My body glowed with a golden sheen as I stared down at my forearm in awe. Below my water affinity, a new symbol appeared . . . the outline of an earth affinity now glowing on my forearm. My gaze tracked even further, eyes seeking out the discredited bargain mark from my deal with Luc—only, the onyx X that had been on my skin for the past eight years was no longer visible.
The ink had entirely vanished—wiped away like it had never been there.
I stared closer at my wrist, finding another new mark of delicate lines.
Three triangles interlocking over my wrist.
Past. Present. Future.All tied together in interconnected lines.
“A starbound mark,” I heard one of the females whisper in awe when they caught sight of the same mark I had.
My own head shook in disbelief.
In over a century of existence, I’d never seen a starboundmark with my own eyes. And now, I sat here, with the mark stark across my skin.
I had a starbound . . .
My gaze drifted from my wrist, up my forearm. Every mark on my skin glowed in the golden color—the color Callum had told me was a gift from Aeternus. A symbol of light.
Slowly, I pushed off the ground, standing shakily as I realized my headache was gone, like it had never been there. I tilted my head to the side, studying the glimmer of my wings.
Gold.
Like Callum’s?—
Like all those who followed the Eternal—the creator of the City of Gold.
For a moment, all I could do was stare at the feathers in disbelief, the golden color glimmering even in the dimly lit corridor we found ourselves in.
I’d done it.
With another tug against the muscles, I forced my wings to retract, knowing that I couldn’t afford for the golden color to be seen. Not while I found myself deep inside Cato’s temple.
I turned, staring into my sister’s eyes, tears glistening as we studied each other’s markings, the light glowing from within.
At that moment, I realized I couldn’t hide who I was.
I couldn’t let those still living in the shadows of corruption overshadow me.
I had to let the light shine in the darkness cast over the Quarter.
33
RAELYNA
“Hurry!”Orela’s voice was a rushed whisper as we moved through the temple’s halls, our footsteps light as we moved from room to room, careful not to be seen. “We don’t have much time.”
“Much time until what?” I asked as I darted after my sister, following her guidance as we navigated the temple’s levels.
“Untilhearrives,” she replied in a hurry as she began dragging me along.
“He?” I questioned as I watched my sister frantically look from side to side before darting toward a specific room. She unlocked the door with a quick movement of her wrist and pressed me inside the space.
“Once Lucanus gets here, youwon’tescape,” she whispered in an urgent tone. “And I still have so much to tell—” Her words cut off as laughter sounded in the corridor, and Orela threw me behind her.
We both froze, listening as the footsteps in the hall drew nearer, the sounds of the RSG laughing filled the air as they patrolled the halls.
“Room check!” one of them shouted as they pounded on a door in the distance, and my heart sank.
