Page 129 of Angel Lost

Chapter Forty-seven: Lorelei

By the end of the day, I’m exhausted. Dead on my feet, eyes stinging kind of exhausted, but we need a debrief. Acting as normal has meant we’ve barely seen one another. Certainly not all together in one room. I shove my way into Farrell’s room, pushing past Alairik and Raff lurking in his hallway, elbowing Hewie off the giant loveseat. I collapse, head in Chano’s lap, and groan.

“Everyone here?” Farrell’s clipped tones bring the room to order. How does he do that? Lead effortlessly. Chano’s hands smooth my forehead, and I push myself up, batting him away. I’ll be asleep in two minutes, even with the blood top-up he gave me over lunch. And I have questions. Questions that need to be answered. My fangs pop out over my lip, and I rub my temple. Must not get snappy. Must not.

“So, this mark…” Zephyr gestures at my wrist. “It’s an illusion, right?”

Zephyr and Kai sit opposite each other at the big oak table, matching scowls on their faces. I rub my wrist, sensing it out, feeling the connection. It feels real. Very real.

Kai sniffs, peering down his nose. “Nothing to do with me, angel.” He stands and strides toward me, crouching down, face level with mine. “You finally accepted our bond.” He smiles, and his expression lightens. “An allegiance and no longer a slave. What a week.”

Zephyr scrapes his chair back and stalks over. He yanks Kai’s hair away from the back of his neck and peers closely. No slave mark. His fingers twitch.

Kai stays motionless for a second before turning, standing slowly. His hand lands on Zephyr’s shoulder. “Sorry, man,” he says. “You next?”

Zephyr stares down at his hand in disgust. He shoves Kai back, a flurry of moths exploding from under his uniform. “I killed one of my own, and I’m the one still bound? And you? You’ve shoved your way into my allegiance.”

Farrell strides across the room. “Since when were angels your people, Zephyr?” Farrell asks. “The Angel King has always been our enemy. And the angels he surrounds himself with.”

Zephyr rears back. His wings flick out, taking up far too much space in the room. “At least they would get rid of your father if I asked them to.”

“What?” Farrell’s tone is low, dangerous.

“They offered!” Zephyr snaps. “They offered me anything I want.”

Farrell snarls, and I move to stand between them. “Shit, Zephyr. We need to keep our heads down right now. After, if there is an after, we’ll deal with the Virrey.”

Zephyr looks between me and Farrell. He folds his wings away with smooth precision. “Always a second thought. Always later.”

I take hold of the sides of his face, force him to hold eye contact with me. “I promise you, Zephyr. But they’re going to discover Davina is dead soon. And all it takes is one of those kids to open their mouths…”

Farrell turns, upending the entire table. “They’re not dead?” he roars. “You said you’d deal with them, Lorelei.”

From the corner, Reye speaks. “Knew I liked you, Aether Lorelei.” She offers me a grin and I can’t help but return it, despite Farrell’s anger.

Farrell bangs his fist on the wall, smoke puffing from his nostrils. Quietly, calmly, Chano moves between him and me. I peek around his broad shoulders. “I just couldn’t, Farrell. They were made to do things because of the bond. They deserve a chance.”

Zephyr twirls a lock of his beautiful hair around a finger, staring at Farrell with a strange kind of disconnect. “This is why Lorelei is better than you.”He throws one last glance around the room as he walks away. “Than all of you.”

The door shuts at his back and we sit in silence.

Farrell slowly rights the table and pulls a chair toward me. I sink into it, resting my head in my hands. What now? We still have all the decisions to make. And it feels like a part of my soul just walked out the door.

I really don’t know if he’ll make his way back to us.

“They’ll follow me,” Reye says. She smooths her hands across the front of her robe and sits, legs crossed at the ankles. Ever the lady. “The Gifted students are my friends—they might follow me. They knew I didn’t want to be the king’s bride. I just had no choice. Like them.”

Kai ruffles her hair as if she’s still his kid sister.

She catches his hand, giving it a squeeze. “I’ll speak to them. Don’t misunderstand, Farrell Cuelebre, I won’t force them. But I’ll try to persuade them to stay hidden, at least a bit longer.”

I nod. “That sounds like our best hope. Farrell can take you to them.”

Farrell swings his head toward me, in the moment his movements are so like the giant dragon that I smile. “They’re on your estate, Farrell. Hidden in the ley lines.”

“And I didn’t get a say in that?”

I stare him down. “Those soldiers answer to me too, remember.”

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