RAGE

44

The sun peeked over the horizon, sending golden light cascading across the expansive fields ahead of them.

They had decided to let their friends sleep through the night, not wishing to part for the evening. After catching their breaths, they'd taken their time washing each other's bodies lazily, careful to wash away each other's scents, stealing kisses and reveling in every gentle touch before reluctantly dressing themselves.

"We did a terrible job of keeping watch tonight," Aria laughed. They laid connected, Evelyn's front pressed along every spot of Aria's back.

"I had more important things I wanted to see," Evelyn smiled against Aria's ear. "And what is your verdict? Do I get bragging rights against Luka?"

Aria winced at his name, longing spreading across her chest. But she supposed Evelyn's casual mention of him boded well for her. "I'm not sure," Aria teased. "I think more research is needed."

"That could be arranged," Evelyn's breath tickled the back of Aria's neck .

"Are you two still up there?" Taren's voice bellowed from below.

Aria scrambled out of Evelyn's grasp instinctively, yelling back, "Yeah, just enjoying the sunrise. We'll be right down!"

"You know you're not hiding anything from anyone, right?" Evelyn whispered to her. "I'll let you keep up appearances as long as you want," she picked herself up, meeting Aria's gaze, "but at the end of the day, no one is going to judge you for living your life the way you want to."

Aria balked at her, unblinking. Evelyn continued, "Especially while you still have a life very much worth living. I don't know what's going to happen a month from now, but I do know you shouldn't let that stop you from doing whatever the fuck makes you happy." Evelyn gave her a warm smile and made her way back down the cliffside, leaving Aria with a buzz that coated her entire being in comfortable satin. She knew Evelyn was right. Taren had told her basically the same thing all those weeks ago. So had Luka. How many people would it take for her to believe them?

As she climbed back down to join the others, she felt something peaceful click in her head. Starting now , she thought. No holding back.

Aria approached the opening of the rock as Finn rolled up one of the bedrolls, the other seemingly untouched, lying in the same spot she'd seen it the night before.

She met Taren's eyes and raised a questioning eyebrow. Taren just blushed and gave her a tiny shrug. So, they both had some things to discuss, then.

Evelyn handed her pack to Aria with a grin. "Let's go home."

** *

Luka paced along the northern parapet of the Legion Academy, overlooking the endless stacks of crates being organized around the grounds below him. Every once in a while someone would shout up to him with a question and he'd point them to which crate belonged in which pile, or where they should store the particular supplies they held in their arms.

He'd mostly taken on the role of supervisor this morning because it had given him an excuse to watch the skies in the direction he hoped Aria and the others would be coming from sometime today. If they didn't arrive by tomorrow, Kam and Leah had promised to join the effort to go out looking, along with Clem and Hyla.

The sunlight was already growing dim by the time they finished unloading and unpacking everything the Allarian troops had supplied, and now the folks who had wrapped up their duties were starting to retreat to their assigned tents along the eastern grounds or traveling in droves to the packed dining hall. Luka, however, remained perched up high, scouting the northern horizon.

He swatted impatiently at a swarm of tiny insects that buzzed around his face. The same swarm that had refused to leave him alone all day. Growing agitated, he blew out a plume of flames, incinerating them—

"You've got to eat sometime, Captain!" A voice called from below. He cursed at the fact he'd drawn attention to himself. Luka's eyes traveled to where Leah stood, arms waving. "Waiting for them isn't going to make them show up any faster."

He looked around, realizing only a few people were left tidying up the scraps from broken boxes and pushing away empty carts. "Where's Kam?" he bellowed back .

"Already eating, like a sane person. Which is where you should be, too." She scolded him with a scowl. His stomach growled, as if awoken by the summons. "You can't sit up there all night."

He could, actually, if he wanted to. No one could stop him. But his stomach would probably never forgive him for it, especially not after doing so much heavy lifting this morning. Saliva began to pool in his mouth at the thought of the stew waiting for him, the smell of it already wafting up around him.

"Fine!" his yell was more of a sigh. "You win this time, wolf. I'll meet you down there."

***

Before reaching the Zephyr citadel—where the group planned to stop on their way to the Legion Academy because it was roughly halfway—Taren hollered down to Finn and Evelyn to shift back into their mortal bodies. They'd had a feeling the sight of two large and terrifying predators running through the square might be enough to send the nice people of Allar to early sailings.

Aria had pointed them to a cafe—one of her personal favorites—where they now sat on the patio and enjoyed a late lunch, watching groups of fae walk by. She couldn't help but remind herself that her citizens were all living in blissful ignorance, completely unaware of the fate that may await them in just a few weeks.

It's possible this would be the last time she would sit in this square, the last time she would enjoy this view, this food.

She patted her mouth with her napkin and set it in her lap, pushing her plate away, suddenly nauseated by the thought. Her parents had decided against informing more than just the nobility, something she still didn't agree with. " If we succeed, then we will share the good news of peace to our people," her mother had said when she'd raised the concern again a few weeks ago. "And if we do not succeed, then it will not have mattered anyway, and all we would have caused them is grief."

It was hard to argue with that.

How different her life had been at the beginning of summer, so much innocence now vanquished to the dark realm, never to return. She could feel in her bones how much the last few months had changed her, awoken her to so many wrongs committed by her people. So many things her parents had hidden from her that she'd had to learn through other sources.

Which still bothered her.

"How did you all learn about Vera?" Aria asked aloud, interrupting whatever small talk was going on around her at the table. Luka had only mentioned informants , and she had been so consumed by the absurdity of his claim that she hadn't thought to ask any more questions. For a while she just assumed it was some of Shara's spies that had previously infiltrated Vera's estate. But now she wondered how Luka had known where to find her that day, how he'd known exactly where she slept.

Were there spies in her own home?

Evelyn choked on her water. The question surprised her so much that she was unable to contain the panic that crossed her face. "What?"

"How did you figure out Vera was leading the Unifiers?" Aria repeated her question, keeping her voice down even though they were the only ones remaining on the patio now.

Evelyn studied Aria's eyes, probably trying to find the source of the question. "Why does it matter?"

"I've just been thinking about it," Aria said casually, now very skeptical about Evelyn's aversion to answering. "Just trying to figure out how I didn't see it." She said the words sweetly, trying to lure Evelyn into providing the missing details she now desperately needed. Finn gulped heavily beside her, staring at his plate rather than meeting her gaze.

"We had a spy discover correspondence from Vera that hinted at it," Evelyn said coolly. But Aria felt the vibrations from Evelyn's leg shaking across from her. A betrayal of her honesty.

"You're not telling me something," Aria replied, her eyes narrowing. "How did Luka know where to find me? That day he told me about her?"

Evelyn's face became pained as she cleared her throat. "If you want the truth, you have to promise me you won't freak out," she said, chewing on her inner lip.

It must be bad if she's this nervous, Aria thought . She took a deep breath, exhaling as she said, "What happened, Evelyn?"

Finn glanced at his counterpart nervously, but Evelyn stared straight ahead at Aria as she recounted everything. About Luka ensuring Aria would be leaving for the Solstice, about how she had climbed into Aria's room, and eventually found the letter from Vera on Joyen's desk. About how she'd left everything exactly how she'd found it and made sure not to touch a hair on anyone's head. Her voice became frantic as she tried to emphasize there was no harm done, except for the poor woman who had cut herself on the vases.

But as she spoke, Aria's head swam, Evelyn's words becoming fuzzy and distant like she'd been submerged under water.

"Aria?" Evelyn reached across the table for her hand, but Aria recoiled, pushing back from the table abruptly.

"I'll see you at the Academy…" she mumbled, stumbling backward and grabbing the pack at her feet before launching herself into the air in a fury of betrayal, her chest heaving and caving at the hurt that rattled inside her .

I can't breathe, can't breathe, can't…

She swerved quickly, narrowly avoiding another fae in the air, their wings inches from colliding. She heard him yell out at her but kept going, kept pushing her wings harder and harder until she felt them strain to keep up with her desire to get away, far away from that table. Away from the betrayal.

The river neared beneath her and she all but crash-landed at the base of a tree trying to get to the water.

Cupping her hands, she splashed cool water once, twice, three times against her face. It dripped down her cheeks, mixing with tears, as a heavy sob escaped from her. These people she'd grown to trust with her life had violated her privacy, had used her to get what they wanted—some sort of edge over her family. Over her people.

And then lied about it. Had gotten close to her. Slept with her, even. And never thought to tell her the truth.

So many lies. From nearly everyone she's ever trusted.

When would she learn?

She could almost hear Evelyn's pleas around her. We were just doing what we needed to do to protect our people. You would have done the same in our position.

She was right. It's nothing her own parents wouldn't have done if they felt like it would have helped them rule, helped them find a crack in their enemy's plans. In fact, they had done much worse than that and hidden the proof for decades.

But this felt different. It felt personal. And she never would have known if she hadn't asked, hadn't pried it out of Evelyn. Would she have gone her entire life without them confessing what they'd done?

Let's go home , Evelyn had said this morning. But the last thing she wanted to do was see either of them right now, and the Academy was no home of hers. So instead of continuing her flight south, she dusted herself off and headed back to her real home, where she could be alone with her thoughts until she was ready to face them.