Page 88 of Court of Secrets and Flames

Did Sterling have some expectation of what we would become after he kidnapped me? Did he even think of it as an abduction? As my wings proved, I am Tirenese. According toMother, King Xenon had me stolen from my biological parents. Not King Jasper.

Sterling may have viewed taking me away from Aclaris as saving me…

“Shall we then?” He holds his hand out, and without thinking, I accept it.

Together we leap, taking to the sky in one fluid motion, the earth falling away beneath us. The rush of air fills my ears, a roaring silence that speaks of freedom. Unexpectedly, Sterling’s arms encircle me, drawing me close to his chest.

His wings beat in powerful strokes, enveloping us both in a cocoon of warmth and intimacy. I tuck my own wings, surrendering to his embrace, my body still thrumming from our recent closeness on the marsh below. As he’s done so before, I know he can keep us in the air on his own. And soon enough, we will have to separate so no one sees us.

In silence, we glide through the fading light, the purples and oranges of the sunset wrapping around us like a lover’s shawl. Below, the world fades slowly to shadow, but up here with Sterling, time stretches, elastic and indulgent. In these precious minutes before duty beckons, we are but two souls entwined.

My mind wanders, remembering everything he’s said and done, both at Flighthaven and here in Tirene. His concern for me when I told him about my mother…how she’d all but kept me under lock and key. The way he’s tried over and over to protect me. How he went with me when I attempted to sneak out of Flighthaven to give Royce money for the food pantry. Saved me when I burned my chambers and almost died from smoke inhalation. Do I trust him, though? Completely?

I know he only went to Flighthaven to find me. But in his eyes, was I a kidnapped Tirenese who needed to be rescued from enemy territory? A little strange to think of that way, but from his perspective, it could make sense.

The palace slowly comes into view. The tall spires pierce the evening sky, reminding me of the intricate web of politics and power held within its walls. But in the shelter of Sterling’s wings, I push away thoughts of betrayal and loss, focusing instead on the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against my spine.

“Let’s circle once more.” I’m reluctant to break the spell. And I’ve almost built up enough courage to ask him. Did he think he was freeing me from Aclaris when he stole me away? From my mother?

“Anything you want.” We ascend higher, spiraling upward as the day’s last light slips from the horizon. The masks we’re forced to wear in front of others are put off for at least another few minutes.

For these moments, we’re just Lark and Sterling, flying free, untethered by the weight of crowns and kingdoms below.

The spires knife through the dusk, splintering twilight’s glow into sharp edges. I need to ask him before we land and can be overheard, but the words wither on my lips as panic surges. A tidal wave crashing over the fragile barrier of my composure.

Sterling’s arms, moments ago a sanctuary I reveled in, have suddenly become a prison from which I must escape.

“Sterling.” My gasp comes out less as his name and more as a choked plea for help. My heart pounds a drumbeat of terror, a cadence that drowns out all reason. I need to run. To escape.

He tightens his grip, his concern palpable, but the whisper of his voice barely reaches me. “Lark? What’s wrong?”

His words fade into the clamor of dread that assaults my ears. It’s as if the very air is thick with trepidation, squeezing the breath from me, choking me with the scent of impending doom.

Chapter Thirty

“Lark? Tell me what’s happening!”

A river of fear drowns Sterling’s voice.

Shadows eat at the ground, growing closer, flooding me with dread. I can’t stay here, not a second longer.

With a desperate twist of my body, I fight against the hold of his arms, only one thought in my mind.

I have to get away.

For a heartbeat, his grip falters.

That’s all it takes. Bending to the side, I jerk my arms free. My wings snap out, my feathers pushing him back. I’m falling, plummeting away from him, the wind roaring in my ears.

Sterling shouts, his voice distant as he dives after me, his commands lost amidst my panicked screams and pounding heart.

I’m beyond hearing, beyond caring. I need distance, space, and separation from whatever’s threatening to consume me. “Please! Just…let me go.”

I am a comet streaking toward the earth, wings tucked tight and head pointed down. My body burns up with the need to be alone—far from him, far from everything that reminds me of pain and loss and powerlessness.

Away. I need to get away.

The ground rushes up to meet me. It’s not the ground I fear, though, but the crushing weight of a hundred unspoken words and the looming shadow of betrayal.

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