Page 125 of Wings of Death

“Is that why you’ve been with Astelle? Because she’s a goddess too? Is that your type or something?”

He furrows his brows. “It’s not like that.”

Without another word, I cross my quarters and open the doors onto my balcony. Amaros grips my wrist, and I stop, reluctantly glancing back to face him.

“I’m so sorry for what they did to you.”

I swallow hard. “Thank you for saving me.”

He gently squeezes my hand, and I tug it back.

“What did you mean when you said this wasn’t part of the plan, back in the cells?”

His mouth drops open as if he’s shocked I heard that, and he scratches his head. “I think you must have misheard me.”

I narrow my eyes at him and then leap off my balcony and swoop up into the sky. There’s a shift in the air behind me, and I know he’s following me.

“Zarla, wait!” he calls out.

Ignoring him, I fly to the only place I can think where Hethenos would go. The Dark Forest.

The sky grows dark, and I can sense a storm brewing. There’s a thunderous crack in the distance, and the sky lights up. The wind grows stronger, which helps me fly faster across the Kingdom. I see the edge of the forest up ahead and glide down to land on the grass.

I spot the huts Kyle and I made when we were young, and fresh pain cuts through my heart. I swallow the lump in my throat as Amaros lands next to me.

He’s lying to me. Somehow, I know he is involved in all of this. I don’t know why, and I don’t know the extent of his involvement, but there’s an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach that I can’t shake.

“Zarla, please just let me go with you,” he says.

I take in a deep breath and raise my head a little. “No.”

I take two steps forward before he grabs my arm, and I turn to meet his determined glare.

“Don’t do this. She’s too powerful. She could kill you.” His eyes search mine, desperate to convince me not to do this.

I yank my arm free. “Don’t you dare convince me not to. She killed my mother! She tried to kill me, and she tried to kill my father, by the sounds of it, and may have succeeded. I don’t even know. She has tried to destroy everything I care about.” I pause before adding, “And you seem to have been involved.”

Amaros stares at me, and I can see the agony in his eyes. But as far as I’m concerned, he deserves it. If he’s involved in this, in any of this, I will never speak to him again.

“She’s a goddess, Zarla,” he says, “a powerful one too. She could kill you.”

I’m not surprised by that, given Astelle is a goddess. “Please free my friends from the cells, if you haven’t already done so. And see that my father is okay. That is your job after all, remember?”

Tears fall down my cheeks, and I angrily wipe them away before swooping into the air, leaving him behind as I fly over the Dark Forest toward the ancient clearing.

And toward Hethenos.

CHAPTER THIRTY

As I fly over the forest, I can sense her. I don’t know how. Maybe it’s the connection we share to the dark magic. But she’s here. That much I’m certain of. I allow my dark magic to seep out into the forest in search of her. In my mind’s eye, I see her in the clearing by the ancient ruins, before my dark magic even finds her there.

A yelp sounds below, and I look down at a group of Zelons running through the forest below me. I close my eyes as I glide through the air, feeling more at home than ever. The forest is a part of me. I can feel it coursing through my veins, and I love everything about it. I spot the clearing up ahead and glide down toward it.

The ancient ruins where I summoned Alaron come into focus, and I land in the clearing. I spot Hethenos crouched down on the circular rock in the middle of the ruins. She appears injured, and I wonder why her dark magic hasn’t been able to heal her. I’m certain she would have tried. Did The Sword of Silanthia harm her? I sense weak magic radiating from her and know she’s attempting to summon Alaron.

I storm toward her and stop just outside the rocks as the weight of energy bears down on my shoulders. I brace myselfagainst the side of the rock while I breathe through it and then raise my right hand. A strength unlike anything I’ve experienced before surges through me. A bright white beam blasts out of my hand, cuts through the invisible barrier, and shoots Hethenos out the other side and into the clearing.

My body feels replenished, ready for a fight. Hethenos struggles to her feet and raises her head, pressing her lips together in a tight line. I can see how difficult she is finding this. Her strength has been seriously diminished.

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