Page 94 of A Heart Of Bitter Poison
Eryx shrugs and looks over his shoulder, fanning out his wings. The sound of clinking wind chimes fills the silence behind him as his plumage shifts and settles. “I dunno. But we can find out.”
“Press the tip of your wing to the glass and let’s see if this works,” Ediye says. Eryx does as she asks, the edges of his feathers scraping along the glass.
“Hula zuba u itaatuuka. Qu turkunu liteli sa me.”
Eryx’s long primary feathers begin to glow, first a dark red, then a brighter orange like the dawn, then yellow and finally white. At first nothing happens, but then I see it. The glass begins to bubble and drip.
“Valentina,” I say over the Ediye’s chants. She meets my eyes. “You can spellcast, can’t you. That's why they came for you.”
Valentina nods.
“Follow Ediye’s words. Use her spell from your side. We need to speed things up. I’ll work on Florin’s door.”
Valentina nods again. She closes her eyes and begins chanting. The glass drips in thick globs as the feathers melt further into the surface, piercing through to the other side.
I run to Ashen, who hits the lock with relentless blows. There are dents but it still doesn’t give. I grasp his arm and point to where the vampire and witch and angel work together on Valentina’s door.
“We need Aloros,” I say. “The rest are hybrids. If they know we’re here-“
“Then so does Semyon,” he finishes, a look of dismay fleeting across his face. He pushes me behind him and shields me with his wings of smoke. He rolls up his sleeve, chanting the summoning spell that burns his hidden tattoo to life.
Just like in my vision from the crash, a pinprick of light forms before us. I watch through the smoke as it grows into a brilliant orb. It pulses and expands until it’s as taller than Ashen, then bursts into glittering sparks. Aloros steps forward from the falling light.
“Demon. While it amuses me that you require my aid, it is becoming more frequent than I anticipated,” Aloros says with a hint of a smug smile. He casts his gaze around the room, a crease appearing between his brows. He looks at Eryx and Ediye and their efforts to free Valentina, then back to Ashen.
“Less talk, more help,” Ashen orders.
Aloros doesn’t delay and unfurls his wings, pointing the tips of his primary feathers to the glass. He looks at me and nods.
I close my eyes. I hold my hand toward where the feathers meet the glass. I take up Ediye’s spell.
The heat builds within me. I feel my mated mark like a beacon of light and I channel everything through it. A wind picks up at my feet. I open my eyes and watch as the angel’s feathers begin to glow, bubbling the security glass. It’s working, but not fast enough.
I keep chanting but I look to Ashen whose gaze is soldered to mine, darting my eyes down to his sword, then to where the glass is beginning to melt. He nods. The flame comes to life on his blade.
Ashen plunges his sword into the melting hole, careful to avoid damaging the angel’s feathers. It takes no more than a breath of time and the entire wall of glass shatters and falls to the floor. Florin is free.
“Cole! Add your sword!” Ashen yells above the chanting and a wind of magic that’s picked up in the chamber. Cole does the same, plunging his hellfire blade into the hole of dripping glass. Again it shatters, and the glass isn’t even done falling before Valentina is running to Florin. They crash into one another in a desperate embrace, both shaking with cries of relief.
“Thank you,” Valentina says as she meets all of our eyes over Florin’s shoulder.
Aloros steps forward, curling his wing around his body to inspect it for damage. The glow is receding, already turning to a deep orange. The structure of the feathers appears undamaged and he doesn’t seem bothered. If anything, he almost looks bored, but I see the way his eyes dart down the chamber. “What about the other prisoners?”
“All hybrids,” Ashen replies. “We need to keep them here for now, until we can figure out how to deal with them safely.”
Aloros nods, then turns toward Valentina and Florin as they part from their embrace. “I will take you both to safety.”
Valentina takes a step toward the angel. Her eyes flare with red light. “Take Florin. They invaded my home. They imprisoned and tortured us. I want vengeance.”
Aloros sighs and looks down at me as if to saythis is whyI call you ‘lesser being’. I shrug.
“Fine. Come, human. I will take you to the apothecary of Bucharest. She can be trusted. We will remain there, if you survive.”
Valentina and Florin nod before they embrace one last time and share a passionate kiss. They separate with tears and words of longing and hope, and then Florin follows the angel who strides toward the broken door.
Valentina watches until they disappear from view, then turns her tear-streaked face to me. The red gleam still glows in her eyes. “You’re Leucosia, aren’t you?”
I nod. “Yes. I’d say it’s good to meet you, but the circumstances are a bit shit,” I say, gesturing around us.
