“How do you feel?” he asks in a muted tone.
A spell of dizziness lurks at the edge of my vision. “I’m okay, but you'd better stay close by, just in case.”
His hand slips into mine, warm and strong. “Are you flirting with me, little fox?”
I draw a deep breath, willing the trees to stay still for a second, and grip him tighter. “I wish.”
A scoff echoes behind us as Nick stumbles out from the trees at my back, his boots crunching over taut ferns, his chest heaving from the climb. His gaze flicks from me to the empty space where E stands, then back again.
“Unbelievable,” he mutters, dragging a hand through his red hair. “Yesterday, he couldn’t even hold a cup, and today he’s fucking flying. While I have to carry our bags like a fucking bellhop.”
I huff a weak laugh, still catching my breath. “You can’t deny the wings came in handy.”
He steps closer and shrugs out of the straps of my backpack, which he had slung across his chest.
“Yeah, well,” he shoots back, though there’s a crooked edge to his mouth now, “next time you want to be swept off your feet, maybe pick a guy I can see. Would make it a lot less creepy for me.”
Heat creeps up my neck, and I shift my weight from one foot to the other, suddenly aware of how close I still am to E as I let go of his hand.
Nick tilts his head back and gulps down the rest of his water, shaking the bottle until there’s nothing left. “Seriously, though. The ghost gets wings, and suddenly I’m the runt of the litter, holding the group back.”
“You were always the runt of the litter,” I shoot back, a smile tugging at my lips.
“Rude,” he says, but he’s grinning now, even as he eyes the invisible space at my side with something that’s not quiteirritation and not quite relief. “Just saying. If you’d been wrong and Casper had splashed down in that river, friend or not, I wouldn’t have drowned trying to rescue an invisible ghost.”
“That’s fair,” E chuckles.
Nick tucks his bottle back inside his bag. “Now, try not to freak anyone out by mentioning your wings to the people we came to see.” He retrieves the map and checks the angle of the sun, then jerks his chin to the right.
“We’re almost there. Half a mile at most.”
We walk for about ten minutes before finally reaching the rebel camp. The lush, green trees suddenly grow sparse, and two guards appear in the distance.
They stand at attention and angle the sharp edges of their thick javelins in our direction. The curved horns on their strange helmets give them a crude, barbaric look. Strands of copper and dark brown hair escape the edges, some braided tight against the scalp, others left loose. Their eyes are sharp and steady, watching without blinking. Their stance is firm, controlled, as if they’ve been standing guard far longer than we’ve been walking.
“Halt. Identify yourself,” one of them says.
“I’m Nickolas Morgan Bloodsinger, and this is my sister, Maxine. We’re here to see Lysandra of the Vale.”
The guard squints at Nick’s red hair. “Password.”
“Sael lunara, vae threnis.” Nick enunciates carefully, as though he’s practiced those words many, many times before.
The men’s shoulders relax, and Nick and the taller of the two guards clasp forearms in a quick, practiced greeting—grip tight, a single firm pull, then release. “For the Tides,” my twin declares.
“For the Tides. Come on, I’ll take you to Lysandra.”
None of them notices E’s bite of power—or maybe he’s so close to me, with his damn hand buried in my pocket, they can’tdistinguish his magic from my own. The simple pressure of his hand against my backside is almost too much to bear.
“What did you say to him?” I whisper to Nick, feeling like I’ve heard this phrase before.
“It’s an ancient language spoken on the Islantide, way back when. Lysandra speaks it almost fluently. It means,by the power of the moon, the tide rises.”
A smirk plays at the corner of my lips. “I think you’ve underexplained your relationship with that woman,” I add in a teasing tone. “Is she your girlfriend?”
“Don’t be daft. You know I don’t do commitment.”
Despite his scolding tone, my brother blushes, and it shakes me to my core. I can practically feel E suppressing his laughter next to me.
