Page 118 of The War of Wings
“You’ll only sleep if I sleep? I’m not going to be able to sleep, buddy. Too much to think about.”
Okay. Obitus. Go.His wings rustled as he flexed his legs.
I grunted in frustration, dropping my pack to the stones on the beach. “Fine. But you better keep the snoring to a minimum.”
He gave a satisfied grunt before he collapsed in the sand once again.Obitus. No. Snore.
“You’d be surprised.” I stretched out next to him, trying to position my head against my pack in a way that wouldn’t leave a crick in my neck.
I didn’t want to sleep in the same house we’d stayed in when we first passed through Redwater, but I didn’t want to roam the streets of a ghost city, looking for a house that seemed the least abandoned. We were down the beach from where Miles had first revealed his secret and asked me to keep it.
Malosym would attack again. That much was certain. But I was banking on him attacking Taitha, knowing it was weakened from his previous attempt. I’d find him then and kill him. Maybe I could bait him, lure him from wherever he was hiding.
It was a shit plan.
He had to be hiding in the Darkness Beyond, right? Somewhere in that depthless expanse overrun with Occulti. He had to be there. I’d gotten lucky last time and followed Petra through the pathway Malosym had opened, but I’d have no such luck this time around. There was no other way to get to the Darkness Beyond. Unless…
“Your eyrie is in Hell, right, Obitus?” I called, hoping my voice reached his ears at the top of that serpentine neck.
Yes.A shiver traveled down the line extending between us.Cold. No. Sunshine.
“How do you get there?”
Iron. Rise. Human. Can’t.
I blinked. The Iron Rise. The mountain that rose above Taitha.
With a nod, I crossed one foot over the other and forced my eyes to shut. The legends said the Iron Rise was Rhedros’ portal to Hell, and it was about to be mine, too.
???
“What the hell are you doing here?” Whit called to me when Obitus landed just outside of Taitha. Shit, he looked just as awful as Nell had. Ventus tromped up behind him, chirping when he saw Obitus. “I just about shit my pants when I saw you on the horizon. Thought it was another attack.”
“Apologies. I’m here because I, uh, have an idea,” I answered, loosening the strap keeping me in my seat and sliding me from Obitus. My palm slapped against Whit’s back, and even though there was a smile on his face, it was weak. “How’s it going here?”
“Been better.”
When we left Taitha, much of it had been damaged, but now…even from where we stood just outside the city, I could tell entire blocks were missing. One of the towers of the castle had toppled over. Taithafeltdifferent, the air heavier, the sky seeming to close in. “Morale is low. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.”
“None of us do,” I answered, leaving the drivas to greet each other as we headed into the city. I slung my bag over my shoulder, assessing the grim state of the buildings I could see.
“Did Nell arrive safely?” Whit asked.
“She did. Just in time for another Occulti attack.”
His eyes widened in fear. “Queen Petra?”
“She’s safe.”
“Lieutenant Landgrave?”
I didn’t mince words this time. “He’s dead, Whit. I’m sorry.”
Whit bit the inside of his cheek, eyes forward as we continued into the city. He was silent for a long moment. It was no secret he loved to rib Miles, loved to get under his skin. Butthe face of the man beside me was one of mourning, one that reflected a quiet, admirable respect. “Occulti?” he finally asked.
I swallowed hard, shaking my head. “It’s a bit more complicated than that. He had some injuries from Eserene that never fully healed.”
He didn’t push further, didn’t demand more of the truth. Maybe that explanation was enough for him. The streets were desolate as we made our way through the city. But it wasn’t the same kind of ghostly quiet I heard in Blindbarrow and Redwater. “Where is everyone?”
