“He’s avoiding me,” I answered for him, making the connection myself. Jaxs flinched which was enough confirmation that I was correct. It didn’t really matter if I stayed here or not, but if Hael was going to avoid me, I was getting nowhere closer to my hunt. I needed time with him, and I needed to be alone.
“You still don’t know his weaknesses?”
I was about to shake my head, then remembered that I was still talking to Jaxs.No, but I’m getting close,I thought to Dahes.I just need a little more time.
“Go to the safe haven,”he ordered.“There is no point in staying in the castle anymore with the tournament over, and I’m curious where it is.”There was a pause.“But your time is running out, little ghost. I don’t think I need to remind you what happens if you fail.”
“I’ll leave,” I finally said, and Jaxs smiled, relief sagging through him until I added, “but only under one condition.”
“Sure. Anything.”
“Hael has to be the one to take me.”
“And Magnolia,”Dahes added, and I could already feel the talon-like grip across my mind ebbing.“Remember, there is nowhere in Viven that I can’t reach. You will never be free of me.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Safe Haven
MAGNOLIA
Hael didn’t come into my room until night was in full bloom. I tried not to think about what I was doing. That I was only pretending to go with him so I could exploit his safe haven. Every time I thought about it, guilt wrecked me.
As soon as Dahes left my mind, my head stopped throbbing, and I could finally think again.
I wish I hadn’t. I didn’t want to think, didn’t want to process what I was doing…
“Are you ready?” He looked me up and down, his gaze scrutinizing as it lingered.
“Yes.” I didn’t own anything here, so it wasn’t like I had a bag to pack. I bathed and threw on a simple black dress with a coat over it before he showed up. The material was soft, making it easy to move in, and I figured the dark colors would be best for wherever we were going. I tilted my chin up to meet his gaze. “Where are you taking me?”
He didn’t answer, instead he said, “I need you to trust me.”
He held out his hand, holding my gaze. I glanced down at his upturned palm and debated if this was really what I wanted. Not that itmattered. I didn’t have a choice in anything I was doing. Dahes now knew, and I couldn’t take it back.
I inhaled, wrapping my fingers around his.
Fifteen minutes later,we were standing on the original landing pad he brought me to when I first came to Viven. It was halfway between the castle and the Dome, expanding over the thousands of steps before they continued into the downward spiral.
Hael had used his Vinculum powers to keep us invisible, which made sneaking out of King Elion’s castle relatively easy. It was another reason to add to my ever growing list of why I was envious my Token was transparency instead of invisibility or literally anything else.
Transparency felt too tied to my body, too tied to what Dahes tried to do to it. I couldn’t get past it, and in turn, couldn’t control it.
I turned in a circle, the moons were already high in the sky when I heard the soft rattle. Hael dropped the invisibility over us as soon as we stepped outside. No one else was out here, and the air felt eerily quiet.
“We’re flying?” I asked, my eyes widening in shock as the rattling grew louder—which, I was standing on the landing pad for crying out loud. Why I didn’t make the connection earlier was stupid.
Hael’s gaze was assessing like he saw through me, despite being tangible at the moment. Did he know what I was trying to do?
He nodded after a second. “It’ll take too long by foot.”
“How long will it take?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. This wasn’t what I had in mind.
“Two hours.”
“No. I want to walk.”
His eyes narrowed. “That’ll take a fortnight.”
