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1
ORION
Few could escape a Dark One when they were out for blood, and tonight, the fae were coming for him and his soulmate. Orion tightened his hand around Nava’s and sped down the narrow alleyway, nearly stumbling over a pile of scraps that blocked their path.
At this speed, they would never make it to safety before sunrise, and that meant capture. Devon was likely halfway to the safe house by now. They had foolishly split up after the guards ambushed them hours ago.
Tall buildings on either side offered them sufficient cover from the flying fae above. Even though Orion’s feet ached, adrenaline and fear propelled him forward.
He glanced at Nava. Her skin glowed yellow with power. She was beautiful—and a beacon for their enemies to find them in the dark.
“Can you dim your aura? The guards can see better than humans at night.” The air burned his throat with every word he spoke. He hadn’t realized how out of breath he was.
Every gentle feature of her face had long since morphed into panic and exhaustion. They had been running most of the night, and they both needed a break. Yet the guards were relentless, flying low over the rooftops of the city.
Orion didn’t want his citizens forced into choosing who to betray: their prince or their king.
Nava breathed raggedly. “How could they catch up with us so easily? We left the tracking bracelets near the castle. Surely they won’t find us without them.” Her voice wavered on the last word. Because much like him, Nava had a deeper understanding of their current predicament. The guards would never stop hunting for him, not when the future of the kingdom depended on him staying.
The castle bells had been ringing ever since their escape, echoing down the streets of the Copper City, a command for its residents to stay inside their homes, for the Dark Ones were hunting. Any poor soul who didn’t obey their call would be the first to be questioned.
Was there something more leading the guards straight to them? It didn’t matter. No need to trouble Nava unnecessarily when he wasn’t certain himself. “It’s not a large city to track when you can fly.”
“But what if they can still track one of us?” Her soft tone pulled at his insides, her words echoing his own fears, almost as if she could read his mind. That thought alone was sobering enough.
Orion’s muscles quivered with strain. Time to slow down the grueling pace he had been maintaining.
Nava’s aura flickered as her boot caught on an uneven cobblestone. She stumbled forward with a yelp, and he barely had enough time to wrap his arms around her body before she dropped to the ground, dragging him along with the force of her fall. His wings, which he had concealed while crossing the portal earlier that night, reflexively popped out of his back right before he hit the pavement. The weight of her body sucked the air out of his lungs. Hot pain shot through him as a sharp stone dug into his body.
“Are you hurt?” She scrambled off him. Her icy fingers touched his cheek.
“I’m fine.” He sat and drew a deep breath. They didn’t have time for this. As much as he longed for her touch, he could dwell on that later.
His gaze stuck to the injury that branded her forearm. Someone had attacked Nava when she’d crossed the portal, and in the hours since, she’d refused to tell him what had happened.
“There is a possibility my father put a secondary spell on me so I wouldn’t escape my duties again. I don’t remember if he did.” He brought both hands to his temples, massaging away a burgeoning headache.
“That would explain how they found us back at the plaza.” She craned her neck to take in the grimy alleyway. “Do you know where we are?”
Debatable. “Yes.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “There is a myth circulating in Caztian that fae can’t lie. You prove them wrong. Constantly.”
“You forget I’m half human. Besides, I didn’t lie just now. This part of the city looks different from what I remember.” He shouldn’t feel amused by the crinkle on her forehead or the way she pouted ever so slightly. This was not the time to want to kiss her, not when his father’s guards were hunting them down like animals. Not when he was supposed to be keeping her safe but failing miserably at doing so.
He rose, dusting his hands off on his coat and then offering one to Nava. “We should get going. I understand you’re tired, and so am I, but it’s imperative that we reach the safe house before sunrise.”
She opened her mouth as if to speak—but jumped toward him, pressing her hands over her lips. Her skin glowed yellow, and bees buzzed around her.
Had she seen someone? Another Dark One? Orion moved swiftly, pulling her behind him, expecting the shadows to morph into the shape of a fae.
Instead, a fluffy gray shape skittered across the rubbish-strewn ground, its long, pink tail trailing after it.
Every muscle in his body instantly relaxed. “A rat, really?”
“It crawled over my foot,” she defended herself, and he could not contain the smile that spread across his face. “What? They carry diseases.”
Orion chuckled, already peering through the alleyway into the larger road that lay beyond. He recognized that wooden sign hanging from the storefront… He’d been to this part of town before. When Fael had found him roaming the streets months—no, years—ago.
