Page 71 of Wings of Death

“Zarla!” Demetros calls out.

After what feels like an eternity, he lets me go, and the pain drops just as fast as I do. My knees give out, and I hit the stone floor, my breathing rapid.

Lacinda and Demetros rush to the edge of the stones, desperately trying to get through, but still unable to pass through the invisible barrier.

“What have you done to her?” Demetros demands.

“Only what she has asked of me.”

My legs shake as I stand. “How do I use it?”

“You simply think of what you want, and the dark magic will do all the work for you.” He takes my hand and presses his lips to my skin before disappearing.

I stand there, speechless, staring into the space he was in just seconds ago. My skin feels cool where he touched me.

I turn to face my friends. They’re both clammy, with concern laced across their features.

“Are you okay?” they ask.

I smile, feeling better than I have in a long time. “I’m fine,” I say as I step back through the gap in the stones, “but I must go to Kyle.”

“Be safe,” Lacinda says against my ear as we hug.

“I will. I promise.”

“Go to him,” Demetros says.

Tears sting my eyes as my wings spring free, and I shoot into the air high above the Dark Forest where the sun is setting in the distance. I fly faster than I have ever flown before. I don’t care if I’m seen. I pass through the gates and dive back down to Earth to restore Kyle’s wings.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Iland in the yard outside Kyle’s house as nerves wrack my body. The fact I’m here to tell Kyle I did it, that I found a way to restore his wings, is overwhelming. I hurry up the porch steps where Kyle opens the door to meet me. He rushes forward and takes me in his arms, and I breathe in his delicious scent of cinnamon, which instantly calms me.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

I nod, squeezing him tighter. He eventually pulls back and takes my hands, pressing kisses to them.

“I was so worried about you,” he says. “I shouldn’t have made you go. It was stupid?—”

“Kyle, I did it,” I interrupt.

His brows knit together. “What?”

My lips curl up into a wide smile as my vision blurs, and I try to blink back the tears. “I found a way to restore your wings.”

His mouth gapes open, and he drops my hands. “How?”

I hesitate for a moment, unsure if I should explain the exact details, then decide against it. “It doesn’t matter, but I can do it.”

He reaches up and brushes his thumb across my cheek, wiping some of my spilt tears away. “Are you sure?”

I nod. “Come on,” I say, tugging him down the porch steps and into the yard.

He stands before me, seeming unsure what to do, and my heart melts at how nervous and excited he is.

I lean up and brush my lips against his. “Are you ready?”

He swallows hard. “I think so, but I still don’t get what’s happening.”

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