Chapter 67
MYRA
The front door swung open, and Phaia and Bax stormed inside, slamming the door shut behind them. Their fear instantly wrapped around Myra, tying her to the chair.
Bax pressed his back against the wall, his breathing labored. "You need to get out of here."
"Why? What’s happening?" Laurince asked, rushing over.
Rian swatted at the captain’s wings when Laurince barreled past him toward the window. Even after several days, Laurince was still getting used to the new appendages. When Laurince tried to peek through the curtain, Bax slapped his hand away.
"Don’t," he ordered.
"Then tell us what’s going on," Laurince demanded, his wings going rigid at his back.
Myra was at Laurince’s side in an instant. She intertwined their hands, calling his attention to her. His eyes were wild, his frustration rising at a dangerous pace. She squeezed his hand, and he took a deep breath.
Ever since the other night, Myra had been paying more attention to Laurine’s emotions.
The serum’s effects extended beyond the new wings.
His emotions were often all over the place.
At his request, Myra did her best to sedate them when necessary, but it was proving to be more challenging than she thought.
It was like they were running for miles on end.
Every time she caught up with them, the emotions sprinted further ahead.
"They’re coming," Phaia said. "You need to get out of the city. Now."
"What? Who’s coming?" Rian asked, joining them near the window.
"The guards," Bax breathed out.
"Are they coming here?" Laurince asked. "Do they know we’re here?"
Before Phaia or Bax could answer, Laurince was throwing more questions at her. "Did someone betray us? Does Sebastian know we’re trying to gather forces?"
"I-I don’t know." Phaia dug her hands into her hair. "I—"
"Are the winged guards among them?" With each question, Laurince stepped closer, as if his proximity would force the answers out.
"I don’t know!" Phaia repeated.
"What the fuck do you know then!"
"Laurince!" Myra chided, stepping in between him and Phaia. She pressed a hand to his chest and pushed him back. Laurince’s body was rock solid, his muscles taut beneath her palm.
She glared at him and Rian. "Maybe if both of you gave them some space to breathe, they could tell us what they do know. "
Laurince’s lip curled.
"Laurince," Myra called out, beckoning him to listen.
Slowly, he looked down at her, his mouth drawn in a flat line. His emotions whipped through the air, wild and erratic. She slipped her hand up to his face, caressing his jaw. He released a shaky breath and relented, retreating a step and mumbling an apology under his breath.
Once she trusted Laurince not to charge at them, Myra encouraged Phaia and Bax to proceed.
Bax placed a hand on Phaia’s shoulder. "This morning, they stormed through the guards’ chambers and were gathering soldiers to be questioned.
I barely had time to slip through the tunnels before they got to my room.
They know we’ve been trying to gather allies.
They’re looking for anyone who they suspect has allegiances to either of you," he said, looking at Rian and Laurince.
Anger and frustration soaked the floorboards as Bax’s information settled across the room.
"How do they know we’ve been gathering forces?" Rian asked.
"I don’t know," Bax said. "Someone must have let it slip by accident. Thank the gods we hadn’t told anyone the plan yet."
"That’s because we never had a fucking plan!" Laurince shouted, his control slipping. He dug his hands into his hair, and the veins on his neck became more prominent, straining. "We’ve been flying by the seat of our pants this entire time."
"No pun intended, right?" Bax said, chuckling nervously.
Groaning, Myra tilted her head back. Wrong move, she thought as a low growl vibrated in Laurince’s throat.
She quickly tightened her hold on Laurince’s emotions, doing her best to sedate them. "Now is not the time," she said, her words clipped.
"If their focus is on the guards in the castle, why do we need to leave?" Rian asked, putting the conversation back on track.
"Because they’re gathering most of the troops and sending them out, fully armed," Bax explained.
"Then shouldn’t we stay here?" Myra asked, trying to force her voice to remain calm despite her rising panic. "If they’re leaving the city, then it’s best to stay put, no?"
"I don’t think they’re leaving the city," Phaia said.
"They’re checking the houses, aren’t they?" Laurince asked, his voice turning cold.
Bax nodded. "I overheard some guards saying they believed His Majesty was still in the capital."
Laurince ran his fingers through his hair and tugged on the ends, threatening to rip chunks out. "It’s because of me. Sebastian knows we wouldn’t have gone far because of the transformation, that we would have needed to lie low until it was done."
Bax pursed his lips, his silence confirmation enough.
Heart pounding, Myra asked, "If we were to see soldiers marching down the streets, wouldn’t they anticipate us running?"
"Most likely," Laurince said, rubbing his jaw.
Rian nodded in agreement. "Sebastian would probably rather risk that chance to get us to come out. We would be easy to spot in a crowd. It’s not like we can hide a man with wings."
"Rian," Myra chastised.
"What? It’s true. Do you know how many times those things have hit me?" Rian asked, pointing to Laurince. "His wings are massive."
"Rian’s right," Laurince said.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Rian stomped and spun around, his hands flying to either side of his head. He froze when he faced them again. "How the fuck are we going to get you out of here without being spotted?"
Silence fell across the room as they all stared at Laurince’s wings. They were too large to hide behind a cloak.
"There’s no use," Laurince said. "If we stay here, they’ll find us unless there’s some hiding spot in the house we don’t know about."
They all turned to Phaia, a seed of hope hanging between them. But a single shake of her head obliterated that hope in an instant.
Laurince took a deep breath. "If we leave, they’ll see me. There’s only one option."
"Which is?" Myra asked.
A sick feeling twisted in her gut when Laurince didn’t look at her.
"No," she said, backing away and shaking her head. "No. There has to be another way."
Laurince frowned. Defeat curled his shoulders inward. He caressed her cheek and gave her a sad smile. "I wish there was, Haze."
Myra grabbed him by the shirt, wrinkling the fabric. "We’re not leaving you. You have already sacrificed enough."
"Leaving you?" Rian spat. "That’s your grand plan? Over my dead body, Laurince. You came and saved me! I’m not letting you get caught."
"It’s better than all of us getting caught! At least if I provided a distraction, you two would have a chance to flee." Laurince’s gaze flicked between them, pleading. Begging them to let him do this.
Rian snatched the captain by the shirt, his fingers curling into the fabric. "Listen here. We will not abandon you."
"What other choice do we have?" Laurince asked. The pain and sorrow glossing over his brown eyes nearly shattered Myra’s heart.
Rian’s lips parted, but no words came out.
Myra chewed on her nails. Was there another option? One that would end with all of them getting out of here alive?
"Oh, I have an idea!" Phaia said. She looked at Laurince, assessing him. "How do you feel about small spaces?"