Page 4 of Wings of Betrayal

Oh no. It may not have been the best idea telling him all of this. He may actually kill Amaros.

“You mean it was Amaros who took your memories of me?” he asks, and I nod. “And he did the same to me, too?”

I nod again before reaching out and taking his hand. “What matters is we have those memories back. We have each other.”

His gaze searches mine, and he holds my face in his hands, a look of total adoration in his eyes. Gods above, how did I get so lucky?

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Zarla, but I’m never letting you go.” His expression shifts as a darkness enters his gaze. “And those who sought to tear us apart will pay for what they have done.”

And there it is. His words comfort me, knowing he has my back..

“Can we please just keep this between us for now? The last thing I need is Amaros finding out that I know. He can’t. I don’t know what he’s capable of, but he’s far more powerful than I ever imagined.”

A cheeky and determined smirk twitches his lips. “As are we.”

I bite my bottom lip, pulling it into my mouth as I think about whether it’s the smartest idea to tell him this next thing. But he needs to know everything.

“What is it?”

I swallow down the fear and go for it. “Finlay is back. They sentenced him to have his wings removed, and he was down on Earth for some time. But when Hethenos admitted she threatened his family if he didn’t do as she asked, it became clear it wasn’t his fault. His sentence was revoked and his wings restored, thanks to his father.”

He looks away and shakes his head. “So what, he’s been forgiven? As if nothing happened?”

I give his hand a squeeze. “Not exactly. I haven’t spoken to him yet, but I plan to. Kyle, he didn’t do it of his own will. Hethenos tricked us all. She fooled us all. He deserves a second chance at redemption.”

He glances down at our joined hands but doesn’t say a word, and I really hope he understands where I’m coming from.

“I have to find my father. My real father. All I know about him is that he has gold wings, blond hair, and green eyes.”

Kyle arches a brow at me. “Sounds like a male model or something.”

I laugh at that. But he could be. He was that handsome.

A screeching sound outside startles me, and I jump off the bed. Kyle hears it too, and he scrambles off the bed and over to the balcony to check it out. We stare out the window into darkness, and then I see it.

A looming figure, hovering midair near the forest, its milky-white eyes glowing with malevolence.

A cold sweat trickles down my spine, but before I can understand what the figure is, it’s gone.

CHAPTER TWO

“What the hell was that?” I breathe, the tiny hairs on my arms prickling.

Kyle takes hold of my hand and pulls me back into the room, and something about his reaction frightens me more. Clearly, this isn’t something he’s seen before, either.

I squeeze his hand to grab his attention, and he finally meets my gaze. “What was that?”

“Let’s find my parents,” he says, and with that, he’s leading me out of his room and down the vast corridor.

We pass the familiar wall covered in tiny shells, and its beauty catches my breath, much like the last time I was here. But there’s a feeling of unease creeping into my stomach that makes it hard to appreciate the beauty of the wall in this moment. I focus my attention on the warmth of Kyle’s hand instead, intertwined with mine, and it helps to settle the uncertainty inside me.

Whatever it was outside, it shouldn’t have been there. That much is obvious.

I really hope I don’t see it again, but something tells me that’s just wishful thinking.

We reach a set of double doors guarded by four guards, and they look a little hesitant when they lay their eyes on me, but they allow us to pass. We step into a vast room with high ceilings, and despite its size, it somehow feels cozy. Spaced around the room are several lounge areas with comfortable couches and small tables in between.

But it’s the impossibly tall bookshelves that grab my attention. It’s a library. Much smaller than the one in my castle in Silanthia, but it’s gorgeous.

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