Page 64 of Ashen Wings

Half desperate to jab an elbow into his chest, I pick up the pace. “Keep dreaming.”

“My dreams are always of you, Nova Lindwen.”

My traitorous fucking heart flutters like a hummingbird. No, I won’t fall victim to his smooth voice and perfect lips. Not today. Not any day. I’m finishing this mission, collecting my payout, then riding off into the sunset with my middle fingers raised right toward him.

Footsteps behind us pound on the cobblestone with frantic urgency. I whirl around, catching a glimpse of an emerald cloak and short, blonde hair. “Thaye?! What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t think I’d let you go with a measly note for a goodbye, did you?” She steadies herself against a stone wall. “Damn I haven’t run that fast in years. I hoped to catch you before you were over the border.”

“You sprinted all the way here? From the temple?” I cough up a laugh at the vision of Thaye, donned in her priestess attire, flying through markets and narrow streets just to wish me a safe farewell.

“Of course I did, but don’t ever ask me to again. I forgot how steep the hillside gets up here.” She glances around, scanning the quiet homes and broken merchant carts. “Obdiris above, it’s gotten worse in these parts. I haven’t left the lower districts in a while, but this place has changed…”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, priestess, but our border crossing is within the hour,” Jace grumbles. Gone are the empathetic expressions or smug little jests.

The whiplash of his transformation is damn near palpable against me. “We’re nearly there, just give me a minute.”

He looses a long, drawn-out sigh, but nods and paces a few steps away.

“I wish I didn’t have to leave like this,” I whisper to Thaye, reaching a hand toward hers. She takes it, interlacing our fingers with a shocking display of affection. “But I’ll be back, and if there’s still room for me at the temple…” I don’t need to finish the question. She nods and pulls me into a gentle embrace. “Those seeking knowledge always find their way back to Obdiris. Of course there’s a place for you here.”

She offers a sad, fleeting smile, replaced by something serious and grim when her gaze lands on Jace’s tunic, catching on the embroidered signet stitched over his chest. “I didn’t know you traveled with those from Shadow.”

“Thaye, I…” My words trail off, deciphering her tone a minute too late.

“This is dangerous, Nova,” she spits. “You can't trust him.”

“So I’ve been told, but I assure you Thaye, you can trust him just as you can me.” I shift the all too heavy satchel strap to the opposite shoulder.

She curls her palms at her sides, refusing to return her eyes to mine. “Have we met before, sir?”

“No,” Jace replies, clenching his jaw.

“I swear I’ve seen you before…” Thaye’s eyes narrow into mere slits.

“How did you know where to find me?” I interject, desperate for a subject change before the growing tension buzzes to life.

Her eyes snap back to mine. “What do you mean? Your travel companions didn’t tell you of my visit?”

“Companions? Do you mean Yaris?”

My heart skids through my chest as she shakes her head.

“No, I went to Lightbrood’s home looking for you when you didn’t show this morning. Your other companion answered the door, saying you’d gotten a head start to the border.”

A wave of ice crashes through me. “Thaye, it’s just us. Who did you speak to?”

By Astora’s grace, please let this be a simple miscommunication. She crosses her arms, squeezing her biceps with long, slender fingers.

“He said he was with you. I just assumed it was true because of the Smoke insignia on his jacket. Nova…”

I don’t wait to hear the rest of her response before crashing back down the road.

30

Yaris’s front door is open when I stumble down his street. The city has come to life with late morning deliveries and bustling merchants, but the foyer is too still, too silent. I search for Finnick’s tracking link flooding in my veins. It ripples in response, faint and barely there, like an itch on the brink of falling asleep.

If the old mercenary came to Storm searching for me and found his way to Yaris…my throat dries. I’m not sure I’d ever forgive myself. Calm the fuck down, I tell myself. There’s no sense in speculating right now. All that matters is getting to Yaris, ensuring he’s safe, then returning to Shadow.