No one.
And I mean no other angel in Solis Quarter had paused when the two angels collapsed. They had just continued on their way.
Watching the two RSG as they began to disappear, I made a last-minute decision to follow them, praying to Astara that they were just being brought to the infirmary.Why did they drop?It was the only thought running through my head. The marked angels dropped in the middle of speaking against the gods of Solis . . . Against the king himself, essentially.
Was their collapse intentional? Was it because of what they were attempting to speak on?
I spun around, intending to tail behind the two soldiers, when I nearly collided with a towering male.
“Watch where you’re going, lower,” he spat as he stepped outof my path, a sneer of disgust on his face. My lips mimicked his in a mocking action he couldn’t see from behind my dunewrap as I cleared out of his way.
Another blessing of the dunewraps, if you ask me. In the century I’d been alive, my mother had made more than enough comments about how my sassy facial expressions would be the death of me. And perhaps she was right, but that hadn’t stopped me from doing them.
Scanning the street, I counted the heads bobbing along the Sand District before cursing the gods. I’d lost the two Solis Guards I’d been intent on tailing.
My phone vibrated, and I sighed, glancing down in frustration before catching the name across the screen.
Kira: Are you even on your way yet?
Setting my unease aside, I quickly replied to my sister before continuing on my way to the café.I will figure out why angels keep dropping—whether there’s any correlation between the drops and whether they are tied to Lucanus. And I will figure it out before anything happens to me or those I love.
The winds weren’t too harsh, but I opted against flying, once again not wishing to have to shed sand from between my wings for the foreseeable future. Hurrying through the following three blocks, I picked up the pace until the pale blue door of our usual hangout popped into place ahead of me.
Thank Astara.
Slidinginto the booth beside my sister, I gave her a big hug, thanking the stars that she had made it through her MarkingDay, before I caught Finn’s eye, shooting him a grateful look for being there for Kira.
“So . . .” I drew out slowly as I studied my youngest sister. “How did it go? What affinity did you mark for?”
“Tell useverything,” Finn added.
She grinned from ear to ear. “I marked for a water affinity, like you!” she exclaimed proudly as she displayed her onyx mark. “And the Marking Day ceremony went just like you and Orela said it would. Well, except for one part that I found odd,” she began. “I don’t think they knew I was awake. But after I woke up, I overheard two males talking by the screens in my room. They were arguing over the results displayed and going through files. I don’t think they were supposed to be there.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice demanding an answer as I stared at my sister.
“I’d like to think my statement was pretty clear, Rae,” Kira responded, eyes lighting with amusement as she looked at me from behind her coffee cup.
My fingers pressed to my temples, reining in my concern as I looked at my youngest sister, trying to understand what she had said. “You’re telling me that two males tampered with your Marking Day results? That’s not even possible. The gods wouldn’t allow it.”
“I don’t know, Rae,” she replied. “What do you want me to say right now? I’m pretty positive I wasn’t supposed to know they were there. Them, or the other male who came in before that. But I think the pain suppressant they gave us wore off too quickly.”
“Other male?” I questioned at the same time that Finn asked, “There was a third person who came into your room?”
Kira nodded, her face becoming more solemn as she glanced between us.
“That’s not even—” I was interrupted beforefinishing.
“So help me, Raelyna, if you say that’s not even possible one more stars-damned time . . .” Finn stated as he fixed his gaze on me.
“Well,” I mumbled under my breath. “It’s not.”
“Possible or not—realistic or not—it happened,” Kira stated while three apple fritters and chocolate croissants floated over on a sudden gust of water.
Kira and I chuckled as Finn snatched all three apple fritters mid-air and stacked them in front of his coffee before I could even grab one of the café’s specialty pastries.
“Did you order every last apple fritter in this café?” Kira teased Finn as his eyes narrowed.
“It’s not a crime, okay?”
