Page 24 of The War of Wings
“I’m here.”
I whirled, surprised to actually see him standing there. There was a feeling in my chest, some kind of hum, some kind of…pull, that was tugging me toward him. The darkness seemed to recede around him, like some sort of inherent light existed beneath the surface of his skin, within his soul. He was still in his armor, and I winced when I saw the wound at his temple, blood trickling down the side of his face. Covered in dirt and soot, he looked every bit the warrior king. Saints, he was beautiful.
A heavy breath left me, a weight I hadn’t known I’d been carrying suddenly lifted. He was here with me. Somehow, some way, he was here.
The dimple appeared in his cheek as one side of his lips quirked up. There was so much swirling in the depths of his eyes — relief, confusion, joy, and something else, something darker.
“What happened?” he finally asked.
I shook my head, searching for an answer to give him. “I don’t know.” It wasn’t entirely true. I knew something, that I’d been able to pass between realms twice now. But I didn’t know how, and I wasn’t sure how to even begin to reconcile this fact. I blinked hard, trying to decipher the expression on Cal’s face. “You look…”
“You can see me?” he asked, his eyes suddenly wide with shock. He looked down at himself.
Realization hit me. “Canyouseeme?”
“You’re hard to miss,” he remarked. “You’re glowing. It’s like…you’re surrounded by golden light.”
Under his gaze, my formless hands tried to move self-consciously over my formless body. I squinted in the darkness, as if I could somehow conjure an image of myself out of nothing. But as always, that’s what it was in the Darkness Beyond — nothing.
Cal and I stood there for a moment, simply staring at one another as a thousand unspoken words passed between us. I wasn’t sure who moved first, but suddenly we were rushing toward each other, and though I didn’t have a physical form, I still crashed against him. His mouth sealed to mine, moving with a reverence I wasn’t sure was possible in the Human Realm. None of this felt real. I wasn’t sure I was real, buthewas real. He was real and he was here and he’d come for me. He’d followed me into the darkness.
I tore myself away, my forehead resting against his as I caught my breath. “Why did you follow me?” I whispered.
“I had to.”
“You didn’t.”
“Where you go, I go,” he breathed, tipping my chin to him and brushing his lips over mine. “You saw Larka and your father.”
I burrowed into his chest, inhaling the smoke and cedar scent that still somehow clung to him, even after everything. “I did. This whole thing… It’s mad.”
“It’s more than mad.” His face softened as he stared down at me, his eyes moving back and forth between mine. “You met them,” he whispered. “My mother and Aunt Berna.”
Surprise slackened my features. I wanted to ask how he knew, but it didn’t matter. Not really. I gnawed on my lip, placing my palm against his cheek. “They love you, Cal. Both of them.”
“I know they do.” He gave a slight nod, eyes closed. “I saw them sitting in their garden. There were two houses, so I’m assuming they were theirs. I wanted to call out to them, but I…didn’t.” His brows furrowed, concern lacing his features. “Something about it didn’t feel right. Why didn’t I just call out to them? Now I don’t even know if they’re safe, if they’re…”
My palm moved from his cheek to rest against his chest. His heart thudded against my hand, its pace slowing as his breathing did the same. “Soren assured me he could protect everyone, at least for a time.”
His hand closed over mine and squeezed, a silent confirmation. Something about being near him right now made the darkness around us fade away. We were in our own little bubble, separated from the rest of time. A bubble I had no choice but to pop.
“We need to get to the Sanguilite’s Realm,” I said quietly.
A steady exhale sounded from Cal, like he was steeling himself against what came next. “Okay. Do you have any idea how?”
I rolled my lips together. “I have a theory.”
A single brow raised. “A theory?”
The silent pocket of the Darkness Beyond suddenly echoed with the sound of snapping teeth, and Cal’s sword was out of its sheath and poised to strike in a single breath. But my attention moved from the darkness to the hilt of Cal’s blade, where three rubies emitted a crimson glow.
“Your sword,” I breathed, ignoring the hissing that was steadily growing louder.
Cal didn’t answer, standing firmly in front of me as he pivoted, his sword a lethal point in the dark.
“What’s your theory?” he asked, his voice even.
Fuck, I hoped this worked.Please, please fucking work. I closed my hand around Cal’s bicep, squeezed my eyes shut, and found that feeling that had, all at once, become familiar. But instead of wishing to be anywhere but here, I focused on a single thought.The Sanguilite’s Realm.
