AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The reminder of Creed’s words flickers in my mind. Tilting my hands up, I stare at them in wonder. It’s not possible. There’s no way I did that with my hands, my touch, whatever the fuck it was. But the proof is standing mere inches away from me.
“Miss, are you ready for someone to take a look at you?”
I flinch when a hand lands on my shoulder. Startled, I blink up at a man with a soft smile on his face. The concern is evident in his stare, but I take no solace in his closeness.
“She’s good for now, man. She just needs some space.” Zane reaches for the guy's hand while placing himself between the medic and me. I exhale when the medic steps back, nodding as he moves around the room, leaving me to look up at Zane like he hung the damn moon.
He crouches beside me, not touching me, despite the twitch in his fingers. I hate that I feel like I’m being difficult right now, as if he doesn’t know how to handle me. Or maybe he does. I just don’t like that he has to.
“Hey, Dove,” he breathes, his words warming my chest as his eyes soften. Hazel orbs peering into my soul whether I like it or not.
“Hey,” I croak, a bubble of emotion sitting on the tip of my tongue, sweeping my throat as I bite it all back. He notices it all, though. I can see it in the crinkle of his eyes.
Tilting my head, I swallow back the sob I’m sure was trying to escape, taking time to gather myself before I look at him again. I try to summon some humor to break the tension in the air between us, but my lips have barely parted when the clang of metal echoes around the room.
“Whose sword is this?”
My gaze locks on the silver, disbelief washing over me as another piece of the puzzle appears. It’s identical to mine, similar in every way, but my sword isn’t here.
“It’s mine.” Everyone whips around to look at Brax, who now stands with a frown on his face. He rubs the back of his neck, exhaustion clinging to his features as he bites back a yawn.
He looks dead on his feet.Literally.
My heartbeat quickens. It was gone. And now it’s not. Just like him.
He can’t even look at me, and I can’t even process what the fuck is happening. Does he know? Does he remember? Does he feel any different?
I could sink beneath the questions swirling in my head, but I refuse to lower my defenses in a room full of strangers. Now isn’t the time. That doesn’t stop the deeper thoughts from rearing their ugly heads, making a tremble run through my bones from head to toe.
I should have stayed hidden. I should have stayed tucked away in Shadowmoor for all of eternity. The ward on my body was a blessing, not a curse.
My heart clenches with the thought, knowing full well that if I weren’t here or attending Silvercrest Academy, then I wouldn’t know the Bishops. I wouldn’t know Ari. At the flicker of his name in my thoughts, a noise sounds out in the distance.
He’s still here. He stayed for me. His call gets louder, as if he can sense my distress and he’s hunting me down. Tilting my head back again, the gaping hole in the ceiling remains cast in darkness from the skies above until a flash of gold streaks across the open air.
Ari.
“Let me take you to him,” Zane breathes, offering me his hand. I stare down at it for a beat before slipping my palm against his. He squeezes gently, tugging me to my feet before plastering me to his chest. “I’m going to make sure no one can see us, okay?”
I frown, confused, until he starts walking us through the room. “Hey, where did the other two go?” The medic from earlier asks, and I catch a glimpse of Eldon’s smirk before Zane carries me down what remains of the demolished stairs.
He used his magic on me. Made me invisible, like him.
I tighten my arms around his neck, my feet just off the floor with the full length of my body pinned against him as he steps over the rubble, only releasing me when we step out into the open. Crimson stains the black and gray hues as people rush around, aiding those who are injured while others gather the lifeless remains of those less fortunate.
Zane runs the back of his hand over my cheek and I whimper at his gentleness. There’s so much to understand, so much to discuss, so many questions, but none of that matters in this moment. He’s here, silently showing me the support he’s never wavered on.
My Zane.
He lowers his forehead to mine, breathing me in despite the state of me, and I run my hands down his arms, squeezing his wrists in a silent thank you.
“I think he needs you as much as you need him, Dove. Go.” He leans back, dropping his hands from my waist as he nods over my shoulder.
I turn to see golden feathers gracefully float through the air, despite the size of the griffin landing before me. Ari hits the ground, making it shake beneath my feet, and a few people around us startle. But it all fades to darkness as I take a step toward him. Then another, and another, until my head is cranked back to look up at him. His head dips down, his eyes peering at me over his beak. To anyone else, he might look scary. Understandably, there’s a reason the griffins were in the Gauntlet: they’re feared.
Yet, to me, Ari feels like… home.
I launch myself at him, burying my face in his soft feathers as I cling to him. A harsh breath morphs into a sob as I bleed my soul into him. The world around us drifts away, my body craving his comfort, and I feel his beak nuzzle against my shoulder as he consoles me in a way I can’t even begin to acknowledge or explain.
