Page 37 of Heir of Broken Souls (HOBF #3)

Chapter 37

Delilah

D espite all I released, power still thrashes within my veins, begging for another burst of relief.

With another aspect of the prophecy coming true, I fear for what’s ahead. For the parts we have yet to translate. For what lies within the unknown.

Naia has claimed we’re only a few days away from reaching our destination and yet I can’t help but shake the sensation that despite everything occurring as the prophecy predicted, it’s all a bad omen.

Knox steps beside me, his shoulders drooping. “Gods, we have a lot of work to do,” he groans.

I stare at the wreckage Hazel’s storm left. The top deck is destroyed, and that’s putting it mildly.

The flooring of the deck is ripped and tattered in every area. Knox and I are standing on the only plank of wood that managed to remain nailed. The benches that surround the railing have been lost to the sea.

It’s a miracle in itself that the damage is only surface level. Thankfully we haven’t found an issue with sailing the ship— yet .

“I’m not sure there’s much we can do. We’re at sea for gods’ sake. Where are we going to get wood to repair it?”

Knox rubs the nape of his neck, the only sign of his distress.

Behind us, groaning, Lenox and Axel emerge on the top deck carrying four tables, one in each hand.

Knox’s brows flick upward. “Brilliant,” he whispers, before departing to no doubt find more tables and chairs to repair the deck.

Striding to the railing, I peer below, my gaze snagging on the pod swimming just below the surface. While everyone is preparing the ship, there’s business I need to face before we reach our destination. But the idea of it again makes me groan.

I plop my head in my hands and stare at the water as if it’s what’s wronged me. As if the sea was the one to impersonate my father, trap my power and true identity in a human form, and lie to me for over twenty years.

Snorting at the direction my thoughts take, I rise, pushing aside all my feelings and thoughts of that gods-awful man until I turn and startle. Lenox stands behind me, watching.

“Gods, Lenox, don’t you know not to sneak up on someone?”

Ignoring me, his eyes track to the now calm water before lifting to my shoulder. He opens his mouth only to slam it shut. Clearing his throat, he tries again. “I can teach you how to fly.”

It takes everything within me not to openly frown at him and his kind offer. Lenox has been a dutiful second to Knox, but he has remained at a distance from everyone. Him offering this now, I can’t help but wonder why.

Could he know about what I was shown last night? I haven’t told a soul. Not even Knox.

“You can…?” I ask slowly, letting my words trail off.

He dips his head, still emotionless. “I can.”

Looking around the ship and at the amount of work needed to do, I decide to be selfish and smile. “Okay, teach me.”

“Teach you what?” Knox drawls as he strides to my side.

“How to fly.”

Knox slowly reaches out, sliding his warm palm across my lower back. He pivots me to him. “Will you inform the pod? Allow them to assist if you?—”

“Plummet into the water again? It’s a guarantee I will, so of course.”

Knox winks. “Have faith and trust your body.”

My cheeks flame at the reminder of Knox’s lesson .

Swallowing thickly at the heat filling his gaze, Knox dips his chin. “Very well then, call if you need me.”

Blinking furiously at his retreating form, a stunned shock of laughter explodes from my chest.

Find the sight of me humorous?

No, I’m just surprised is all.

How so?

I thought after the last lesson, you’d be dying to continue teaching me.

Knox swings his gaze to me over Axel’s shoulder. I don’t need the excuse of flying to touch you, my angel. Believe me when I say I take what I want.

And am I something you desire?

Every second of every day.

Lenox clears his throat, forcing me to pull my eyes from Knox and that cunning smile. Then I tune them all out and turn my back to them. However, I can’t ignore the griffins as they take to the sky and hover. Probably following a mental order from Knox.

Or how, when I peer over the railing, Naia is already waiting there.

It seems the griffins aren’t the only ones following Knox’s commands.

* * *

A groan of frustration flies from me as I breach the water’s surface…again. I barely even feel it when Naia lifts me with her strange water tail and deposits me on the deck. A puddle forms around my feet, and I have the sudden urge to kick it. Gods, I really am losing it.

“Being frustrated is getting you nowhere,” Lenox drawls.

“You try failing at something I should’ve known as a child that comes naturally to everyone else,” I grit out through my teeth.

He shrugs nonchalantly. “Can’t change the past,” he says simply.

As if anything that’s happened to me is simple and absolute.

Shall I bring a bucket of water over for you to harm?

My eyes cut to Knox smirking across the deck.

Ha ha, very funny.

It certainly is from here.

Lenox crosses his arms over his chest and I could swear he tries not to roll his eyes. “Are you two done?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say innocently, eliciting a hmph from the warrior Fae.

“It’s all about your balance,” Lenox goes on, ignoring me.

Now I’m the one holding back an eye roll. “You’ve said that a million times.”

“And you’ve fallen a million times.”

A muscle feathers in my jaw before I force myself to breathe in deeply through my nose.

“Exactly,” I say. “You’re meant to help me fly, not fall into the ocean .”

Lenox peers down at me as if he’s solving an equation. “Perhaps your core isn’t strong enough,” he notes.

I sputter out a laugh. “Core?” I do roll my eyes now. “It’s not my core that’s the problem. I’ve been training since I was a child. My core is fine.”

His brow quirks.

“I have a strong core!”

“Want to shout that any louder?” Harlow quips from her perch across the deck.

Elysia, who is working alongside her, chuckles behind her hand.

I wave her off and keep my gaze on Lenox. “It’s not my core.”

“It is.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

I’m half tempted to stomp my foot.

“ Lenox ,” I growl.

“Delilah.”

“It’s not my core.”

“You’re using the wrong core muscles.”

“There’s only one core!”

He barks out a laugh and the sound… The tension in my chest uncoils. Even the hammering and groans of hard labor behind me freeze entirely.

I don’t dare say anything, afraid of breaking the spell. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

All I want to do is bask in the sound I never thought I’d hear again.

Tears burn the back of my eyes.

But the moment doesn’t last long. As if feeling the eyes on him, Lenox’s cheeks flush a deep crimson before that wall he built around his heart rises once more and he clears his throat.

“It’s a new way of using them that your muscles aren’t used to. You need to build the base of the movement.”

Clearing the emotion lodged in my throat, I dip my chin and allow him to move on, no matter how desperately I want to cling to it.

Lenox spreads his feet shoulder width apart. “You need to balance not only the weight of your wings, but the momentum of them in the direction you want to go. Your problem right now is turning.”

Following his movement, I unfurl my wings, basking in the glorious feel of the now calm ocean breeze dancing across them. The sensation sends a chill down my spine.

I can feel the heat of Knox’s gaze on my wings so in return, I give them a little flutter, something worthy of looking at.

“Engage your core, and start flapping your wings without pushing off.”

Doing as he says is no small feat. My body screams to fly, my wings wanting to take off, but I force my feet to stay rooted to the wooden deck.

“Now pretend you want to go left. What do you do in the sky?”

My body naturally tilts in the opposite direction. Lenox stops me immediately. “There’s the problem. You’re too used to flying with Aurora.”

Her loud huff draws my attention to where she remains hovering in the sky. Her eyes are narrowed at Lenox.

“Shh, he didn’t mean that,” I chastise.

“I did.”

A growl leaves her this time.

“She doesn’t need to know that,” I whisper out the side of my mouth. Shaking my head, I try to steer us back to the topic at hand. “What do you mean, though?”

“When you’re riding Aurora you lean slightly in the opposite direction she turns, naturally, to stop yourself from falling. It’s usually only your lower body that shifts the weight, hence why your body moves the way it does.” He shrugs. “You need to train your body to shift the entirety of your weight to the left, not half in the other direction.”

Training, training, training.

I feel like I’m always training for something.

“That almost feels too easy,” I say.

He grins. “I never said the hard part was over. Go on, try and fly without twisting in the opposite direction of your wings.”

I’m half tempted to call it a day, but after what I saw last night…

Steeling my spine, I step up onto the railing of the ship, not daring to peer below at the chilling water and pod of mermaids snickering at my demise. Nor do I look behind me at the numerous sets of eyes upon me.

Before I can think better of it, I bend my knees and jump. My wings flap furiously, the muscles in my core and my back working overtime as I dangle in the air.

“Tighten your core and move with your body,” Lenox calls out.

Move with my body.

Sounds simple enough. Just move with my body.

Of course I’m right.

The sound of Knox’s deep drawl almost makes me tumble, and the resulting dark chuckle has me sending a vulgar gesture over my shoulder.

Listen to your body, Angel , he purrs.

Closing my eyes, I put the entirety of my attention on my body and dutifully ignore Knox and his teasing. I veer to the right cautiously. A smile blooms across my face as my legs follow my wings, staying in line.

A burst of shocked laughter reverberates in my chest as I open my eyes to find I’ve turned around and am now facing the ship, along with Knox’s proud look.

Except with my gaze lost in his, when my wings go to veer left my knees twist in the opposite direction on instinct and I fall. I only have a second to wrap my arms around my head and put my wings away before I crash into the ocean.

White and red tails glide toward me and pull me to the surface.

The relief that courses through my body as I break the surface and inhale a deep gulp of air is like no other. I tip my head back and float, taking a moment to calm my shaking hands.

“Almost had it!” Lenox calls out.

Almost isn’t good enough.

Not with what’s to come.

Letting my legs drop, I begin treading water, but come to a hard stop seeing Naia’s cunning gaze on mine. Time seems to still around us, the water rippling slower than usual, the waves crashing against the ship in slow motion.

And the only two who are aware of it is us.

She knows.

Before I’m even done thinking it, time resumes and Naia lifts her hands above the water, bringing me back to the deck within a tail of water.

Lenox begins to instruct me, going on and on about balance and muscles and positioning. I can’t help but tune him out. I can’t concentrate, not with Naia’s eyes still on mine, as grave as I’ve ever seen them before.

“Delilah?”

Reluctantly pulling away from the edge, I turn to Lenox. “Sorry, what did you say?”

He clears his throat. “I was saying that you’re probably going to fall another hundred times before your mind and body work in sync together without you having to actively focus on it. When I was trying it your way the other night?—”

“The other night?” I cut in.

His eyes widen a fraction, the only sign of something amiss. He shakes his head. “I misspoke?—”

“No, you didn’t.”

He gives me an exasperated look, all but begging me to drop it.

“What did you do the other night?” I ask. And then it dawns on me. I lower my voice. “Was that why you were drenched? Because you were?—”

He rubs the nape of his neck with his palm, a crimson flush covering his cheeks. “I wanted to help and no one had thought to mimic your body to see what was going wrong.”

Something within my heart cracks, pinching painfully at the revelation.

He’s still in there—our Lenox, the one that has a heart of gold and is loyal and kind to a fault.

My eyes must soften because his back straightens and he curses. “Stop it.”

“Lenox, that’s awfully sweet.” I lay a tentative hand on his arm as my other moves to my chest. “Truly, you have no idea how much it means to me that you would go that far to help me.”

“Of course. You’re my family.”