Hadley sat down, the soreness amplified, and shut the door.
“I’ll take my management fee upfront,” he added. “I like to get the formalities out of the way. I’m sure you get it.”
Hadley pulled a hundred-dollar bill out of her bra and handed it over in silence.
“Thank you very much. Steak dinner tonight,” he celebrated andshimmied his shoulders. He turned the key in the ignition as the car’s engine came to life, vibrating the seat. Grant cranked the gear into reverse and pulled the vehicle out of the parking lot, passing the entertainment center with families walking both in and out.
“Now, you haven't said a word. Do I need to be worried? Did you get hurt?” Grant asked, his eyes hardening. “I’m here for you, Hailey. I want you to know that. I want you to feel like you can trust me. Now, I know there are a lot of scumbags out there, but I promise that’s not me.”
Hadley didn’t know what she was feeling. She felt numb, blank, possibly relieved that it was over.
The cash she left with felt dirty, but it was also a lifeline.
“I’m fine,” she managed to say while staring hard out of her passenger window. A single tear escaped her eye and traveled down her cheek. How did she get here?
It's time to toughen up, or this world is going to eat you alive.
“I can take two clients a week for now,” she said, breathing slowly while quickly whipping away the tear on her cheek. She turned back towards Grant, who was now focused on the road ahead. He raised his chin, looked down, and tilted to meet her gaze with a pulled-back grin. He understood. He understood all too well.
“You got it, darlin.”
6
Allienna | Kinnari Temple | 47 B.C
With a promise of death,Allienna didn’t know whether to feel relief or despair. She massaged her fingers into the large communal table before her, the wood porous under her skin, ignoring the conversation that continued before her. The fire cackling behind her roared, and she did her best to focus on its rhythm so that the powerful beings before her did not see her fall apart. She wasn’t allowed to fall apart. It was her duty to be strong and accept the pain of others. If she believed in destiny, that would be hers.
“If we go to war, if there is to be a fight, we should get Amis involved,” Djoser said to the room. The familiarity of that name snapped Allienna back into attention as she peered at the space between Reign and Djoser, where a seventh body long ago sat.
“No,” she whispered under her breath as the rest of the table nodded or voiced their agreement.
“No,” she spoke up again, audibly this time. Silence fell as five setsof eyes curiously gazed upon her. Allienna was not usually a voice, not generally one to speak up. She was subservient, but today, she was making decisions.
“This is for both you and Reign. This is for your survival. This is for my survival. I couldn't make it . . . '' Arryn said, his eyes hinting at his confusion and sorrow. “If we ask Amis for his help or council, then he will participate. He is still one of us.”
Arryn walked behind Allienna and placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing slightly. Though it was meant as an act of comfort, Allienna felt only a small, kindling fire course through her body. Arryn had been using his creation all night with the food, the drinks, the fire, and the roaring snowstorm currently outside, so this, she knew, was his most relaxed state.
He let go of her, likely sensing a feeling of euphoria and realizing his burden on her. He got down on his knees, kissing the inside of her light brown wings for a moment, and placed his hands on her thigh, eyes pleading.
“Arryn, I’m sorry,” she explained, “but asking Amis to send his children, his family, to war for the two of us is wrong. They will get slaughtered. They are barely more than humans.”
“They will get slaughtered anyway,” Reign interrupted. “if the Vrae walk the earth. Now, who do we imagine doing that, going through the realms, opening a portal between them? Only the Gifter and the goddesses that surround him.”
Allienna held her hands up to her cheeks, struggling to concentrate. If she were to die, and that was unchangeable, every moment she sat there was nothing more than a waste of her breath. This meeting needed to end.
“I am adamantly against using the Waihema village in any conflict between the Gifter or the Vrae. I say we put it to a vote.” She stood, her hands still digging into the wooden table.
“All those in favor of consulting Amis, please raise a hand,” Arryn requested formally.
Reign, Precession, Roksana, and Djoser all voted in agreement, their hands in the air.
“Very well then, it's settled,” said Arryn. “We fly to Waihema at once. Djoser, you will lead us.”
Djoser nodded in agreement since he, like Amis, also left and started a civilization. He related the most to the living creature missing from the table.
“No, not yet,” Reign said softly enough to cause eyebrows to raise. “We will wait until I am called upon. We will wait until I am sentenced and Djoser has been given the order. Our actions must come from defiance, not anticipation.”
Reign stood up like a cat stretching, her wings flexing out to their full length, stretching behind Allienna.