I couldn’t stand still.
Maybe love blinded you, caused you to act without thinking properly. Rationality was gone. Maybe that was exactly what I was doing now, except I was putting my friends in the crossfire and setting Scottie up for worse.
“If you keep fidgeting, you’re going to blow our cover,” Wells whispered. “And that’s coming from someone who compulsively can’t stop moving.”
“He’ll be here soon,” my sister’s voice sounded from my right even though I couldn’t see her.
Dovelyn, Sie, and Rainer were all nearby, hidden under her invisibility. But while Sie and Rainer were behind us, waiting in the cover of the clearing for his signal to teleport, Dovelyn was standing out in the open.
Wells and I were the only ones who weren’t under my sister’s invisibility.
Peter, Savannah, and Kallon were further back in the woods where Kal had a portal set up.
We were all ready, but I couldn’t calm down. My pulse was quickening. I kept opening and closing my fist, feeling my scar against my palm. I forced myself to take a breath and glance around. A dense fog was rolling down the hill, obstructing a lot of my view. Savannah was right to suggest the spot. The clearing in front of us was open enough that Arcane couldn’t have hidden anyone without coming here prior and knowing he was at the broadcast made me confident he didn’t have time for it. The forest behind us was just far enough for Sie’s teleportation to reach and thick enough that my brother wouldn’t sense Kallon’s portal through the wind. If needed, we could lose Arcane in the foliage. And with the dense fog lingering, he wouldn’t be able to track us by flying. It was as perfect as we could get it.
But retreating wasn’t an option, not for me. I wasn’t leaving without her. We never settled on something without a plan B or a means to escape if things went to shit. It was just a plan if things went wrong…
Things wouldn’t go wrong. I wasn’t leaving without her.
Don’t get hurt. Please Pylemo, let us pull this off.
“Do you think he’ll come alone?” Sie asked, his voice coming from the tree cover.
I shook my head, knowing he was able to see me just fine even if I couldn’t see him.
Dovelyn answered. “He’ll have to fly here. Scotlind’s tiny,but my brother isn’t known for his strength. He won’t be able to carry more than two people.”
“And he’s going to make it on time?” I could hear the doubt in Sie’s voice.
“Yes,” I answered, the conversation distracting me enough to calm my nerves. At least it was something to focus on. “He uses the wind below and behind him. It helps keep him up and allows him to fly faster at the same time.”
We were silent after that. The wait for Arcane to show up with Scottie felt like an eternity.
Then, when I couldn’t wait any longer, my heart stopped. Arcane landed before me, his large slate-feathered wings flapped the swirling mist around him. But he was alone. Scotlind wasn’t with him.
Arcane eyed me before his gaze traveled longingly to Wells. I sent a silent prayer to Pylemo that he’d be too distracted to pick up on Rainer and Sie. He let his gaze linger there for a moment too long before he spoke, “I don’t know why you bother to hide, sister. The wind is telling me you’re here.”
Dovelyn materialized with a sly grin, but she kept Rainer and Sie hidden in their spots. “I’ve missed you, Ar.”
I didn’t give him time to respond. “Where is she?”
Arcane folded his arms across his chest at the same time he dispersed his feathery wings. “You would have to think I’m a fool to bring her right away.”
I half growled. “What do you mean?” I could feel her. The only times I couldn’t was when she was wearing Alluse, and I was certain she wasn’t wearing any now. I didn’t say anything to anyone, but I felt our connection growing stronger and stronger the closer Arcane got. It was adding to my paranoia because all I was getting from her was terror and confusion. I thought it’d give her peace of mind to feel me, but instead it was doing the opposite. The further she got from Lux, the worse her feelings became, and I couldn’t understand why.
I kept trying to telepathically reach out to her. I swore it was working, but I never got a response back, like something was stopping her from speaking, even in her mind, and that had my gut wrenching.
“I mean, I know you, Tez, and I know Wells. As tempting as your offer was, and,” he looked at Wells again, “even though I know you love the Luxian city, I didn’t for a second believe you’d willingly come back with me.”
“Then why did you come?” Dovelyn asked.
“Call it curiosity.” He shrugged. “I wanted to see what you’re playing at, besides getting Scotlind back, why did you reach out to me? And,” he added a tad softer, “I wanted to see him.”
“You know, you could have come back to the camp at any time,” Wells said, his tone icy. “I don’t understand why you stay with him.”
Hearing Wells speak for the first time had Arcane looking up. I knew their last fight was about the same thing. It was the fight that ended their relationship and caused Arcane to avoid the camp for the past three years. They fought over the Lux King, about not agreeing on what next steps to take, and what was right. Wells never spoke about it. He acted like their relationship never happened afterward. I only knew the entirety of their conversation because of my heightened hearing.
“You know why I’m doing this.”
