AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In horror, I watched the Sky Ladder dislodge from Urien’s edge and begin shrinking away.
“NON EI!”
I kept shouting. Kept crying. But I knew. It was too late.
My chance was gone.
I stared at the Sky Ladder from the air, watching it retreat down through the clouds, leaving me with no bridge back to Avari, the angelic world below. Back to my brethren. Back home.
“Non ei,” I whimpered.
Great, defeated gobs of salty tears stained my cheeks. Eyes glued to the retracting Sky Ladder, I didn’t see the ethèr forming into a whip behind me. A sharp sting from shards of ice lanced my spine. A howl tore out of my throat. On instinct, my body caved in on itself, yielding in surrender.
Then the chains yanked me back to the tower.
Zhèmson
Bent over, head between my knees, I clenched my fists together. Tears slithered down the planes of my cheeks as humiliation lit up my neck with fire. My six hearts thundered. My breaths strained. I’d spent my ethèr. My strength. I had practically nothing left. My last attempt to escape this infernal tower failed.
Rage licked my bones. Stoked the dying embers of my wounded ego. I sat on the rug of my bedchambers, forlorn, bitterness dyeing my tongue with acid. Reticent curses clogged my mind.
My neck hairs stood up in response to the sound of feminine laughter. I jerked, shooting into the air, floating into the hall beyond the edge of my suites. I felt her presence before I saw her form materialize.
“Zhèmson,” she tsked. “How many times must we go through this?”
“Get out.”
The walls shook slightly as my snarl echoed through them, causing a tremor in the long windows. Tiny, colorful heads peeped around curtains, table legs, and out of cracked doors to see what was going on. I exhaled, frustrated. I regretted the Vèrtu witnessing such a shameful display. These jabs at my defeat.
I squinted at the intruder, scowling. The Sky Watcher hummed, gliding to a couch. Her multicolored, light eyes remained fixed on me as she sat elegantly. After crossing her long mahogany legs, peeking through the slit of her sheer ivory gown, she spoke.
“Sinun pitäisi konnen pi byen, Domenent.”
The Sky Watcher blinked, fluttering her long lashes.
I snorted. I should know better? Please. She was full of it.
They all were.
“You don’t get to break the rules you helped write, High Prince.”
“Päästä lanfè.”
She tilted her head. “I’ll get out when you reveal the secret to your ethèr.” She bounced her sandaled foot, her wings twitching with impatience. The Vèrtu sucked in a sharp breath, wide eyes dancing between us.
“Never. But I’m more than happy to learn the secrets of your bed.” A flash of my teeth. “Again.”
She flushed. The flash across her eyes was my only warning before a whip of ethèr slapped me across the face so hard my body jerked.
“As stubborn as you are crass. You’ll never change, Zhèmrazraèl.”
I lifted my head, chest heaving. I gave her a proud smile. “I’m too old to change, Nèrvanya.”
“Ase nan pelejä riittää.” Enough of these games.
Nèrvanya levitated over the rug. A flash of our dalliances from a time we both worked to forget crossed her eyes, before being replaced by stone.
“The secret, Zhèmson.”
