“I thought they were a myth.”
Each of them gawk at me with disbelief and wonder. Usually, I would hate having this much attention on me, but it feels good to be seen as I truly am. A stream of flames trail behind me, creating a glowing streak against the night sky. I take thisopportunity to practice some of the moves Kane has taught me and they cheer in response.
After I make a couple of loops, I levitate in front of the balcony, allowing them to take in the details of my new appearance. I do one last spin, flexing my wings before shedding my phoenix form and falling back onto the balcony.
As I had expected, I’m bombarded with questions. Ryder suggests for us all to go back to the table where we spend the next half hour filling them all in. When Damien asks if they know anything about phoenixes, they’re just as lost as we are. Still, Ion promises to search their archives and libraries for any information that might be useful.
“Thank you for sharing this part of yourself with us,” Danielle whispers into my ear as she hugs me goodnight. “I know it couldn’t have been easy to trust us with such a secret.”
“Trust is something I struggle with these days,” I admit as we pull away from each other. “But I’m tired of secrets.”
She nods in understanding. “They do weigh heavy on the heart.”
We all bid farewell and break away from the dining room. The brothers leave while Danielle stays to spend time with Damien. Amaya and Zane slip off to their room which only leaves me and Ryder.
“Do you want to go somewhere with me?”
“Yes,” I reply simply. It’s the only answer I have because I’m not ready to say goodnight to him.
A moment later, we appear in a room I’ve never been. The ceilings are tall with six columns towering around the outer edge. They’re mostly black marble but there are waves of shimmering, metallic-like blue and green slivers crawling up them. It looks almost like what the inside of a shell looks like, at least from the ones I’ve seen used as decoration around the house.
As beautiful as the architecture is though, my attention is drawn to the hundreds of candles placed across the room. There are no windows or lights here, but the flicker of candlelight warms the room, casting shadows along the wall. The image of it makes me think of me and Ryder, actually.
“What is this place?”
“It’s their sanctuary.” He slithers in and out, careful not to touch any of the candles. “This is where their people come to pray to The Mother.”
“And the candles?”
“You’re supposed to light one when you visit.”
“Can I?”
He motions to one of the unlit candles on a nearby stand. “Go for it.”
Something about being able to light the candle with my power feels special. I close my eyes and take my time with my prayer. I mostly ask her for guidance. It’s what I need most right now. I’ve accepted that the answers I seek about being a phoenix will come in their own time, but there are so many reasons I still feel lost. Of course, there’s the obvious Ryder/Damien debacle. But on top of that I’m starting to lose hope that we’ll be able to find the lost island again. I also fear that we won’t be ready when the king finally decides to attack. I just need a sign. Any sign. Something that will lead me in some sort of direction.
Once I finish up, I look over and see that Ryder has lit his own candle. His head is bowed, and his hands are folded behind his back. I don’t know why but I didn’t take him as the type to seek The Mother’s counsel. Perhaps, he’s as desperate as I am for her help.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been staring at him for, but it’s long enough that once he moves, I jump. He turns around and looks tense. Not what I would expect after a peaceful prayer.
“Are you okay?” I ask, cautiously making my way to him. It’s not that I’m worried about catching on fire, but it seems disrespectful if I were to knock over someone’s lit candle.
“As long as I’m with you, I’m great.” He pulls me into him, and I begin fidgeting with the center lining of his jacket.
“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
“I do,” he says, resting his chin on the top of my head.
“I wish everything wasn’t so complicated right now.”
He leans back surprised. “Why do you say that?”
“I was just thinking about how I’ll have to say goodnight to you when really I just want to be in your bed tonight.” I look down. “But that wouldn’t be right.”
“You always do the right thing, Reign.” He runs his fingers through my hair, and it makes me realize just how tired I am. “For once, do the wrong thing.”
“I can’t. If it were the other way around, I wouldn’t do that to you either.”
