Page 81 of Blood So Brutal

Jessiah followed behind me, reaching up to push the exit door open. “You owe me for this,” he whispered.

“And you owe me for assisting in holding me captive, so I’ll consider us even for now.”

He rolled his eyes, but I was already crawling out of the tunnel above. I waited for him outside, crouching near the entrance in the darkness.

It looked much, much different here than it did during the day. Griffith’s lantern from inside became the only visible light filtering toward us.

But Griffith was already awake, waiting. I jumped in surprise when I saw him leaned against a tree to my right.

Jessiah stood beside me as Griffith stepped forward. “This is dangerous, even for you,” he said to Jessiah.

“We know it’s risky,” Jessiah replied. “We wouldn’t be going if it weren't absolutely necessary.”

Griffith practically ignored me the last time we came here to gather the horses, but not this time. He stared me up and down, his intense eyes beating into me like they could see my every secret.

“You put all of us in danger by leaving, girl,” he said. “It isn’t just your life on the line here. It’s mine. It’s Jessiah’s.”

I stiffened, rolling my shoulders backward. I was getting tired of hearing that. Itwasselfish for me to leave like this, but couldn’t they see the situation I was in? Couldn’t they see how desperately I needed this? “I’ll never speak of this again, and I’ll never ask this of you again.” I met his eyes with the same intensity. “I swear it.”

Griffith looked at me for what felt like hours, but then he swallowed and turned to Jessiah. “Hurry up, then. The sooner you’re back, the better.” He turned and left, walking into the stables like he wanted no part of this.

“Are you sure this is okay?” I whispered to Jessiah.

“It’s fine, he’s just protective.” Jessiah sounded like it was no big deal, but every inch of my body lit up with nerves.

Griffith was right. It wasn’t just my life on the line. I was putting everyone else in danger by leaving tonight.

Which made it so much more important.

I stayed silent as Jessiah led us away from the stables. I felt the protective magic of the wall the second we passed through. It was as if the air itself shifted from the danger we were now exposed to, but I loved it.

We were finally free again.

“Stay as low as possible until we’re away from the wall. Then we’ll rise.” I nodded, spreading my wings and preparing to jump. The trees would be tricky, but there was a gap wide enough for both of us and our wingspans.

Jessiah nodded at me one more time, offering a reassuring smile before launching into the air.

I stayed directly behind him, mimicking his movements as he guided us up and up. It took only a few minutes before we could not see the remainder of The Golden City behind us.

I never knew angels could fly so fast. We were not simply moving through the air; we were soaring. Wind roared in my ears as we catapulted through the night sky. Thank thegoddess that Jessiah knew where we were headed, because I had absolutely no clue. The moon glowing above us became the only light illuminating the treetops.

We could have flown for an hour. We could have flown for three. I lost track of time as I soaked in the clean, night air.

It was peaceful up here.

Safe.

“We’re close,” he said eventually, his low voice slicing through the wind. “You stay hidden. See who you came here to see, nobody else. The last thing we need is all the citizens of Midgrave announcing they saw an angel flying through the sky.”

Fair enough.Especially because until Wolf, nobody here would have believed angels still existed.

The crumbling, half-eroded city of Midgrave slowly came into view as we approached the ground. Jessiah led us down until we both landed with no more than the sound of crunching sticks below us.

I immediately found my footing, retracting my wings, then stepped toward the border of my old town.

Jessiah caught my arm, forcing me to face him. “I’m serious, Huntyr. The second you’re done, we leave.”

I had never heard him talk so sternly, almost as if he… as if he was afraid.

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