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“There are slits here”—he pointed—“so you can reach through and hold onto these straps.”
Somehow, he understood that hanging inside a bag without a place to grip could drive a human crazy. As he zipped past my neck, I stopped him. “Gaius. Thank you. I thought I…back there I mean—” I broke off, an aftershock of emotion pouring down my cheeks from the fear of what could have been and the relief that I’d survived.
“No need. This is my duty. If I can save one, then I’ve done well.” He zipped the bag to the top. I heard him belt the bag to him in three places.
“I’ve cut a patch out on your right and replaced it with mesh so you can breathe more easily.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He lifted off with a strong beat of wings. I never thought I’d be so grateful to be helpless in a body bag, hovering thousands of feet in the air. “Gaius. Can you hear me?”
“Yes.” Strangely, the bag didn’t mute his voice much. “We need to remain quiet until we reach a safer zone.”
“But, Gaius. Kol told me that when you got me out, we should go to Safehouse X.”
His wings beat harder as we lifted above the clouds. Through the mesh, I could see a blanket of white, moon-bright and rolling, like a cotton-soft sea. Cold air rushed through the opening, making me feel less claustrophobic, more at ease.
“He visited you in a dream?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s where we’ll go.”
“Is Safehouse X in Cloven?”
“There is one in every Morgon Province. He will have back-up waiting for us at each one.”
Tears spilled anew. Kol would have men scouring every territory searching for me. Soon, I would be safe in his arms. My spirit soared at the thought, reminding me that the man of ice had chiseled his way into my heart.
My gut clenched tight. I’d never known fear like I had in that cell, when I thought I would die there and be separated from Kol forever. I’d never known fear like I had when that monster held me like I was his possession, when he nearly took me in the way only one man had the right to. I was desperate to be with Kol again, to tell him exactly what I thought of walls and isolation and separation from the world and the ones you loved. Life was too short to waste, harboring bitterness against family and cherishing loneliness like it was his own precious pet. Life was too short to waste on ambition alone, pretending it was enough for me. I wanted more. I wanted Kol. I wanted…love.
Chapter Twenty-Two
We flew for nearly two hours. Gaius used evasive maneuvers, never staying on the same altitude or flying in a direct path. He plummeted to the ground and hid us in a copse of trees, silencing me as he peered overhead. He wrapped me in his arms, enveloping us both in his wings, camouflaging us in the trees, even to a Morgon’s keen eyesight from above. One great advantage of having wings the color of nature.
“Scouting party, heading northeast to the palace,” he said in a hushed whisper.
After ten minutes of utter silence and stillness, he whipped open his wings and lifted off again toward Cloven. The monotonous rhythm of his beating wings lulled me to sleep. When I awoke, I peered through the mesh at an amazing sight—Cloven.
I couldn’t make out whether the buildings were made of stone or steel in the dark, but the shapes were pyramid-like with flat rooftops. For landing, of course. Some of them had full-pointed peaks. Others were a jagged construction, mimicking a natural mountain, but the squares of yellow light proved they housed Morgons inside. I peered down, finding only darkness and shadows below. No cars zipped along streets. No cars. No streets. No humans. The city was an artificial mountain region, built for beings who never needed to set foot on earth, lifting themselves closer to the sky where they belonged.
“Wow,” I whispered.
Gaius skirted the city, banking away from its center. A river wound a sinuous path far below. Fewer buildings in the same pyramid structure, but with more space in between, lined the far side of the riverbank—private residences. We veered parallel to the river, arcing toward a white-stone building, gleaming under the moonlight. This building was different than the others. From above, it was shaped like a giant crescent, the tips reaching toward the river. On the flat roof was a clan crest in tiles, similar to what Morgons did on their top terrace in Gladium homes.
The crest was nothing but a full moon on a midnight-blue background, a paler shade of tiles ringing the moon. Though I’d never seen it, I knew this could be the crest of only one clan—the Moonring clan.
We landed with a rough jolt. I lost sight through the mesh opening as the bag shifted.
“Stay quiet till we’re inside.”
Gaius unbelted the bag from his vest harness and lifted me in his arms. I couldn’t see where we were going but heard a door slide open.
“Quick,” commanded a familiar voice.
We were inside. A door shut. An alarm pad beeped. We were airborne. I gasped, not expecting flight indoors, then just as quickly we were on solid ground. I was set upright, and the bag unzipped. Inhaling a deep breath, I took in my surroundings.
My heart skipped a beat when I thought Kol stood before me. Kieren’s brow pursed into a frown so similar to his brother’s. He wore the same high-fashion attire I’d seen him wear on the day we’d met. “Are you all right, Moira?” Sincerity in every word.
