21. Raia
RAIA
How the fuck has Thessaly’s home already been sold? And by whom? My father? The city of Narudi?
Panic throbs in my veins with the sense of urgency for me to leave before one of my father’s minions can find me, but I can’t go to Caerwynath empty-handed, and blessedly, Thessaly’s shop is still cordoned off and relatively intact.
My eyes scan the skies, every lamp post, alcove, roof, and ledge, desperate to find Horus.
Gods, where are you?
My search is fruitless. I fold directly into Thessaly’s office and, immediately, my eyes begin to burn with grief as my gaze passes over the organized-disarray of his so-called filing system.
Papers, notes, books, ledgers, receipts, and nicknacks line every inch of his desk.
You were such a beautiful little disaster.
And you’d still be alive if it weren’t for me.
I swear I can hear Thessaly’s scoff from behind the veil. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
Dragging the desk from against the wall precisely three feet, I stare at a lumpy section of drywall.
Tears streak down my cheeks as the memory invades my mind.
Thessaly and I kneel in front of a misshapen spot of drywall otherwise hidden behind his desk. “Just in case anything ever happens?—”
I roll my eyes at him. “Nothing is going to happen. I forbid it.”
Thessaly’s expression is warm. Adoring. “Darling, as much power as your words hold, your will is not the only one at play here.”
My brows cinch together at the foreboding words. The moment I open my mouth, Thessaly promptly presses one long slender finger to my lips. “And we must be prepared,” he adds firmly. “Understood?”
Shaking my head, I force away the memory before kneeling in front of the wall, knocking six times on the innocuous-looking, deliberately botched masonry, and murmuring the incantation Thessaly taught me.
His personal safe hits the ground in front of me with an abrasive thud, contents chiming from within.
After collecting the contents of Thessaly’s safe, plus a few of his favorite trinkets and other implements, I fold back outside of his shop. Please, please, please be here.
Yet when I look around, Horus is still nowhere to be seen.
The streets are crowded and bustling in the mid-morning light.
I probably look deranged. Blood-splattered, sleep-deprived, and tear-stricken.
Fuck it.
Drawing in a deep breath, I call out. “Horus!”
The passersby nearest me startle and throw me annoyed looks.
I ignore them.
My eyes frantically ping-pong to every bird.
“Horus!”
Is he mad at me for ignoring him earlier?
“Horus, please!”
Someone nearby shouts, “Shut the fuck up!”
Ignoring them, I turn frantically, searching.
Anxiety fists my chest.
What if he returned to Lucen’s and Lucen killed him just to spite me?
Would he be so cruel? As to kill an innocent animal?
I honestly can’t say. The realization makes my regret all the more bitter.
“Horus! I need you!”
“Excuse me, miss?”
I twist to find two of the local militia approaching me. Wariness lines their features.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Why don’t you come with us and we can help you find your friend?”
I have no doubt my father’s hands are deep in the local militia’s pockets.
The people around me stumble and startle away as my wings lift me swiftly into the air, and I shout again, panicked and desperate.
“Horus! Horus! Horus!”
The nearby birds squawk in response, but Horus is not among them.
One of them curses, and I twist to see the militiamen have drawn their palladium-spraying guns from their holsters to take aim. They pull the trigger just as I fold away.
Back to Lucen’s.
I return to the balcony—the door of which is wide open.
One of the drapes flaps in the breeze. My heart pounds so loudly in my chest, I can scarcely hear anything above it.
Daring to peek my head around the balcony door, I see that, as anticipated, Lucen’s chair is empty.
The room is spotless. You’d never guess what violence occurred there less than an hour ago.
I step back, hiding behind the door, scanning the surrounding townhouse balconies and roof ledges.
My voice is a desperate whisper.
“Horus.”
Silence.
My stomach churns in fear.
Gods, where are you?
A nearby caw has my head snapping towards the raven perched on the rail of a neighboring balcony. Except this raven is about half of Horus’s size, and he doesn’t have the white feathers collaring his neck.
Gods, I want to scream.
My hands tremble as I send out a desperate plea to Akash.
Please, don’t make me leave you.
I peek around the corner again, ears straining.
More silence.
I dare a whispered hiss. “Horus.”
More silence.
Interrupted by an abrupt knock on Lucen’s front door.
An icy tendril of fear licks up my spine; urges me to fold away while I still can.
But I squeeze my eyes shut.
I cannot leave here without you.
The sound of Lucen’s bare feet padding across the floor challenges me otherwise, until I realize his footsteps are traveling away from me.
The front door clicks open a moment later.
The fear in Lucen’s voice is a mirror to my own. “Your Majesty…”
I cease to breathe at the sound of my father’s voice. “I gave you but one task…:
My fear and defeat are enough to buckle my knees.
Tears blur my vision as I search, one last time, in futility for my precious guardian.
Having nothing left to give, I pull off one of my gold and emerald earrings. Setting it on the stone ledge of the balcony railing, I send a silent prayer to Akash that Horus finds it.
I’ll find you again, old friend.
I love you more.