Page 85 of Enchantment of Silver and Sea
For a moment, I stood there. Speechless. Then with a deep breath, my decision already made, I hurried to catch up.
“Maila.”
The voice made me stop in my tracks.
Addis was standing at the entrance to the hallway on my right, as if he had just come from there. His hands were in his pockets, the picture of casual. Relaxed. Unruffled. An easy smile highlighting the laugh lines in his aged but handsome face.
The smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
His chest was rising and falling almost imperceptibly faster than it should have been, as if he had been walking fast or even running and was trying to conceal it.
“Let’s continue that conversation,” he said, and it was almost as if he forced his eyes to crinkle, to appear amiable. “Clearly I see what you’ve done here, and I’m sure you think there will be consequences for that. But there’s a lot happening right now. A lot of big revelations. Just a lot to wrap your head around in general, right? And I know you care very much for Kieran. But let’s make sure you have all the facts before you do anythingrash. It would be a shame for you to put yourself in danger unnecessarily, wouldn’t it?”
I heard the creak of a door opening down the hall, behind him. Quinn, Westley, and Cato emerged and began heading toward us at a quick clip. I didn’t know what The Council had been doing in that room or why. If it had been a meeting about the battle, about Kieran, about me, or all of the above. But I did know that Addis was buying time.
“I think I’ll pass.”
He frowned, but there was something calculated in it. A sudden intensity in his stare. He said his next words slowly. “My granddaughter would be devastated if something happened to you.”
What? I thought I’d said it in my head. Then Addis opened his mouth to respond, and I realized I had said it out loud.
“Brielle.”
I stared at him. He stared back.
The leader of The Council was Brielle’s grandfather? And Brielle had never once, in our six years of friendship, thought that was worth mentioning? Apparently, I wasn’t the only one keeping secrets.
I considered saying something else to Addis. But the rest of The Council had almost reached us, and in the end, I turned on my heel and raced out the door after Kieran.
I refused to look back. Yet I was waiting. Waiting for pounding footsteps behind me, for Cato to grab me by the shoulder and drag me back to the living quarters. Back to Addis and The Council and whatever fate awaited me there.
With a pang, I recalled Cato’s many lectures over the years on the importance of enriching not only the mind, but the body as well. He could close the considerable distance between us in no time.
My adrenaline spurred me on, my heart pounding wildly with fear and anticipation.
Cato never appeared.
CHAPTERTWENTY
My lungs ached. I could feel a stitch forming in my side. Even injured, Kieran was faster than I was. I considered for a moment if I could use magic to help propel me along, but the throbbing in my head was my answer.
As the courtyard flew past us, I thought vaguely of the Wildlife Preservation department. What if one of them was out here right now, tending to the gardens, and saw us? What would they think? What would anyone think, for that matter? If everyone in Cyllene knew the events of the last twenty-four hours, knew what I had done, what would they say?
A sobering thought hit me. I was already thinking of Cyllene in terms of “they.” Not “we.” But wouldn’t we all be a “we” if this worked out? If the Strangers were successful in occupying Cyllene, I wouldn’t have to choose one or the other. I could still have Brielle, the Library, maybe even Zander’s friendship again one day.
Why did I feel like I was lying to myself?
The gardens around us were highlighted in faint gold, picking up those first morning rays. The sun was rising, I realized. In fact, the sky probably looked spectacular on the beach, where our friends were fighting for their lives.
I willed my mind to quiet, to be still. To take in the courtyard. Just in case it was a while before I saw it again.
I took in the sight of all that greenery, carefully protected and preserved. The blending of so many shades—olive and chartreuse, lime and sage. And my personal favorite, emerald. Just like Irene’s eyes.
The fresh scent of gardenias. Sweet and comforting and familiar. The scent that accompanied morning strolls to work with Brielle. Strolls that I had always taken for granted, but that I could now see myself missing if they never happened again.
Over the sound of mine and Kieran’s panting, I could hear the soft misting of water. The solar-powered sprinklers strategically placed around the garden. Wildlife Preservation didn’t have very many of them, but the few they did have were a huge source of pride. They would continue making advancements like that, continue trying to move forward. The Strangers would more than support that, I knew.
Mixing in my mouth were the taste of sweat and of blood. I wasn’t sure where the blood had come from…if it was mine or Kieran’s. I could also taste something else. Rather than the salt of sweat, it was like the pleasant salt of the ocean. Fresh and healing and ancient.
