I frowned.I’m what?
“How do we get out of here?” Sorin asked me, his tone filled with impatience. “Is there another way out? Besides the sky?”
My feathers twitched behind me, their broken quality confirming how close to death I’d been.
However, I could fly. It would hurt, but I could force it.
Layla approached us. “Ketos.” That energy swirled around her like a beacon of light, causing her to glow angelically and making me wonder for a half a beat if I’d fallen into a dream.
But I hadn’t.
This was real.
And I needed to fucking focus.
I closed my eyes and stole a breath. I’d woken suddenly when I felt the threat against my neck, but it’d taken serious effort to grab the assailant.
Layla’s wrist.
Checking me.
Did anyone check her neck?
“I did,” Zian said, causing my eyes to open again.
Apparently, I’d voiced that out loud.
“Ketos,” Layla repeated, a hint of desperation in her tone. “I need you to get up. We have to run. We need tofly.”
I started to shake my head.No, not fly.
She frowned at me. “Why are you shaking your head? Get up!” She reached for my hand, her strength surprising me as she nearly yanked me off the ground.
But I pulled her down to me instead, using the momentum to take her to her knees as I sat up, my eyes on hers. “Tunnels.”
Her eyebrows pulled downward. “What?”
“The tunnels,” I said again, this time with more force. “There are tunnels under the palace. They were created for this purpose.”
“To escape the Nora if you were ever discovered,” Sorin said, a note of admiration in his voice.
I nodded. “Yes.”
“I’m not sure which is worse,” Zian mused. “Life always looking over your shoulder, or life inside a prison while always looking forward.”
“I prefer freedom,” I said without hesitation. I’d never been imprisoned, and it wasn’t an experience I wished to endure.
Gods did not do well in captivity.
My wings ruffled again behind me, this time collecting a little air to help me stand. I pulled Layla up with me, her touch grounding me in a manner that I hadn’t realized I craved.
Until her.
My betrothed.
I swallowed, our eyes holding onto each other for a beat longer than they should. Then I stepped away and released her. “This way,” I said, my voice gruff.
My wings clenched against my back as I fought for balance, my legs weak from blood loss, and my head swimming from the lack of energy.
