Chapter Thirty-Seven #2
“Do you feel them?” she asked, her voice almost reverent. “The angels rest just atop this mountain.”
Vex shot into the trees without waiting for a response, her silhouette quickly swallowed by the drifting fog.
Severin came to a halt at the base of the incline, boots sinking into the waterlogged earth. He stared up at the steep slope, frowning at the mist that slithered between the trees. Mud clung to the roots and rocks, slick and treacherous.
“We’re flying,” he announced, clearly not favoring what he saw. “We already took out the biggest horde in the area, so I don’t think we’re at risk of anyone seeing us here.”
“I agree,” Yuri said. “You scout ahead. I’ll take Aurelie—”
Severin’s arms were around her in a heartbeat. Her skin burned hot as he curled her against his bare chest, wings unfurling.
“You’re too weak. Just focus on keeping up, Pigeon.” The demon flashed Yuri a smirk from over his shoulder. A second later, and Aurelie was squealing as the ground vanished beneath them.
Her stomach lurched, hands clutching tight around Severin’s neck as they soared into the air.
Without the barrier of Severin’s tunic, the heat of his skin pressed through the thin fabric of her own clothing, a welcome contrast to the cold wind that bit at her exposed arms. There was strength beneath her hands—lean muscle coiled tight beneath skin, his chest rising and falling in steady rhythm.
She clamped her eyes shut as they ascended, counting each beat of his wings as she tried to distract herself from the ground that fell farther and farther away.
But just as her breaths came faster, fear taking root, Severin’s lips brushed across her ear. “Open your eyes.” His voice was barely audible over the wind, though she could feel him through their bond, expectant and having no taste for her fear.
Aurelie swallowed, waiting a heartbeat longer before she obeyed. At first, she saw only the blue of the sky around her, and the sight was dizzying. Her stomach lurched as she squeezed tighter around Severin’s neck.
And yet … The air was gentle, Severin’s wings a rhythmic beat that kept them aloft. Each sweep stirred the air like the stroke of a bow across a string, steady. Peaceful.
“So this is what it feels like,” she whispered, staring at her kingdom far in the distance. “I’ve always wondered.”
Severin said nothing, though he adjusted his grip to draw her closer, his wings angling as they soared higher so that she could take it all in. His bare arm wrapped more firmly around her, fingers splayed over her thigh.
“Be careful,” Yuri called from beside them, but Severin wasn’t listening.
The demon peeled to one side, banking in a slow arc that had Aurelie gasping.
The motion pressed them tighter, and she could feel the steady thrum of his heartbeat as the sky opened wide, the sun bleeding gold across the edge of the world.
For a moment it was too much—too bright, too magnificent. She’d spent a life firmly on the ground, sword in hand, armor weighing her down. But here in the sky, she felt free.
She might have liked to stay up there forever, yet Aurelie could already see the summit that loomed ahead of them, wreathed in a thick mist she’d have overlooked if not for the vesper.
Severin banked, circling once before landing in a crouch.
He set her down carefully, his wings disappearing a second later.
Yuri touched down beside them, relief flooding through their bond as his gaze swept across the plateau.
Aurelie’s heart beat harder. Finally, they’d made it.
They followed after Vex, mist curling around them in shifting tendrils and clinging to their skin like something half-alive.
Thick branches of ancient trees stretched overhead, blooming with a canopy of curious golden flowers that filtered the morning light into something soft and dreamlike, painting the ground a honeyed haze.
A strange energy hummed in the air, subtle at first but growing stronger with each step they ventured. Then, faintly, she heard vespers, their wings buzzing and their chatter indecipherable.
There were more than she’d ever seen, thousands flitting between trees and weaving through the air like ribbons of light. And for the first time, it wasn’t just Nyxaris.
Several dozen Luminels glowed softly against the cool mist, bowing their heads in reverence as Yuri passed.
They were vastly outnumbered, however, by hundreds of Nyxaris, their red forms flickering in and out of view like embers in a blazing fire.
Hundreds watched her from a single tree, and Aurelie’s breath caught at the severity of their stares.
“Will they hurt us?” she asked as Yuri tipped his gaze back toward the luminous figures. “I really don’t want to fight them again.”
“The Luminels should keep their influence in check. The real question is why there are so many here to begin with.”
“It’s because this place has magic.” Vex tipped her head back as if to soak it in. “Don’t you feel it?”
There certainly was something here, though it was hard to say whether it was magic. The dense air made her skin prickle, unease creeping up through her veins.
Slowly, shapes began to emerge in the mist as they pressed forward. Aurelie tensed, grabbing for her dagger before realizing that they were little more than stone statues, worn and broken.
There were no angels, alive or dead. Instead, they’d come across the ruins of what appeared to be an old church.
Aurelie stepped forward, drawn toward it, but the moment her boot crossed an unseen threshold, a force slammed into her. Her hand shot to her head, where the pain seemed to pinpoint, and she felt dried blood beneath her fingertips.
Severin, too, tried to surge forward only to stumble back with a hiss that Aurelie echoed as his skin began to smoke. “Hell’s teeth!” he cursed, glaring ahead as if whatever blocking them might suddenly reveal itself.
“It’s a barrier.” Yuri grimaced as the splatters of dried demon blood along his skin and wings began to sizzle. “Beyond it is hallowed ground, no demons allowed. That extends to any remnants of them as well.”
Aurelie thought of the way her father’s skin had sizzled back in the cathedral. The way he’d writhed with pain, burning alive because of what he was.
After everything they’d endured to get here, this had to be it. They just needed to get past one more barrier.
“Vex.” She turned her attention up to the vesper, her eager heart racing. “How far is the nearest source of water?”
“Follow me.” The vesper grinned as she fluttered ahead. “I know just the place.”