43. Raelyna
RAELYNA
I stood at the edge of The Rift, my gaze darting between the perilous edge that dropped into vast depths of darkness and the Quarter I’d called home, currently burning away.
Large billows of thick black smoke filled the air as the flames roared through the streets of Solis, burning everything they touched.
Still, I stood there, unable to take my eyes off the sight as skyscrapers came crashing down in the distance, plumes of smoke covering the grounds.
Even from this distance, so far from the Quarter, I could hear the buildings collapsing in on themselves.
I could smell the smoke polluting the air as it consumed everything in its grasp.
But I could only watch as the Quarter I’d called home for the past century of my life burned to cinders before my eyes.
Never, in any conversation that I’d had with Callum, had I imagined this extent of destruction—of utter annihilation to the Quarter I’d called home. But as I watched Solis fall, I had nothing but gratitude in my heart as the corruption I’d grown up surrounded by was vanquished for good.
A shadowed figure stepped into my line of sight, and my head tilted up to find Callum standing before me.
Exhaustion lined the corners of his eyes as he stared down at me, covered in dust, blood, and sweat.
I could see the toll of the battle evident across his features.
His face hardened as he stopped before me.
My eyes tracked over his frame, taking in the grazes and cuts .
. . from bullets or fights, I didn’t know.
For a moment, we didn’t say anything, we simply stood there, a thousand words passing between us as we stared at each other.
Time stretched on, the summer winds howling around us as sandy gusts blew by. The smell of smoke clung to the air, and yet, all I could do was stare at the male before me.
My starbound mate.
“You came back,” I whispered into the silence that spanned between us.
“I’ll always come back to you, starlight.”
We moved at the same time, his arms winding around my waist, tugging me firmly against his chest. My palms touched his cheeks, tugging him toward me as our lips collided in a branding kiss. I clung to him, our lips dancing in tandem as we stood there, lost in time.
My entire world, my entire life, had just gone up in flames, yet as I stood here, in Callum’s arms, everything felt right. It felt like it was meant to be . . . like this was where I was meant to be. Here, in his arms, surrounded by the light.
Callum pulled back slightly, his hand tracing down the side of my cheek, before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “I love you, Raelyna Kingsley.” His voice was a dark whisper as amber orbs captured mine, conveying the truth.
A grin spread across my face as I stood on my tiptoes, pressing a soft kiss to his lips as I echoed his words back to him. “I love you too, Callum Blackwood.”
A possessive growl fell from his lips as his hands trailed over my skin, his lips claiming mine once more.
I felt his tongue slip between my lips, exploring me as he demanded more.
A moan fell from my own lips, my hands tangling in his tousled hair, clinging to him with everything in me.
Time stood still, the desert winds whipping around us as we held each other, thanking the Eternal we’d made it out alive—that we were standing together, despite it all.
An alarm sounded in the distance, and we broke apart, chests heaving as we struggled to steady our breathing.
“What was that?” I asked when I finally regained my breath.
“The aerial alert for the final fleets to cross The Rift,” he stated, his eyes already scanning the desert around us.
“What?” The word dropped from my mouth in shock.
“We have to fly across The Rift to return to Aurum,” Callum repeated as he nodded to someone in the distance, his hands never leaving me.
“You’re being serious?” I said as I looked up at Callum, my eyes studying him as a crinkle of amusement spread across his face.
“Yes.” He nodded, before gesturing to someone behind me as a flap of wings beat behind me.
“You just want me to fly . . . directly into The Rift? Just like that?” I questioned once again, positive I’d misheard him.
“Trust me, starlight, it will be fine.”
I laughed nervously. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, Cal. It’s just that this . . .” I said, gesturing toward the abyss of dark fog rolling beside me as eerie shrieks still called out from inside it. “Is not exactly something I want to fly through.”
He pulled me toward him, wrapping his arms around me as the scent of amber and leather flooded my senses, instantly relaxing me. “It’s going to be fine. Once you’re flying, you will see a glowing golden light—just follow it.”
“That’s . . . so encouraging,” I retorted. “You do realize that The Rift has been known to swallow angels whole, right? That it’s nearly impossible to make it out alive.”
“It’s the only option available, starlight. Plus, we’ve made the flight across The Rift multiple times, and I’m still alive.” He winked at me as he led me closer to the edge of The Rift.
“You’re not entirely selling me on this concept,” I said as I looked up at him, and a chuckle fell from his lips.
“Come on,” he said as he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, and I shivered slightly, heat rushing to my cheeks at the gesture. “I’ll see you on the other side.”
I let him take my hand, guiding me right toward the edge of The Rift. I stood on the precipice, my head looking down at the drop off below me as I released a shaky breath.
This was so not what I signed up for today.
And yet, it seemed to be my only viable option unless I wished to remain alone in a deserted wasteland.
With a reluctant sigh, I tugged on the muscles in my back, my wings coming free as I called them to the surface. Golden feathers surrounded me as I beat my wings, feet lifting off the ground slightly.
I hovered there, staring into the vast expanse of darkness as a shudder ran through me. My gaze darted to the side, finding Callum staring at me, a strange look on his face as he took me in.
“What?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest, wondering why he was staring at me so intently.
“Nothing,” he replied as a dimpled grin spread across his cheek.
“Then what are you staring at?” I muttered as I darted a quick glance toward The Rift and, yep . . . it was still there, just waiting to be crossed.
“You.” The word fell from his lips as my gaze returned to him.
“What?” I asked.
“You,” he repeated again. “Your wings—stunning.”
The word hung in the air between us, lingering, until an eerie shriek pierced the silence, and a full-body shudder coursed through me as my gaze returned to The Rift with horror.
“Ready?” Cal’s voice sounded from my side, and I cut a glance in his direction.
“No?” was my only reply before he was tugging my hand, and The Rift swallowed us whole.
A chill sank through my bones as I left the relative safety of the desert dunes. Heavy plumes of cool fog settled against my skin, and I realized I could no longer feel Callum’s hand against mine.
Panic shot through me, freezing me in place. I stopped moving.
Just . . . stopped.
I was alone.
Alone in the darkness.
Crossing the stars-damned Rift . . . alone.
And with that thought, I began to free fall, my wings flapped wildly around me, and a haunting shriek left my lips. I was spiraling out of control, my body weightless as I felt the darkness closing in on me from all sides.
I swear I felt a chilled hand reach out, failing to grasp hold of me as I spun into the cavernous abyss of darkness.
A shrill shriek sounded from my left. A returning call sounding to my right—No . . . below me? Above me? The world tilted on its axis as I struggled to hold my wings steady, the air spinning around them.
I tried to right myself, struggling to control my wings as I fell downward in a spiral, when I felt a warm pulsing feeling coming from the mark on my wrist.
My starbound mark.
Callum’s words rang through my head as I spun out of control.
“And when I’m lost to the darkness?” The words came softly from my lips as I sat on my couch beside him.
A soft, dimpled smile crept over his lips. “Even then, I will always help you find the starlight.”
“Follow the light.”
I opened my eyes, finally gaining control of my wings and halting my fall.
Every muscle in my back screamed in tortured agony as the muscles in my wings pulled with enough force to halt my unending fall into the depths of despair.
I took a moment, holding myself in place as I attempted to block out my surroundings.
I could feel the cool air wrap around my limbs, the fog growing thicker as I struggled to breathe.
I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face, and the darkness became an overwhelming force as my breath became a rapid stutter.
I continued flapping my wings, hovering in place as I sought to calm myself.
In.
One.
Two.
Three—
A horrifying scream pierced the air—the noise echoing through the abyss—and a full-body shudder shook through me.
Four.
Out.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
I let out the breath.
Get it together, Rae. Otherwise, you’ll be another corpse at the bottom of this abyss, and that is not going to be your fate.
I tuned out the eerie shrieks that filled The Rift, shutting out the fact that I had just free-fallen down the largest divide in Aurelia. That I was shrouded in darkness, shivering and alone.
I searched for the glowing light—the light Callum said I’d find.
I prayed to the Eternal, searching for the light . . . for any small glimmer of hope in the darkness that shrouded me.