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My wings shook themselves out, taking me slightly by surprise, like some kind of innate reflex. I turned to find everyone, with the exception of Rayne, with varying degrees of surprise on their faces.
“Have you had wings this whole time?” Lokus asked.
It was an entirely legitimate question… Nakoa kept his glamored almost always.
My spine went rigid, bracing myself for the explanation I would have to give.
“No…”
Nakoa curled a fortifying arm around my waist, our wings effortlessly sliding one over the other as though perfectly suited puzzle pieces.
Lokus' brows merely rose impossibly further. “Huh.” And then proceeded to snatch a bit of fruit from a bowl near Famei.
Pomona gave me an encouraging smile. “Cool.”
Nakoa looked down at me to gift me a smug grin before he turned to the mimicryx whose eyes were currently dancing keenly between us.
“So what exactly is it that you need me to do? And does it benefit The Uprising?”
“Zurie has requested that mydeadbody be brought to her.”
The mimicryx huffed a laugh in disbelief in the same moment Rayne scowled silently at Nakoa.
“You expectmeto willingly be tossed into Zurie’s lair?”
“Zuriewill be dead,” he replied pointedly, “And as I mentioned before… You will not be alone.”
Nakoa proceeded to explain his plan to Vesper and the rest of us. I found myself only distantly observing as I tried to visualize each step of the way. Each potential outcome of every move. All the bravado and reassurance I’d gained during my and Nakoa’s ceremony evaporated into thin air. Apparently, I was endowed with the task of killing the Queen myself.
Thatwasn’t what I found upsetting, no. What had sent my gut churning was the fact that Nakoa didn’t hesitate for even a moment to think perhaps he wouldn’t wish to find me in that kind of imminent danger… Not that I thought that I would be incapable of succeeding in the task, especially with the element of surprise… And it was true that the plan he’d concocted was by far the simplest and most efficient.
If I succeeded, Zurie would be dead, and not a single person would know other than Vesper. At least until we were ready. Which would need to be shortly after, but still...
There would be no guards or her army to deal with until Vesper could take on the Queen's form after her death and announce Nakoa King...
There would be consequences sure but....
Logic and rationality repeated these facts in my mind to soothe my viscerally lacerated heart.
It didn’t work.
Instead, it left me feeling… expendable.
“You know the castle well?” He asked me, jerking me out of my thoughts.
Steeling myself against my emotions, I managed a nod.
“… Like the back of my hand.”
“Is there a… discreet entrance you could bring us in through? In case you need... backup.”
“… There’s a distant tunnel entrance in the forest that’s hidden but left unguarded. There are wards in place that make it impossible to find unless you’ve been brought there before. I can let you in through there before Vesper, and I go through the front.”
The group of us silently deliberated.
Akash almighty… Could that actually work?
Even without the bond being fulfilled, my power had heightened considerably… Not to mention… I couldn’t help but wonder if there was somegiftthat I hadn’t yet discovered linked with my mark that tied me to Mors insomeway… Perhaps I would need to pay a visit to one of his temples. The idea alone had a shudder wracking my body.
