Page 31 of Glass Wings
Djoser vaguely recognized a thud in the distance. Boots hit the dirt, and footsteps sounded until they were right behind him.
“It doesn’t seem like you need much help,” Arryn’s voice was hushed.
Arryn’s wings scraped the dirt as he knelt and placed his hands over the bloodied, missing part of Djoser’s wing.
“No,” Djoser protested, “don’t touch them. They will heal.”
“I can’t imagine how,” Arryn said while proceeding to stack new atoms together, stitching them into Djoser’s wings gracefully. Mere seconds later, the blood had stopped, and the missing flesh was restored.
“Think of it as a thank you. The first Vrae released in this realm, since we were children, and yet, somehow, you were the first of us hunted down. None of us can kill them as easily as you, friend. No one has ever even had the opportunity before to try. I suppose we were lucky,” Arryn said, grabbing Djoser's waist from behind and aiding him to his feet.
“How did you know to come?” Djoser asked. “I didn’t fully sense it until after it attacked me.”
“I didn’t know. I came to gather everyone and send them to the temple. We have our signal. It’s time for war,” Arryn said blatantly.
“No shit,” Djoser scoffed. “You could have just called me, you know, on a phone. You should get one.”
Arryn walked around in a circle, gathering up Djoser’s keys and cell phone.
“It doesn’t look like you have one either,” Arryn shrugged, handing Djoser the shattered, boxy plastic phone, its antenna snapped off.
“Are you ready to go? Is there anything you need to take care of?”
Djoser pocketed his items. “I need to return to my apartment. I need to shower and clean up. What is so urgent? What is this sign? I have not been ordered to kill.”
“It’s Allienna,” Arryn said, a peculiar inflection in his voice.
“She isn’t. She isn’t dead, is she? She didn’t get attacked?”
She likely couldn’t defend herself against a Vrae.
“No, it’s not that,” Arryn said, spreading his wings wide. “She’s pregnant. Somehow, we did it, a true Kinnari woman carrying a biological child.”
Djoser had to remind himself to breathe. The gods, the Life Gifter himself, would be outraged. Kinnari were not made to procreate. The gods would surely come for both Reign and now Allienna. This was Reign’s vision and he would likely be forced to carry out the sentence.
How? This couldn’t just happen.
Arryn took a few dramatic steps back before hovering in the air.
“Get to the temple. I will gather the others. I will see you there.”
With that, Arryn took off into the night sky, undetectable the moment he let himself ascend.
10
Hadley | Sacramento, California | Early 2000s
“This is the big one, Hailey,”Grant said excitedly. “I’ve never had one of my girls get invited to an event like this. Do you understand what they are paying? This is for high-class escorts, true women of the night.”
“You make it sound like they want a vampire,” Hadley chuckled, lounging on the couch in Grant’s garage.
“This is a sex party for the wealthy on Halloween. These people have nothing better to spend their dirty industry money on. Everyone there will be either beautiful or powerful. You, darlin’, must be both,” Grant instructed, pacing around the carpet in front of her, eyes on his feet while he ranted. “If we can get in with this crowd”—he stopped in front of her, hands in front of his face to emphasize his point—“then both our lives will change forever.”
“I will not let you down, General.”
“Smart-ass,” he said, rolling his eyes.
The side door to the garage opened, and the sharp sound of stilettos hitting concrete echoed through Hadley’s ears.
