Page 34 of The War of Wings
“I thought I saw something.” I kept staring, my eyes on the same spot. In a forest this still and silent, you’d be able to hear even the slightest movement. So why wasn’t I convinced it was nothing? “Let me just check,” I said, taking a tentative step forward and motioning for Petra to stay in place.
“What?” she whispered, glancing back over at the camp that was being erected as we spoke. “No, Cal!”
I drew my sword, glancing down to see the rubies in the hilt looked just as ordinary as they always had. No glow. Not here. I crept forward, nearing the edge of the path then taking one stepover the boundary, then another, deeper into the darkness of the forest.
“Cal! Don’t make me use your real name,Belin!” she hissed. She stomped after me, ignoring my hand urging her to stop, and a spark danced over her palm. “You’re not going out there alone.” She gasped quietly at the sight of something moving. A tree branch, most likely. Maybe the beasts of the Onyx Pass were still here, just…quiet, for some reason. But there was something there, and it was…
It was charging in our direction.
A shriek sounded from Petra as I raised my sword, ready to bring it down through whatever was coming our way. But before I could, the beast toppled to the ground, something thudding on the dirt beside it, before it stilled completely.
The camp was a flurry of activity, a wave of gasps and shouts making its way throughout. The few dozen people at the front of the party were the only ones close enough to see what had happened.
“Remain calm!” I heard Nell command over the noise.
“Why the fuck do you keep doing the most idiotic things?” Petra shouted, a finger jabbing into my chest.
Was it shitty that I thought it was endearing when she was angry like this? Terrifying, yes — I’m not a stupid man. But she was disarmingly sweet. “What’s idiotic about protecting you?” I asked, ignoring the dead animal on the ground and the bustling around us for one more moment.
“I can protect myself, Cal,” she answered, her brows tilted up, her expression pleading.
“I know you can.” I leaned down to place a chaste kiss against her lips. “Doesn’t mean you have to.” I crossed the few steps to where the animal lay to see it wasn’t an animal at all, but a human, and… “You ripped out its spine?”
Petra winced slightly. “I thought it would be a better idea than throwing a ball of fire into the forest.”
Summercut appeared at my side, his face grim. “An Onyte,” he remarked, staring at the discarded spine. “Malosym must’ve taken the mountain clans. This one probably escaped.”
I stared down at the body, at the club still in his grip. His skin looked sickly gray in the firelight, his cheeks hollow. Unseeing eyes stared up at me from where he lay, blood pooling beneath him where his spine had been wrenched away from his ribcage.
“Shit,” I breathed, my heart rate slowing. “How did he–” But my words stopped when I noticed movement over his face. It was smoke, pouring from his nose and mouth, thick and inky black. Horror filled me, and I stepped in front of Petra as the smoke continued to slither forth like a serpent, gathering on the forest floor like liquid in a pool.
We watched in shocked silence as all at once, the small mass of smoke moved, disappearing into the darkness of the forest, like it had been summoned away.
I craned my neck to where Nell had gained control of the crowd. It didn’t seem like anyone had seen, thank the fucking Saints. We didn’t need any more panic or hysteria.
“That looked like the smoke that was clinging to the rubble of the castle after it fell,” I murmured. “Before Malosym appeared.”
“Alright,” Petra sighed with exasperation, her lips a thin line. “Stick to the plan. I want guards everywhere. Eyes on the forest at all times.”
“Yes, your Majesty,” Summercut answered.
“And make sure everyone gets some sleep,” she added. “Keep the guards’ shifts short.” As Summercut retreated, Petra let out a painful sigh and sank to the ground. “What the fuck was that? An errant Occulti?”
I joined her on the ground. “I don’t know.”
Her humorless laugh was raspy, her chest falling as she exhaled hard. “I can’t do this, Cal.”
“Of course you can. You’re the Daughter of Katia. But more importantly, you’reyou.”
She cradled her face in her hands, and a part of me broke at the sight. “I’m me? What does that mean?”
“You know right from wrong. You have a good heart, a sound head on your shoulders. You’re strong, Petra.”
“I… How am I supposed to know what to do?”
I pulled her closer to me. “I don’t have much experience with being the child of a Saint,” I started, closing my hand over hers. “But I have some experience with being royalty. And a lot of days, you don’t know what the fuck you’re doing.”
She sniffed, looking up at me. “Really?”
