Page 32 of The Last Aether

The nothingness from him sent cracks through my heart. Then his arm went around me, pulling me practically on top of him.

I inhaled deeply, letting that scent of pine and moss fill my nose. “I’m sorry it was such a sucky day.”

He grunted.

I smiled against his pec. “A grunt is better than nothing, I guess.”

Atlas sighed. “He could hurt you. He’ll probably try. Just because he knows it would get a rise out of me.”

“Your dad?” I wasn’t sure why I even asked the question. I knew the answer.

Atlas nodded, his chin grazing the top of my head. “All I could think about when we were standing in that room was that he could make a play for you, and I’d be powerless to stop it. He’s the fucking king. I have no recourse.”

I lifted my fingers to Atlas’s chest and began tracing circles there. “I don’t know about that. King Ash seemed pretty quick to call him out. It doesn’t seem like he could just kill me in front of everyone.”

Atlas shuddered. “No. He wouldn’t do that. He’s too smart for it. But that doesn’t mean he won’t look for another way.”

“We’re smarter than him. Men like that, they’re used to people cowering to them because of their cruelty. They’re not accustomed to having to try.”

Atlas made a humming sound in the back of his throat. “You might be right there. There are just so many damn people out to hurt you, hurt us. Days like today, it feels like a mountain we’ll never finish climbing.”

“We just have to take it one step at a time.”

Atlas brushed the hair away from my face. “I’ll never forgive myself if he hurts you to get to me.”

The little cracks that had appeared in my heart moments ago dug in deep. “His actions aren’t on you, Atlas.”

Atlas didn’t respond.

“They aren’t. They’re his and his alone.”

“I think about my mom all the time. What I could’ve done to protect her. I wonder if there was something I did to give her secret away. That it was my fault she was killed.”

They were no longer cracks in my heart, the muscle and sinew were completely shredded. “You know she wouldn’t want you tearing yourself up inside over this.”

Atlas’s jaw worked back and forth. “No. She wouldn’t. She’d want me to find my freedom. To get away from him in any way I could.”

“Then we do that. For her. For you.”

King Terra had tormented Atlas for far too long. And I understood why he hadn’t fought back. It would’ve been treason. But things were changing now.

I tipped my head back so I could take in his face. “What happens after I graduate?”

“You’ll ascend to the throne.”

My stomach did a series of dips and rolls as if I were on a roller coaster. I wasn’t anywhere near ready for that, but it might mean I could protect Atlas the same way he had protected me. “And all of you will become kings?”

Atlas nodded. “My father will hate abdicating the throne. He’ll do anything he can to keep his power.”

“I have a feeling King Zephyr has the same mentality.”

Atlas scoffed. “They’re two of the most power-hungry people I’ve ever met. It’s kind of ironic how much they hate each other when they’re so damn similar.”

I hated that Atlas and Riven had lived their lives under two such twisted people’s thumbs. “It won’t be forever. We’re going to be free.”

He stared at me through the dark. “But what will the price be?”

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