18. Rae
RAE
My head swam as the bickering around me intensified.
Our entire group had moved into that barren, ashy land, the one that Pax had explained in hushed tones was neutral ground.
When on the ash, Luminary magic did not exist and the Nocturnae lost the ability to feed.
And if any creature used a weapon against another, they were cast out into the Dark Lands.
But that didn’t stop them from fighting with words. The King and Queen of the Luminaries—who I’d been told were named Evander and Daphne. Rhys and Ayden. Kian. The Prince, who I’d learned was Calloway. And my apparent grandmother, overseeing it all.
But I couldn’t stop stealing glances at my…
family. The strangers who were huddled on Luminary land.
My father lectured Kyrie about the wrongness of what she’d done.
My older sister stood stoic, hands clasped, occasionally stealing glances at Calloway.
And my mother couldn’t seem to stop staring between me and my grandmother.
“What did she mean when she said fated?” I asked in hushed tones.
Pax moved in closer, dipping his head. “It means that you have a fated mate. Possibly two, if you’re really powerful. Being fated is a gift given only to those with extraordinary power. They’re intended to balance one another.”
Fate. Mates. Powers.
“Pax…you know me. You’ve been around me for the past seven years.”
“Actually, since you were eight,” he corrected.
My breaths started coming quicker, but I did everything I could to slow them. The last thing I needed was hulking Kian to grab my neck and whisper some spell at me again. I wasn’t sure my ovaries could take it.
Steeling myself, I met Pax’s eyes. “You know that the only power I have is being incredibly awkward. Or maybe my superhuman gift of putting my foot in my mouth and not being able to stop talking at inopportune moments.”
He chuckled. “Rae, you are all of that. But you are also…more.”
A shiver ghosted over my spine—a sensation I couldn’t ignore.
Lightning streaked across the sky, and deafening thunder rolled, making everyone turn their eyes skyward.
Olympia made a tsking noise. “You know the Fates don’t like it when we delay.”
Queen Daphne scowled at her. “There will be repercussions for this, Olympia.”
King Evander placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “You know we must trust those whom the light has bestowed with extraordinary gifts.”
Queen Daphne turned annoyed eyes to her husband. “Perhaps. But I can’t help but feel we’re being toyed with.”
“You know the Fates won’t stand for that,” Calloway assured her. “Let’s get this farce over with.” He held out a hand to me. “Rae.”
I took an instinctive step backward.
Hurt flashed on his face, which had guilt swamping me.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I don’t know any of you, and it’s seriously freaking me out.”
“It wasn’t enough that you stole her from her family. You had to steal her memories, too?” Kian growled in Rhys’s direction.
Rhys met his stare, his arms crossed over his chest. “You know nothing. And soon, you’ll realize just what an idiot you are.”
Kian opened his mouth, likely to bite off Rhys’s head, but another peal of thunder cut him off.
“We must go now,” Olympia said, looking at the sky.
Pax sent me a sympathetic smile. “You’ll have to be flown there. The Nocturnae have wings, and the Luminaries can power their trip with light. But you…”
“Don’t have any powers. So why don’t you send me home instead?” I suggested.
Rhys strode toward me. “Soraya. The answers you seek lie with the Fates. Will you run for the rest of your life, or will you face the truth?”
God, he was the absolute, most condescending, insensitive worst. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re seriously freaking annoyingly bossy? A total bossy pants, in fact?”
Everyone went silent for a long moment.
Oops. Was I about to get my jugular ripped clean out of my body? At least that would be relatively quick, and given all the revelations lately, maybe it wouldn’t be an altogether bad thing.
Pax tried to cover his laugh with a cough.
Ayden let out a full-blown cackle.
Kian just grinned. “Fuck, I missed you, Butterfly.”
Butterfly? Just more evidence of a life I didn’t recognize.
Rhys let out an annoyed grunt.
Kian only grinned wider and held out a hand. “Want to ride with me?”
It was a genuine question. No pushing or manipulating. Which had me accepting. I took his proffered hand. “Sure.”
“The hell you will—”
Rhys’s words were cut off when Kian tugged me onto Luminary land, extending wings that were absolutely breathtaking. They were an inky blue so dark it was nearly black and covered in a scattering of sparkling stars.
I reached out, wanting to touch them, then snatched my hand back. The memory of Rhys telling me that the wings were a no-no zone flashed in my mind—as did his scent and the feeling of his body pressed against mine as we flew through the air.
“Ready, Butterfly?” Kian asked.
I swallowed hard and nodded.
“You’ll have to hold on.” His throat worked as he swallowed, the muscles stretching and flexing.
“Soraya,” Rhys ground out, his annoyance with me clear.
I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around Kian’s neck, even though I had to stretch up on my tiptoes to do it. The moment I did, his arms went around me in response, and he lifted me to him, keeping his hold on me firm yet somehow gentle.
My heart thudded against his chest, his juniper-and-mountain-air scent surrounding me. He stared down at me. “Ready?” he asked again.
I nodded; my mouth had gone too dry to speak.
As soon as he received my assent, he pushed off the ground and shot skyward. A strangled sound left my throat at the power and shock of it all. Wind whipped against my face as we sped through the air.
Within seconds, we burst through those ominous clouds and into another world altogether. Glancing down, I could see the lands beneath us, but up here, it was something completely different.
Cotton-candy skies and an elaborate, rocky mountain.
Kian slowed his speed as he guided us up the craggy peak to what looked like something out of my history textbook on Ancient Greece.
Marble pillars held up a domed roof. It was entirely open-air, yet there was no way to see everything inside. It was too large.
Three figures in white robes stood on a terrace of sorts. Waiting.
My throat closed, making it hard to breathe.
One of Kian’s hands instantly went to my neck as he whispered something in that language I didn’t recognize. But suddenly, I could breathe again.
“How do you do that?” I asked softly.
His violet gaze locked with mine. “I’ve always been able to talk to your blood and get it to calm.”
My blood. Because he was a vampire. Nocturnae. Whatever. The term didn’t matter to me.
“Do you live on blood?” The question was out before I could stop it.
One corner of his mouth kicked up. “Yes.”
“Oh.”
His thumb stroked over my pulse point. “But I only drink from those who give their permission, Butterfly.”
“Good,” I mumbled. “That’s good.”
He slowly lowered us to the stone terrace, but I found that I didn’t want to let him go, even as the buzz beneath my skin intensified.
While Rhys had made me feel like he would incinerate anyone who wanted to harm me, Kian made me feel safe in a different way.
Protected, yes, but with an edge of gentle care.
A musical voice greeted me: “Soraya of Lumaria.”
I forced my gaze away from Kian and toward the figures in front of me, but I kept hold of his shirt. It was almost as if the contact was a security blanket.
The beings in front of me were like nothing I’d ever seen—completely ageless, their skin glowed with a light beneath it. Their features were somewhat feminine but not exactly human. Their hair cascaded around them in the same cotton-candy hues as the clouds.
The center figure stepped forward and smiled. “We’ve been waiting for you.”