Page 23 of Wings of Betrayal

He rubs his hands over his jaw.

“Finlay is my guard. I don’t need you watching over me anymore.”

He drops his hands to his side. “I will always watch over you, whether you like it or not.”

I grit my teeth, and he reaches out and takes my hand.

“Zarla, I’m sorry. I never intended to hurt you. I hope you can believe me.”

I tug my hand free from his grasp and step back. Maybe in time, I will be able to forgive him. But for now, I can’t.

“I’ll leave you to it,” he says, crossing toward the door. “I’ll see you at the meeting, then.”

I don’t respond, and he eventually leaves me alone, closing the door behind him. There is a part of me that knows he’s only ever tried to protect me, in his own twisted way. But it still eats me up, knowing what he did. What he kept from me. We grew close in the past few months. He had many opportunities to open up to me, but he chose to keep things from me he didn’t need to.

I change into fresh guardian leathers and strap my daggers to my thighs. Glancing in the mirror, I feel ready for this. Whatever this meeting entails. We have to come to some sort of arrangement with the other Kingdoms if we have any chance of understanding what’s going on with these lost ones and why they are suddenly attacking angels on Earth.

Once I’m ready, I step into the corridor and find Finlay waiting for me, as promised.

“You ready?” he asks, pushing off from the wall opposite my door.

I crack my knuckles. “Not really. You?”

He laughs, raising his hands. “We’ll find out, I guess. Let’s go.”

We make our way outside the castle entrance where all the angels are gathered, ready to head to the council meeting. Harlum, Mikel, Lissian, Amaros, Astelle, and Nilo are waiting in a group, and we head over to join them.

“Attention, please,” Harlum says, and everyone stops talking amongst themselves to listen to their King.

Amaros and I lock stares, and I glance away, breaking the contact to focus on Harlum.

“We are living in unprecedented times. This is a meeting unlike any other we have attended, and it is important that we remain composed but vigilant. I ask that every one of you puts forth your best. But be ready to strike. Do not let the archangels or watchers intimidate you. We must put to bed any previous grievances with the watchers in order to make this work. The watcher attacks were rogue watchers, acting alone. Do I make myself clear?”

I bite my tongue to stop myself from arguing. There is no way those were rogue watchers. They were planned attacks, orchestrated amongst our own ranks and the watchers. But I’m not about to cause a scene, so instead, I keep my mouth shut.

Everyone is decked out in their leathers and strapped to the nines with their weapons. Nilo and Mikel stay close to Harlum and Lissian, and Amaros and Finlay stay close to Astelle and me. Astelle doesn’t make eye contact with me, or speak to me, and I wonder how long she plans to keep this up. We haven’t spoken a word since she stabbed me. And I would like to clear a few things up with her.

Harlum releases his wings first, followed by every other angel nearby, and takes off up into the air. Several of Harlum’s guards fly out in front, and I take a deep breath before releasing my wings and following them. We head to the Gateway of the Gods in silence, and I can’t help but wonder what to expect once we pass into the unknown destination.

I’m not concerned about an ambush. I know Amaros and Zalore are close. They would have planned this whole thing out, and there won’t be any surprises, I’m sure. Or, at least, I hope there won’t be.

I’m thankful we don’t have to travel outside the Kingdom boundary. I don’t care to see another lost one as long as I live. Although I know that’s just wishful thinking at this point.

Harlum is quiet on the specifics of this meeting, so instead, we all have to blindly follow him through the gateway to the destination of the meeting. Once everyone else has jumped through, it’s just Finlay and me.

He gestures for me to go first, and I do. I close my eyes to stop myself from getting motion sick. The spinning and swirling can be a lot to handle.

We free-fall for some time before landing with a thud on hard ground. I open my eyes to find we’re in a clearing surrounded by trees and mountains on the edge of a cliff. The cliff overlooks barren land, as far as the eye can see. It’s as if we are on some sort of oasis on the border of a desert.

I scan the area and spot a circular stone ground where a large carved wooden table rests. Surrounding the stone are watchers stationed every few meters near lanterns on wooden posts, burning with fire to illuminate the area. We must be in Galespo.

Kyle stands near his mother and father, Em at his side, with Klara and several other archangel guards next to them.

My stomach twists at Em’s proximity to Kyle, but I shove that feeling aside. Harlum was specific about not causing any tension or issues during this meeting.

Kyle’s gaze finds mine, and a mix of his emotions swirl through me. Regret, longing, and even sadness, before he composes himself once more and refocuses on the wooden table in the clearing.

I swallow down my emotions, along with any other feelings of weakness, and await the next move.

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