Page 32 of Wings of Death

I plaster a smile on my face, trying my best to hide my emotions. “I’m fine. Just a little flustered from being here in her room. That’s all.”

He narrows his eyes on me and closes the distance between us. There isn’t a lot of room in here, and I back up as far as I can, which isn’t much, but he moves forward again.

He touches my cheek, gazing into my eyes. “You are so much like your mother. Do you know that? She would be proud of you.”

My mind swirls as I try to comprehend the situation. He is way too close for comfort, and he’s putting off some seriously strange vibes. I need to go. I shuffle around him and hurry out of the wardrobe. I snatch up the book from her bedside and leave. Fast. I don’t know what’s up with Amaros, but he is acting off, and it’s making me uneasy.

To avoid another interaction with him, I move to the windows and dive out, releasing my wings as I fly down to the second level and land on my balcony. My doors are open, and I walk through into my quarters and place my mother’s book down next to my bed. Her journal is still safely hidden in my robes, and I take it out, gliding my fingers over the symbol etched into the worn leather cover.

This is the last journal she wrote in. Although I’m desperate to read it, something is holding me back. Fear, perhaps, of the unknown. If I read it and uncover something awful, it will destroy me. I don’t know that I can take it. But I need answers. I need to understand why someone is trying to tell me that her murder is a lie.

I sit on the edge of my bed and squeeze my eyes closed as I fill my lungs with a few deep breaths.You can to do this, Zarla,I tell myself. I run my fingers over the worn cover, imagining my mother doing the same. I open the cover, and a strange surge of power rushes throughout my body. The journal drops to the floor as I jump to my feet. What in the gods was that? And then it surges again, stronger this time, and I brace myself against my bed.

There’s a knock at the door, and I snatch the journal up and tuck it under the mattress of my bed. I take a deep breath, composing myself before I answer it. Hethenos stands with Astelle at her side, and Rimel and Yimel behind them. Hethenos barges her way in, shoving me to the side as the others follow her.

“Sure, come on in,” I sarcastically say.

As I go to shut the door, I notice my ring is glowing red, and something inside me tells me not to close it. I leave it half open and step into the room, folding my arms across my chest to hide the ring’s glow.

“Astelle mentioned something of concern,” Hethenos says, arching a brow at me. “Apparently you have been interfering in Astelle and Amaros’s relationship.”

My mouth gapes open at the accusation, and I glare at Astelle. “What?”

“Don’t bother denying it,” Astelle chimes in. “You told me you were spying on us earlier.”

I risk a glance at my ring to see it’s still glowing, and put my hands behind my back as I subtly slip it off and tuck it into the pocket of my robes.

“See?” Astelle says with a wave of her hand toward me. “She’s not even denying it.”

Hethenos narrows her eyes at me.

“I don’t know what she’s told you, but I have no interest in anything regarding her and Amaros. I simply walked in on a tense situation, like I told her, and wanted to see if she was all right.”

Astelle rolls her eyes. “Yeah, right. I’ve seen the way you look at him.”

Is she serious? I rub my hands down my face and tuck my hair behind my ears, my irritation growing. “Astelle, I don’t know how many times I need to say this, but I do not have feelings for Amaros, nor do I care about what goes on between the two of you, and you are deluded if you think I do. I have more important things to do than sneak around, spying on the two of you. Get a grip.”

I hardly have time to duck before Astelle storms up to me and slaps me hard across my face.

“Liar!” she shouts.

I rub my cheek, my skin tingling already from the sensation, and Hethenos steps in front of me.

“You’re just like your mother. She was always out to get the attention of every male she could, flirting her way through the Kingdom. She never knew when to shut her legs. It seems you are walking in her footsteps.” She storms toward the door, Astelle close behind, before turning to me again. “And let this be a final warning. Stay away from Amaros. My daughter is going to be the next Queen, and she will rule over this Kingdom one day. You can be sure of that.”

Astelle storms out of my room, and Hethenos follows, with Yimel close behind. I feel a sudden unease in my stomach when Rimel lingers near the door, pushing it almost closed before moving towards me. I back up and bump into the doorframe to my bathroom, and he stops in front of me, far too close for my liking.

My stomach knots as he moves his gaze down my body. “You know, I’m always around if you need someone to…chat to.” He reaches up and takes a lock of my hair, gently gliding it through his fingers.

My heart is racing at this point, and I’m frozen in place.

Zarla? Are you okay?

I can’t even respond to Finlay. I feel totally and utterly powerless.

Rimel’s eyes search mine for a moment before he gives me a creepy smirk.

Zarla?Finlay calls out.

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