Page 23 of Ignite
I want to feel sadness for losing the father I could’ve had inmy life, but all I feel is rage and pain. Anger that he wouldn’t help us, and pain that I’m no closer to finding Graylen.
But as I lie here, my body still and the forest quiet, the fury inside of me dulls to a throbbing ache in my stomach. Without the anger to hold onto, all I feel is the loss of Graylen.
“He’s gone.” My voice cracks. “Because ofme. I have to get him back, Leda. Have to find a way off of this island and finish what we set out to do.”
Leda lets out a long, frustrated sigh. “I know.” Her voice is softer than it normally is, the edge in it dimmed. “But first, we need a plan.”
I nod my head and lie back down, settling into my hammock. It’s hard to form a plan when there are so many things that need to be done. How can we prioritize between saving the souls trapped within the Vale, trying to get Graylen back, and stopping whatever it is that Moros is planning?
“Graylen is smart,” Leda adds. “I’ll admit diving headfirst into the Vale with Vidaris wasn’t thebrightestthing he’s done, but…it gave us time. Time to figure out a way through this mess.”
I let out a long sigh, wishing I could just feel him through the bond—to have any reassurance that he’s okay.
We need Graylen; he’s a skilled warrior who knows how the Creans work—and how Moros thinks. But, more than that,Ineed Graylen. I can’t think straight, can’t focus on what lies ahead, knowing he’s trapped and alone.
If I focus on saving him, what will the cost be? What lives will be lost because I didn’t get to them first? Penyth may be my home, but there are innocent people in Crea—people who don’t deserve to suffer beneath Moros’s rule.
“If Adrian is here and Moros has the castle in Crea, we might need Aster and Willow,” I whisper. “We can’t let him win again.”
Leda’s head disappears as she cozies into her own hammock. “We won’t allow that to happen,” she rasps, hervoice firm and clipped. “Because I don’t think our realm would survive it this time.”
My chest tightens as silence drapes between us. The weight of the realm is resting on our shoulders, counting on us to save everyone.
“Try to get some sleep, Lu,” Leda calls out. “A warrior’s mind needs rest to find clarity. We aren’t solving all of our problems tonight.”
As much as I try to fight sleep, my ears focused on the movements around us, my muscles tensed and poised to strike, I feel my eyes grow heavy. Zephyr isn’t far, and if anything were to happen, she would be here the moment I need her.
I have Leda and the rest of my fleet scattered in the trees around me, their wyverns just as close. The sun will likely be up soon, giving us a few short hours to find sleep.
My eyelids flutter open and closed, my vision blurring as I lose the fight to stay awake. In a few breaths, I drift off to sleep.
Nine
Azurite
Stars shine all around me,as if I’m floating in the heavens. There’s nothing else but a dark, vast emptiness. It’s quiet. Peaceful.
Warmth presses against my skin, burning with a soft heat that feels…comfortable. Like home. My heart squeezes at the feeling, the warmth familiar and soothing.
“Little princess.”
The words float through the void, winding around the stars and circling me. Taunting me.
I spin around, the familiar warmth making sense now.
“Graylen?” I shout, but nothing comes out.
Only the stars twinkle back at me. I reach for the connection, the string that has always tugged me toward him—the one that’s been silent since I lost him. It isn’t silent anymore.
I gasp as I feel a faint whisper of his soul, a single thread thatallows me tofeelhim. He’s alive—his emotions are there, faint but there.
“Do not come for me.”
My stomach clenches. Not a single part of me is surprised he’s telling me to not come after him. If anything, it solidifies that this ishim. My Graylen.
Tears well in my eyes, because this time, I know it’s him. It’s his voice; I know it is.
I spin in circles, my body weightless as I float through the night sky. Graylen is nowhere to be found, but Iheardhim.
