“Our plan of action is decided then,” Commander Drachen said to the generals in the room. I thanked the stars that the male had the boldness to end the briefing before we spent the entire stars-damned day in this war room.
“Can you believe it?”Axel questioned as he grabbed a drink from my kitchen, unscrewing the cap before sitting on the sofa, turning on the pilaeria match. “We willfly. . .” He mimicked Elion as he took a drink, and a low chuckle fell from my lips.
“The look on the commander’s face at Elion’s words,” I replied. “I thought he would lose it then and there when he found out Elion’s instructions from Aeternus involved flying around The Wall for six days without advancement.”
“And then when he said ‘then we must plan our course of action,’” Axel added. “I thought Elion was about to throw the commander out of the war room.”
I nodded as I opened my own drink, sitting down in the reclining chair as the match played in the background. “I’ve never seen Elion this concerned about our missions before.” I mused. “Though we’ve never worked this closely with Alarix’s army.”
Axel nodded from beside me. “We’ve never come at a mission from an angle this exposed. I mean . . . what’s stopping them from shooting us down as we fly around The Wall? From using their affinities on us? From attacking us?”
“Nothing,” I replied, my jaw tight as I ran the plan through my mind over and over again.
“So, we’re basically sitting ducks,” Axel grumbled.
“No,” I replied. “Weare. There’s nobasicallyabout the statement. We’ll literally be prime targets for them to take out . . . with orders not to use our affinities or fire back as we circle their Quarter for seven days.”
“It’s got to be theworstplan he’s proposed,” Axel stated. “And I doubt the commander is going to let his generals tell their army the details of this mission. They won’t know what they’re agreeing to until it’s time to fly.”
“On that, you’re probably right,” I agreed. “But we both know that Elion won’t be swayed from this course of action . . . not unless Aeternus himself gives a new command.”
“So,” Axel drawled. “What are you going to do about Raelyna and the—” He gestured toward the starbound mark on my wrist. My gaze dropped to the golden mark on my skin, my eyes tracing over the three triangles blending together.
“I’ve got a plan,” I confessed as I took another drink, relaxing into the chair. “If you’re down to help me, that is.”
Axel shot me a grin as I began to share the plan that had been forming in my mind.
32
RAELYNA
I shouldn’t be here. . . I once again knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help it. Despite knowing that Callum and Finn would both kill me if they knew I was sneaking into the temples to find my sister—actually, they’d probably both have aneurysms first, then kill me—it needed to be done. I wasn’t going to let my sister continue living in servitude to the temples—to gods that Iknewto be false.
It had been a week and a half since Luc had taken Orela and sentenced her to servitude at the Temple of Cato—the temple all seers were subjected to serve at.
Cato, the God of the All-Knowing.
Or at least, that’s what the rulers of Solis Quarter would have us believe.
But I knew the truth. I knew now that Lucanus was just using Cato as a guise to predict the future—to see how he might gain more power for himself. I realized now that Luc, and his father before him, both wanted the same thing. Control. Complete control over Solis, possibly even over Aurelia entirely. They hungered for power and control, choosing tocreate a religion that ultimately elevated their own status within the Quarter.
I had told my friends that I would be at my apartment tonight. My episodes had been getting worse, and they’d all demanded that I stay in the safety of my apartment until after the markings broke free and my episodes stopped.
I hadn’t wanted to lie to them, and I hated that I did. However, I had to do this on my own.
I needed to try to see Orela.I needed to get her out of the temple.
It was my fault that my sister was forced into a life of servitude. It was because of my failed bargain with the king that she’d been taken, and I needed to see her before it was too late.
I snuck through the side door of Cato’s Temple, the one Sage had mentioned was the least guarded. I knew that the temples were among the few places in Solis without surveillance drones flying at every hour of the day. And thankfully, I also knew that the side door key scanner had been broken for the past month, making it all the easier to sneak in undetected.
I prayed that Orela was here, that she’d already been moved to this temple—rather than being held at the High Temple. It was easier to sneak into Cato’s Temple without the RSG detecting me. If I were being honest, I needed this plan to go off without any complications. Especially seeing as I’d stupidly decided to tell no one about my plans for tonight.
The temple for the God of the All-Knowing was located on the outer ring of the temple circle, and the side door I was currently sneaking through was hardly visible to the naked eye. Sage had shown us all the night we’d snuck into the Solis Library how we could sneak into the buildings without triggering any of the warning alarms. I put that knowledge to use as I snuck through the various interior coded doors inside the temple’s first level silently.
Gray corridors met my eye as I stood inside the first level of the temple. I knew, from visiting the temples over the centuries,that the first level was reserved for worship and prayer to the gods, leading me to believe it was best to start my search for Orela on the second floor of the temple.
I stayed in the shadows, freezing anytime the slightest noise sounded in the vicinity as I slowly began making my way through the levels of the temple, searching for Orela.
