Page 117 of Wings of Betrayal

I roll my eyes. “I was just thinking about those cell phones humans use, how handy they would be right about now. Or a bond with them both. We have no idea where they are, and we have no way to get a hold of them.”

In an instant, Kyle thrusts his arm out and shoves me back against a building. Before I have a chance to ask what’s going on, I spot them. Several watchers and Silanthian guards are up ahead. My heart beats into my throat. Kyle grabs my wrist and pulls me back around the corner the way we just came.

“Shit. We can’t let them see us!”

“Come on,” he says and takes off running back down the street.

We run for a good five minutes before Kyle slows at the end of the street. We’re near the opposite entrance to the park now, somewhere we haven’t yet searched.

“Do you think we’re in the clear?” I ask, breathing hard.

He runs his hand through his thick, dark hair. “I don’t know, but we need to find your friends. Now.”

“Zarla?”

I look around and see Lacinda jogging toward me.

“Thank the gods!” I say and run to meet her.

She throws her arms around me, and I hold her tight.

“What are you doing here?” she asks as she pulls away.

“We came to find you. Things are really bad. I’ve been in Zarquon, and we’re assembling a team to sneak into Galespo. Zalore has Astelle, and they also have one of the weapons of the gods. Well, a part of it, anyway. It’s made up of three separate orbs, and they have one of them in Galespo. They’re using it to open portals and control the lost ones.”

She frowns. “Wait, what? Who’s they?”

Kyle walks over, and Lacinda’s eyes widen as she studies him up and down.

“Lacinda, Kyle. Kyle, Lacinda,” I say. “Zalore and Amaros. They took Alaron’s weapon he uses to control the realms. We’ve got to get Astelle back and find that orb.”

“Hey, it’s nice to finally meet you,” Kyle says.

Lacinda smirks and looks between the two of us. “Not bad, Zarla. Not bad. Nice to meet you, too, Kyle. And what the hell? That’s insane.”

I raise my brows in agreement and glance around to check that we haven’t been followed. “Yep. Where’s Demetros?”

She looks over her shoulder, and Demetros hovers several yards away near his human. He looks our way, grins, and then jogs over.

“Zarla!” He wraps his beefy arms around my neck.

I hug him back and giggle. “Good to see you too! This is Kyle.”

He reaches out and shakes Kyle’s hand. “Good to meet you. Finally.”

“And you,” Kyle says. “Look, I really hate to cut this short, but we can’t stay. We just spotted a bunch of Silanthian guards and watchers back there, and if they catch us… Well, it won’t be good.”

They both look at one another with furrowed brows.

“What’s going on?” Demetros asks.

“You know how Amaros has taken over as King of Silanthia? Well, he’s also working with Zalore. We believe they’ve taken a weapon of the gods from Alaron. It’s these three orbs he uses to control the realms and control which spirits go where. We think they’re building an army of lost ones. And they have Astelle. We’re assembling a team to sneak into Galespo, find one of the orbs, and get Astelle back.”

Demetros grips the handle of his sword in his holster and shuffles from one foot to the other. “Shit. Well, you can count us in. Right, Lacinda?”

She nods. “Yeah, we’ll go.”

Kyle slaps Demetros on the back. “Thanks. We appreciate the help.”

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