Page 98 of Dead Wrong

A trill shot down my spine, and I shuddered away from his touch, heat blooming across my cheeks. I cursed my body’s reaction, pulling away before it could betray me further.

“Kaine is waiting up ahead,” Azrael said, pointing down the path toward where the sheer wall of the mountain rose. “Go and meet him. I’ll catch up when I can.”

“Catch up? You’re not coming with us?”

“I’ll be right behind you, Tobi. I promise. There’s just one more thing I have to take care of here before I can leave.”

Guilt swelled in my gut. Azrael was dropping everything to help Lynette—to help me—but he was still the leader of the Rebellion. His people came first.

“Okay,” I agreed.

“Right behind you,” Azrael said again, pulling me into an embrace. His strong arms enveloped me, pressing me into his firm chest. My head fit perfectly under his chin, and he rested it on my crown for just a moment, breathing in deeply. A low rumble sounded in his chest, but then he released me and strode away, back towards the settlement without another word.

The nape of my neck prickled as I gathered myself, willing my feet down the path. The rows of crops blocked my view to either side, but I was able to make out the silhouette of Kaine before long, waiting for me by the spot where the wall met the ground.

“Something tells me you’re terrible at staying in one place,” he said as I approached, a playful grin spread across his lips.

“You’re not wrong,” I muttered, rubbing at that prickling spot on the back of my neck. “Guess I ruined your dinner plans, huh?”

He snorted a laugh. “Come on, Greene. We’ve got a ways to go.”

Kaine led me on the path along the wall, and it quickly dawned on me that we weren’t traveling the way that we’d come in.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, wincing at the suspicion I wasn’t able to keep from my voice.

Thankfully, Kaine didn’t seem offended. “There’s a faster way out of Paradise,” he explained, his pace not slowing. “It’s only one-way, however. But it’s great for a quick escape.”

I didn’t like the sound of that.

A staircase, carved from the stone of the mountain itself, rose up alongside us, and Kaine transitioned us onto it, beginning the ascent. Our position became quickly dizzying as I peered over the edge, watching the rows of crops become smaller and smaller.

My skin was flushed by the time we’d reached what I assumed was the halfway point. The stairs ended abruptly, emptying us out onto a small platform that jutted out from the wall. A lift—a primitive pulley system of ropes attached to a makeshift wooden platform—dangled over the side, two sets of levers flanking it.

“Hop on,” Kaine told me, pointing to the device.

My knees quaked under me.

“You must be joking.”

“Time’s a wasting, Greene. Get on the platform, or you can stay behind. It’s that simple.”

I wanted to scream, but instead, I stepped out onto the swinging platform, my stomach dropping as it swayed beneath me. Kaine pulled one of the levers, quickly hopping onto the platform as it began to rise, running along the sloped ceiling and transporting us even higher.

Paradise lay sprawled below us, the colorful buildings forming a grid that wove its way across the stone floor. Bastien was down there, preparing the ritual that he’d promised would restore my magic. I wish that he could be with me now, but I clenched my fist around the stone, and the warmth of his magic soothed my raw nerves.

“Have you ever seen anything more wonderous?” Kaine asked, holding onto one of the ropes attached to the lift before leaning over the edge to peer down.

I shook my head, the fear for his safety far outweighing any sense of wonder I felt at the moment. We were quickly approaching where the stone roof leveled out, the slope of the ceiling curving drastically the higher we went till we were practically moving straight up.

“We’re going to the top?” I questioned, looking above us into the dark recess of the uppermost portion of the ceiling.

“Almost,” Kaine replied, his hand resting on the lever attached to the pulley system in the middle of our lift. “Don’t worry, we’re nearly there now.”

Kaine pulled the lever a moment later, the lift coming to a shuddering stop. He reached out to a place along the stone wall, running a hand over a knob of stone that sunk into the wall with a clicking sound. As if on a hinge, a section of the wall opened up, lifting outwards.

Wind roared through the opening, buffeting us with a burst of cold air. I shielded my eyes, and Kaine fastened one of the ropes to the side of the wall, holding the lift in place.

“End of the line, Greene. Let’s get a move on.” He gives me a smile before stepping through the opening and into the night air. The stars shone brightly overhead, offering just enough light to make out my surroundings.

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