It had only taken the briefest glance across her exposed forearm to know the mark hadn’t appeared for her . . . at least, not yet. And I suspected that it had everything to do with the darkness that had spread over Solis Quarter—with the fact that they had turned from Aeternus. Because whywouldone be ableto see their starbound mark—a gift from the Eternal himself—if one didn’t even believe in Aeternus to begin with.
Not that any of that knowledge stopped my mind from wondering what this meant for my future. Why had I marked with someone who didn’t even believe in the Eternal? How was that even possible? It shouldn’t be. And yet?—
I shook my head, because I didn’t have time to worry about a stars-damned starbound mark appearing. I didn’t have time to figure out what that meant or how it was even possible. And I most certainly didn’t have time to focus on developing a relationship—much less a bond—with a female who lived in an entirely different Quarter than I did.
I had a mission to focus on. A Quarter to scout out.
I mostdefinitelydidn’t have time for a starbound.
“So . . .” The steady drawl sounded from my side, and I turned toward Axel, finding his gaze focused on the new ink on my inner wrist. On the three interconnected triangles with two lines through them, representing past, present, and future, now all entwined with the stars. “We going to talk about what just happened back there or . . .” He trailed off as I shot him a withering look before I began stalking away.
“All right then. Silence it is,” his voice grated as I walked in the opposite direction of the female whose eyes glimmered like starlight in a forgotten oasis.
I didn’t even ask her for her stars-damned name.It would have been so simple to ask. Raelyna, the name had rolled through my mind on repeat since I’d seen it in the High Temple. Not that I could clue her in that I knew her name, since she believed me to be a Solis Guard. Yet another problem I didn’t wish to deal with.
“How long will it take to look into the male who snuck into the marking room? The one we suspect to be associated with the Remnant?” I inquired as we rounded a corner, slipping out into the sand-coated streets.
“Not long,” Axel retorted as he walked up to his bike, tugging his dunewrap up higher on his face.
“What’s not long?” My frustration rose as I tugged on my leather gloves, securing the straps.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize we were doing the wholeanswer each other’s questionsthing,” Pierce bit out as he swung a leg over his bike, and I rolled my eyes.
“Not really sure what you’re wanting from me,” I bit back. “She’s just—” I couldn’t even say no one . . . not anymore. “I can’t afford distractions on this mission, not with Elion relying on us. And that’s all she’d be right now—a distraction.” Even as I said the words, I felt an unexplainable pull inside me, demanding I find her.
A pull I shut down because I didn’t have time for distractions.
“If you say so,” he responded with a disbelieving look as he flipped his visor down and kick-started his bike.
My own engine roared to life beneath me, and I snapped my visor down, blocking out the granules of sand insistent on pelting through the air during the summer months, and peeled out of the parking lot.
Heading far away from the Solis Court.
Heading away fromher.
Even as every fiber of my being now protested the very action.
9
RAELYNA
I knewit was late afternoon. The suns had risen to their peaks across the desert sky, glinting off the glass panels of towering skyscrapers, as I made my way to the café. The Sand District was known for its harsher winds cutting through the streets during the summer months, and I found myself wishing I’d had the forethought to pack a jacket before leaving my apartment this morning. My current outfit did little to protect against the sandy winds as I made my way through the beige-hued streets.
A light changed in the distance, and I quickly hurried my steps, darting forward to cross the next street. I tugged my battered beige dunewrap higher over my nose, grimacing as I felt tiny prickles of sand hitting my exposed skin in the summer air. I needed to get a new dunewrap before the pelting sands became unbearable, but I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money to get a new one . . . Not yet, at least.
A motorbike whipped by me, far closer to the sidewalk than they should have been riding, and I nearly yelled after them. Nearly. It just wasn’t worth it. Not today. Not when Kira was waiting for me at the café, and I needed to see her with my own eyes and confirm her Marking Day had gone smoothly.
“It’s not too late! Turn back to the one who created the City of Gold!” a voice shouted from across the street, and my eyes darted toward the sound as another voice echoed the sentiment.
“Turn to the Eternal! Seek the light before it’s too late!” the female’s voice chimed, even as passersby mocked their words.
I came to a halt on the overcrowded downtown streets, my feet stumbling in their path as I noticed the two angels falter, then crumple to the ground across the street parallel to me.
“Watch out!” a voice snarled from behind me, and I startled, jumping back as I took in the scene before me. Both angels collapsed entirely mid-sentence—two angels who were speaking on a god of childhood lore.
Their eyes were closed, chests barely moving as they lay on the concrete. Unsurprisingly, two Solis Guards appeared less than a minute after their collapse, wielding their affinities with ease as they collected the two angels and carried them off the streets.
My eyes darted cautiously, assessing the scene as I took in those on the downtown street around me.
