolted? Why hadn’t he ? Kellan had mentioned his siblings on numerous accounts, and she wondered about them, too. Were they similar in the way they moved? The way they thought? Would they have the same questions about her involvement with the very balance of their worlds? She and the Horseman had come to an understanding on that rooftop. Like an unspoken truce between them, despite every bone in her body protesting against it. She hated to feel it. To…trust someone like him, but there was a nagging in her chest, roaring at her to believe it.
Pulling Atlas to a halt, Demitria looked up at the sky. At the moon shining bright overhead and the flickering stars above. Her thoughts drifted to Jace. That feeling of despair and grief welled in her chest with each stuttered breath she took. She let the tears burst free and fall freely down her cheeks as she buried her face in her hands, the sobs wracking through her body.
She would let herself cry. To show that weakness that she hated so much. For nearly twenty years they’d been by each other’s sides. Her rock. Her soul. The only family she had left. They were supposed to stay together, no matter what. Had made a promise to one another all those years ago, and she’d seemingly fucked that up too. Demitria hated those creatures. The High Council, and whoever else wanted her dead. So, she made a vow to herself.
She would find the angels in the mountains. She would get the answers to all her questions, and would beg if she had to. Would get to her knees and do anything they asked of her if it meant changing the course of her life.
She would go home .