Page 139 of Born for Silk

Another scratch.

And another.

Ana grabs my hand.

I turn to see her expression, eyes wide, dark hair tucked behind each ear. “Aster.”

“We will be fine,” I assure her.

“A Common community?” she whispers, before gazing at my swollen stomach. “You need to hide your belly.”

Another scratch.

Rome lifts from his seat, reaching a large arm up to unlock the hatch and standing until his head disappears through it.

“We know,” he growls. “Fly.”

Odio.

The tank veers, turning a hard left toward the west, the tracks eating at uneven terrain.

I’m looking out the viewport when a windmill comes out of nowhere— And another, and I realise we are travelling through the core of the Windmill Forest. No longer on a designated road.

Unable to keep my eyes away from him, I peer up to see his awaiting mine. Blue. Fractured blue. Far too turbulent, too menacing, to be peaceful and yet… I breathe deeply. At this moment, I realise Rome of The Strait is my gravity. The thing I seek when I am unsure. Steady ground beneath my feet. The light that guides me through uncertain darkness.

He is where I feel most safe.

If nothing else, that is hope.

“My king…” I find my voice for him, a breathy cadence, in the midst of my nervousness.

“You’re safe, little creature,” he states. No— he declares, infallible in tone. I would hate to be the man or woman who challenges it.

I nod and gaze at the space between us with disdain, swiftly hating it as much as he seems to. But there is no room to move. We occupy the cramped metal fortress in its entirety.

A roaring wind engulfs the tank like a monstrous force attacking us.

I cup my ears.

Ana and Tuscany do the same.

Gripping my head, muting the gale, I look through the port. I blink.

It’s a dense, red vortex.

Spearing my gaze into the Redwind, I make out the shape of a building, quickly coming into view as we approach at a high speed. At the top of the building is a long barb and, atop it, a symbol…

We get closer.

I squint?—

It’s a cross.

Chapter Twelve

Rome

I never planned on returning to this place, least of all with her. I should burn it to the ground after we leave, mere embers for the Redwind to swallow and digest.

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