Chapter Twenty-Six #2
Heat and force slam into me like a giant fist. My feet leave the ground, and I’m hurled into the air. My chin smacks the earth, the impact knocking the wind out of me. I spit out dirt, wiping mud from my mouth.
The area is covered in black smoke that smothers the light and devours everything in its path.
“Leo?” I rasp, eyes burning.
A tap on my shoulder makes me flinch. I spin around, ready to strike—
Kylo presses a finger to his lips, eyes narrowed. “Stay silent. Guard your mind.”
His hand finds mine as he leads us forward, our boots crunching twigs and ash beneath us as we move like shadows through the smoke.
A shape with dirty blonde hair lies near the base of a tree.
Kylo drops to his knees, flips him over, and shakes his shoulder. Carter stirs with a groan. Kylo gives him the same silent signal.
Carter nods, dazed but alert.
The booming authority of a familiar voice reverberates through the ashen air, making my stomach lurch. I go rigid, my fingers digging into Kylo’s arm.
Don’t think. Keep your thoughts to yourself.
Through a thinning veil of smoke, shapes form.
Draven stands with four other men, their bodies forming a circle around someone on the ground. I sneak closer, squinting through the lingering murk.
Leo is on his knees, his face bloody, hands tied behind his back.
I lurch forward, but Kylo blocks my path. “Move,” I hiss, trying to shove past him.
His arms wrap around me. “Stop.”
“Let me go!” I thrash in his arms.
His palm seals over my mouth, muffling the scream rising in my throat.
“We need to go right fucking now.” Carter grabs my forearm and pulls me away.
My feet move, but I watch the nightmare unfold behind us. Draven kicks Leo’s side again and again. I need to help him. I need to tear Draven away, but Carter’s grip is too strong, dragging me with him.
Leaves crunch behind us. I spin, heart lurching, and see two Aether Hunters tearing through the trees, closing the gap.
Zayne barrels into view, the truck fishtailing as he slams on the brakes. The doors fly open, and we dive inside.
Rage climbs to the surface.
Rage for Leo.
Rage at Draven for what he’s done.
I lean out the window and release it all. The truck rocks from the backlash as the Aether Hunters flip backward, plowing through branches.
Everyone in the truck stares, their eyes pinned on me like I’ve grown another head.
Zayne mutters something and floors it. The truck jolts forward, tires squealing as we tear away from the clearing.
My heart pounds at what feels like two hundred beats per minute. I press my forehead to the glass, trying to bring my pulse down.
Eventually, the trees thin and the road returns.
The seat beside me is empty. Leo should be here.
“Where do we go now?” Zayne asks, his knuckles tight on the wheel.
Carter’s eyes stay fixed on the road ahead. “Marco blew our cover. Elijah’s on standby. I’ve got a backup spot, but no one’s going to like it.”
None of us should be worried about a spot when Leo is still back there. We left him behind, and I did nothing.
I stood there and let it happen.
Again.
Why didn’t I fight harder?
We should’ve gone back.
We should’ve done something.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
My pulse pounds behind my temple, but it’s my thoughts that won’t stop racing. They collide and tangle, louder and faster, stacking over each other until my brain feels like it’s filled with static.
“Lia.”
Kylo’s voice echoes like a distant thought, scraping against the chaos in my head. Pressure clamps around my temples, and the noise in my mind drops away.
The drone of the engine fades, and with it, the roar of my rage.
I’m in the silver sanctuary that lives in the depths of his subconscious.
The water glistens, soft ripples breaking the surface as the wind brushes through the trees.
“Why did you bring me here?”
“You were having a panic attack. Your powers were projecting that anxiety onto everyone else,” Kylo says, his form materializing near the water’s edge. “Zayne almost lost control of the truck. I couldn’t reach you.”
“Everyone is acting like we didn’t just leave Leo alone with the Aether Hunters!”
“Leaving was Carter’s call. We can’t go back right now. Give him a minute to regroup.”
“Regroup?” I pace the shoreline, my boots kicking up dirt that isn’t real. “He has no intention of turning around. Leo is out there being tortured, and we’re heading in the opposite direction.”
“I know it seems like a betrayal, but you have to trust Carter.”
“How am I supposed to trust him when he left one of his own behind? How am I supposed to trust you when you’re more worried about following orders than getting Leo back?”
Kylo’s jaw tics. “Don’t twist my words. You know I didn’t want to leave him. I tried, but Leo made his call, and Carter backed him. If we’d stayed, we’d all be prisoners right now. You included.”
“I’d rather be captured with Leo than free without him.”
“I would’ve made the same call if it meant you were out of their hands and still breathing.”
The gut-punch guilt for Leo tangles with a warmth I’m ashamed to feel. My twin has spent his life standing beside me in the shadows, but Kylo—who owes me nothing—admitted he’d leave someone else behind to keep me safe.
It’s a sickening, beautiful betrayal.
“You can’t say that to me.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not fair to Leo.”
“Carter doesn’t leave people behind,” he says, his tone turning flinty again. “Leo chose to stay.”
My conscience is screaming that it’s wrong.
“What if they kill him before we find him? What if we’re too late?”
Kylo’s eyes soften, the fire dimming. “We won’t let that happen.”
“Leo and I have never been separated like this.”
I look at the water, but all I see is a void where my twin should be. I don’t know who I am without him beside me.
Kylo’s hand slides to the back of my neck. “You’re not in this alone. We’ll get him back.”
I rest my forehead against his chest, listening to the rhythm of his heart until it becomes my own. My lungs expand, no longer clawing for space.
“Thank you for bringing me here. I feel better.”
“Are you ready to go back?”
I take in the glassy lake and the swaying wildflowers, a world made of hush and stillness. Returning to the truck feels like stepping off a cliff.
“Can we stay here forever?”
“If it were possible, I would’ve stayed long ago.”
His hardened stare returns, that impenetrable shield sliding back into place.
“Ready when you are.” He extends his hand.
I hesitate, taking in the scene one last time—the breeze that doesn’t exist anywhere else, the peace that is only temporary.
“What if I have another panic attack?” I ask, the worry flaring again. “What if I spill over into everyone else?”
“If it happens again, we’ll strap you to the roof.”
I swat his arm. A hint of amusement touches his eyes before it fades. “If it happens again, I’ll be right there.”
The illusion of the lake shatters.
The rest of the ride passes in a blur.
I lean into Kylo’s chest. His breath syncs with mine, a steadying rhythm that keeps me from drifting too far into the dark.
His fingers thread through my hair, calming the commotion in my mind. “Sleep,” he murmurs against my temple. “You’re safe.”