Page 119 of Ashen Wings

Jace and Isra follow behind us, both fixed on Saphine. I don’t doubt if she turns on us, either of them will hesitate. The narrow corridor forces my stride to shift with every step. Stone and rubble litter the passage, keeping us light and wary as we crawl into the shadows. I can feel the rhythm of the gale above in each breath, like a building tempo, frantic and furious.

“I was like you once, you know,” Saphine says after a moment, her fingers gripping her torch.

“Like me?” My brows raise.

We cross a stream of icy seawater and descend deeper into the tunnel system.

“Distrusting. Angry.” She looks at me with a glint of something like pity. “I learned early how little the world gives a shit. The people supposed to be your allies are so quick to turn on you for the highest bidder.”

I keep my gaze forward, boots squelching. Something small and congealed squeals its final cry of life under my sole and I battle the cringe on my lips. A washed up crustacean…that’s all it was.

“You know nothing about me,” I snip, my tone hollow and unyielding. The torch flickers when she flinches in response.

“It doesn’t have to be like this between us. You and I could very well be the last of Sovereign. Does that mean nothing to you?”

My fingers itch toward my dagger. Trust isn’t something you pass out in tunnels with your damned spine pressed against stone walls.

Saphine saved my life once, yes…but she’s still a stranger. A mercenary. I’m well aware of how fucking hypocritical that sounds, but it takes one to know one or so the saying goes. I recognize every haunted shred of myself in those violet eyes and that makes me squirm to my defenses.

“I’m not interested in being your friend. I don’t want to learn your life’s story or plait each other’s hair. You’re cargo, Saphine. Once we get to the egg, we’ll know everything we need to. Then you can fly off into the sunset or whatever it is guardian riders do.” My voice is merely a whisper, but it’s enough to draw a frown.

“You really have no curiosity at all?” she asks.

“Curiosity gets you killed in tunnels like these.” My boot splashes through an algae-bloomed puddle.

“Trust when I say I understand you, Nova,” she murmurs, almost under her breath. “But on occasion, it’s worth the risk.”

I don’t answer, but she watches me, searching for a crack. My stomach roils. Maybe I do notice how naturally she leads, how prudent her judgement, and enticing her orbit is. And maybe it annoys me more than it should.

Walking beside me, in the flesh, could be the guardian rider—the savior of our world and the protector of the cosmos. Our deities honor her while damning me.

She’s the last descendant of House Ceti while I was born no better than the sludge seeping from the tunnel’s cracks. We’re not cut from the same cloth, hells, we’re not even made of the same thread. Yet we both ended up here—soaked in piss-scented stormwater.

Fuck, am I jealous?

Gods be good, the emotions whirling through me are a hurricane of confusion. With a quick step, I shove down the feelings I refuse to name. “Let’s just focus on getting through these tunnels alive. It’s gross down here.”

“I don’t remember much of Sovereign," Saphine says, her eyes dimming in the torchlight. “I’ve tried, but it only comes in little pieces now.”

For a moment, my chest aches, disarmed by her honesty. She doesn’t look to me for a response, lost in her own ghosts. “I remember the observatory and the palace where my father grew up, but only in glimpses.”

“Neither do I.” My lips thin and I wonder why I’ve even entertained her admission. “Your father was of Ceti blood?”

Saphine nods. “Yes. He and my mother met at the temple. She was a priestess actually…you can guess how that played out.”

My shoulders straighten, and both sets of boots behind us falter. “Your mother was a servant of Astora?”

“I know, it’s forbidden, but they loved each other. I don’t remember much of them, but I know in my gut they did.”

Holy hells. Samkiel’s message spoke of a Ceti heir and the punishments enacted on him. Could it have been for an affair with a priestess? The secret descendant…either Saphine has been incredibly well briefed on our findings or her truths align with ours.

“My mother worked in the temple, too. It seems the oath of chastity was more of a suggestion…” It’s better she doesn’t see the tremor in my hands, so I tuck them into my pockets.

“Isn’t that always the case? This damned continent was forged from broken promises and secrets and our faction wasn’t any different.”

The suspicion in my veins simmers, replaced by a far more dangerous feeling…hope. I don’t doubt Saphine is just as experienced in playing roles for her jobs, but this feels different. She’s offered me information only known within our circle. I glance at Jace, now staring right at me. The same sentiment glitters in his eyes.

“What do you remember before the war?” I ask, the frost melting from my tone.