Page 48

PROTECTORS OF THE MIRAGE ORCHID

SERYN

T he luminous meadow swayed around me, its towering flowers brushing against my biceps. Gavrel stood beside me, his hand in mine.

A gust of wind pushed against us, and I flung one arm up to protect my face. Gavrel threw his weight against it, tugging me behind him as he carved our way through an ocean of neon petals.

With a final lunge, we spilled toward the edge of the obsidian cliff. Frantically, my hair whipped at my cheeks, and I grabbed his wrist with my free hand. I tried to back away. Take him with me. We didn’t need to dive into the void before us. Into the shadow realm beyond.

Bright flicks of pink and yellow wavered, the cracking of stems making me flinch. Oh, Ancients. The protector of the Mirage Orchid was back. Stalking us.

With fearful eyes, Gavrel tilted his head, and then suddenly pulled me into his arms, dove, and plunged us over the brink of the cliff. “It’s the only way!” he bellowed as the darkness consumed him.

As we plummeted, my scream sliced through the murky emptiness. I blinked, and time slackened as if we fell in slow motion, my nails scratching toward the cliff’s edge. Gavrel was lost to me. Gobbled up by the cold abyss.

With a swooshing flap of wings and a spray of loose stone, two enormous, serpentine-like shadows pitched themselves over the precipice. My lashes fluttered, trying to clear the sheen of tears from my eyes so I could see the beasts diving for us.

Within my next blink, a flash of gilded scales filled my vision, and my body jerked painfully in midair, cold bone wrapping around my torso like a cage.

A rumbling snarl vibrated through the creature’s foreleg and my sinew.

Terrified, I gripped the curving ebony talon as we soared through the never-ending darkness.

The edges of my vision blackened, my consciousness surrendering to the looming faint. One last word flashed in my mind before the shadows seeped over my mind.

Wyvern .

With a gasp, my eyes fluttered open, and I struggled against the heaviness wrapped around my middle.

“You’re all right. You’re safe.” Gavrel kissed the back of my head, his hand sweeping damp curls off my temple.

A deep breath surged into my lungs, calming the frenzied images bouncing around my brain. “I dreamed,” I said, shifting on my back so my side pressed against his front.

“I know,” he replied, his fingers twining with mine.

“I know how to get into the dungeon.”

“I know. ” He propped himself on his elbow, waiting for me to realize what he was saying. The crease between his brow deepened. I reached up and smoothed the pad of my thumb over it.

“You were there, in my dream, weren’t you?”

“Yes. It would seem our b … b … it’s trying to overpower the rune’s embe r. Join us … together.” He cringed as a ripple of pain ran through him at the mention of our link.

I rose to kiss the corner of his lips, and then I ran a hand over his jaw.

“Well, you know we need to pay a visit to the wyvern that guards the Mirage Orchid then.”

His brows shot up, hidden behind the messy strands flopping over his forehead. “Abso-fucking-lutely not.”

“You have a better idea?”

His mouth pinched, and he sagged onto his back. I sat up, placing my hand on his taut stomach. “I can do this, Gav. It didn’t harm me the last time. I … I saved its hatchling.”

He scowled, giving me a sidelong glance. “ We will do this.”

Smiling, I leaned over and kissed where his dimple hid. “Deal. Let’s fly.”

“You’re crazy. But I like that.” Breena’s grin sliced across her visage. I wasn’t sure whether she was going to kiss me or bite me.

“I recall someone mentioning winged creatures the other day,” Marek mumbled.

“Someone’s wittle staff is showing,” Breena chided.

Marek’s knuckles turned white around his quarterstaff, jaw ticking as he glared at Breena.

“Hmmm, I don’t—I don’t remember anyone saying anything of the sort. It was all my brilliant friend’s idea.” Breena slapped her hand against Rhaegar’s chest, and his breath puffed out of him. “Wasn’t it, Rhaeg? Wasn’t it Firefly’s idea?”

I didn’t think someone’s eyes could roll that far back, but my cousin proved me wrong.

Rhaegar shrugged helplessly at Marek.

I brushed my hand over my cousin’s hand. “The idea was brilliant, cousin. Our dream just confirmed what path to take.” As the seam of his mouth softened, he gave me a tiny nod.

Arms crossed, Kaden lingered at the group’s edge, staring off into the courtyard. He didn’t offer me any sort of apology, and I didn’t offer him my attention. I’d leave him to his brooding and contrition.

Gavrel’s hand rested in the curve of my lower back. “Get your fill of food, gather supplies, and we’ll head out.”

As the others went to prepare, a soft rustling sounded behind me as Gavrel stepped closer to me. I chewed on my lower lip, turning my face toward him. His mouth curled. “Lift your hair.”

I did as he asked, looking into his eyes as he fastened a delicate but sturdy golden chain around my neck. After dropping my hair, I reached for the pendant that had plunked between my breasts, the raven-black stone humming against my skin.

Wetness immediately glossed over my eyes as I gasped. My other hand fumbled at my belt. When my fingers met the empty leather bottom of my satchel, I looked at Gavrel from under my lashes, running my thumb over the carved face of the pebble.

My talisman.

“Where … how?”

“I found it in the Murk. Must have fallen out when we came through the portal.” He took the stone from me, placed a kiss on it, and then tucked it between the V of my dark tunic. “I found a shop in the city yesterday. Thought you’d like to have it with you always. It’s of no use if you lose it.”

I closed my eyes, not caring if tears trickled down my cheeks. “Thank you. This means more to me than you know. I love”—my breath hitched, fear clinging to a different kind of declaration—“it.”

His emeralds shifted over my face, diving into the watery depths of my gaze. “I know,” he whispered, his words heavy. “As do I.” He wrapped one arm around me and cupped my jaw, guiding my lips to his.

I sank into his kiss, tasting the wet salt of my gratitude and unspoken words.

When we separated, he placed one last kiss on my brow and swiped his thumb over my cheek, drying my skin. His dimple flashed. “Now, let’s go find the wyverns.”

We joined the others as Breena, Marek, and Rhaegar readied their rucksacks, taking portions of food that would travel well. Kaden chewed on an apple, his bag nowhere to be found.

“You ready?” Gavrel asked his brother, one brow lifting.

“I’m staying here for a few days. Going to see if I can find Ma.”

Gavrel’s eyes widened. He breathed in, and his mouth parted as if he was going to argue, but then he thought better of it and simply nodded. “If anyone can find her, you can.”

Kaden’s shoulders relaxed, his bottom lip dropping for a moment before he composed himself.

“I’ll find you,” he murmured, hesitantly placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder.

A pained expression slipped over his face as he looked at me.

As his arm dropped, so did his shoulders.

Sighing, he bowed his head and left the courtyard.

The odds that he’d find Hestia were slim, but if it gave him a purpose, something to do while he worked through her death, his nightmares, and heartbreak, then so be it.

“Excuse me.” The melodic words made us all jump. Wren appeared out of nowhere behind us, her wings settling down her back. “Did I hear that your friend was looking for another astral? Can I be of assistance?”

“He’s trying to find his mother. She was culled when he was young,” I explained, my hand finding Gavrel’s.

“Oh, by the Ancients. He won’t find her here,” the guide said, head bowed. “Culling is a nasty business. It not only takes the physical, but the astral body as well.”

My heart lurched. Marek’s jaw twitched as he sealed his rucksack, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the fabric. We hadn’t seen Yaya in Aion, not that I had expected to with so many citizens, but still. She could be alive. My stomach knotted, thinking of the alternative. Or she could be …

“Say more,” Gavrel ordered, taking a step forward.

She wiggled her fingers above her head, and a puff of glittering mist burst and fluttered in a halo around her. “Culling returns beings to the aether whence they came.” She looked at us with pity. “They simply cease to exist.”

Gavrel cursed, rubbing his hand on his chest, jaw locking, and my heart bounced.

“Sorry to deliver such sorry news. ’Tis a burden I don’t wish to bear, but honesty is the best tonic.

” She ruffled her wings and turned to leave.

“Safe journey to you all. I’d be careful of those beasties.

Just because you’re astral doesn’t mean getting chomped on doesn’t hurt or that you won’t get yourselves sent to the aether. ”

Wincing, I stepped toward the exit, following Kaden, but Gavrel held fast to my hand. “Let him go. He needs hope now more than the truth. He’ll take it better if he finds out his own way.”

“Like how I found out you were my khorda?” I retorted, and then immediately regretted lashing out as Gavrel’s mouth pinched.

“What the?” Rhaegar croaked, dropping the banana he held. Breena picked it up from the ground and shoved it in her open rucksack as Rhaegar found something particularly interesting inside his bag. Marek ignored us completely, but one eyebrow raised ever so slightly.

Gavrel looked at me, his expression patient as he rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand. Too stubborn for my own well-being, I scowled at him, my mind working through his words and mine until my jaw and shoulders slackened.

“Sorry. I know you’re right,” I murmured.

Although grief manifested differently for everyone, I wasn’t certain Kaden had ever allowed himself to feel the full weight of his mourning.

When I thought of my mother and Hestia, though the sorrow lingered, its sharp edges had dulled with time, its presence fading into a subdued hum in the back of my thoughts throughout the turns.

But Kaden … I’d watched him mask his pain over and over. Unchecked, his rage had been simmering for far too long. I feared that either his soul would evaporate, leaving him hollow and brittle, or it would boil over, consuming him entirely.