Page 83 of Wings of Death

I let out a frustrated sigh. This is so not fair. I deserve answers. Why isn’t she able to give them to me?

She looks around and then leans in close, her voice nothing more than a whisper. “He is watching. I must be careful.” She glances around again. “He is always watching.”

My brows crease. “Who is watching?”

She shakes her head and plasters on a smile, and I take it that topic is also off the table.

“Gods, I miss you. So much,” I tell her.

The wind picks up, blowing my hair around my face, and I try my best to tame it by tucking it behind my ears.

“Do not be sad, my daughter. Let us enjoy this moment together.”

I bite my lip as I consider asking a question I am sure will also be off the table. But I have to ask it. “Was it Hethenos? Because Kyle remembers seeing her discuss it with another male.”

She frowns. “Who is this Kyle you speak of?”

The deep sadness I have felt since Amaros took me back to Silanthia against my will, leaving Kyle injured and alone, rears itself once more, tearing at my heart. I place my hand against my chest as I try to hold myself together.

“The gods bonded us together. I am his guardian, but it turns out he’s a fallen angel from Zarquon. We knew one another when we were younger. He had his wings torn off and his memories removed for witnessing a conversation about your murder,” I explain, “and I too had my memories removed.”

She stares at me as if knowing there is more to tell.

“I took Kyle back to Silanthia, and he regained his memories from the sacred golden fountain.”

Her features shift into a disapproving glare. “And you visited the God of Death to harness the forbidden dark magic.”

I gasp. How in the gods did she know that?

“I can sense it,” she says, reading my thoughts, “and I’m not pleased to learn of it. The dark magic is forbidden for a reason. It is dangerous, Zarla.”

I lean back a little and shake my head. “It was necessary.”

“Have you used it?”

I’m getting frustrated by the lack of information she can give me. Why is she being so secretive? Something tells me it’s to do withhim. Whoever is watching.

“Yes, I used it to restore his wings,” I admit. “That was my purpose for harnessing it.”

She closes her eyes and takes several deep breaths as I wait for her to look at me again.

“I had no choice. Kyle deserved to have his wings back,” I say in my defence.

Her face softens as she looks at me. “Do you trust him?”

I nod. It’s painful talking about him when I don’t even know if he’s okay. “With my life,” I whisper. “The enemy Kingdom is not as they led us to believe.”

“I know,” she says, a solemn look settling across her features. She stands and reaches her hand out to help me up. “Come, let us take a walk.”

We spend the next hour wandering through meadows of flowers and endless trees. Wherever we are, it’s the most beautiful place I have ever seen before. More so than Silanthia.

There are other angels here, and they fly by toward a city in the distance.

There are many questions that remain unanswered, but I trust her and know she will tell me if she can. So I simply enjoy this time with her.

I tell her about my life, how Lissian has been there for me, and I can see the contentment in her features that I have been well taken care of. I don’t go into detail about the distant relationship my father and I share. That is for another time. If we are to meet again, that is.

I tell her all about Kyle, and as I speak about him, I know without a doubt that I love him. And the next time I see him, and therewillbe a next time, I will tell him as much. I have to hangon to hope that I will see him again. Any alternative is too painful to bear.