Page 45 of Rising Out of the Darkness
All the times I’d failed and let others down. The moments when I had been reckless and stubborn in the name of healing, only to cause destruction instead. What good was I supposed to do for this realm if my dynamis only led to ruin?
Inwardly I screamed, angry at how helpless I felt inside my own body. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I came to the inevitable conclusion—there was no way I could go to the capital or back home. The only place I needed to be was away from anyone else. A place where my failures would never hurt someone ever again.
I knew at that moment I had to leave.
The remnants of the bottle of wine still hazed inside my head, and it continued to throb as I rose from the bed. Peering around the edge of the bed, I could see Declan’s eyes were still closed. His chest rose and fell in steady breaths.
He looked so peaceful as he slept, no furrowed brows, no scowl etched across his beautiful lips.
I froze.Beautiful lips?
Gods.
My eyes scrunched closed as I groaned inside my head. Thoughts like those were another reason I needed to leave this place. In no way should I have any kind of attraction for the son of the king. A king who had a complete disregard for anything that was different or unique in this realm. Like the humans, or like me…the Light Phoenix.
Fear soured my stomach, and I tiptoed over to the water pitcher and poured myself a cup full. After I gulped it down, I sat on the edge of my bed to put on my boots, then slung my satchel over my shoulder and made my way to the small window facing the back alley.
There was no way I could exit through the front door. There were probably guards on duty all around the tavern. The window looked big enough for me to slip through, and as I peered through the foggy glass, there seemed to be no one else around.
Thankfully, the window was already open. I only needed to raise it a few more inches to squeeze my body through. I wrapped my fingers around the sash and eased it up. The hinges groaned.
Panic stilled my limbs as I sent a prayer to the gods that I hadn’t woken Declan. Timidly, I looked over my shoulder and held my breath.
The moonlight cast enough light in the room that I was able to see his eyes were still shut and he was still in the sameposition as before. Relief washed over me as I slung my legs one by one over the side of the windowsill.
There were only two stories of the inn, but the alcohol that still ran through my veins made it seem a lot steeper of a jump. Fate must have been on my side, because below there was a wagon full of hay. As I gathered my courage, my eyes wandered one more time to the man behind me.
Tonight at dinner had actually felt normal. Like we had just been two normal Elysians sitting inside a tavern, with all the time in the world to get to know one another. The reality, however, was there was nothing normal about us at all. There never would be. With a heavy sigh, I turned back and jumped to my fate below.
Landing in the hay bale went exactly how I imagined it would, loud and painful. My legs absorbed most of the shock before I fell forward on my knees and hands, all of which now ached incessantly.
Voices rang out from the stable across from me. Shoving my pain aside, I buried myself deep into the hay. Heavy boots walked by, and I waited until the sound ceased before I crawled out of the wagon and shuffled into the stable.
A man’s voice yelled out from the street, startling me so much that I barged into the first open stall I saw. The beautiful tawny mare inside snorted.
“Shhh…sorry, girl, didn’t mean to startle you,” I soothed as I brushed my hand over her soft fur. “Want to help me get out of here?”
This time she whinnied, and I took that as a sign. The saddle was still on her, which meant someone had just left or someone was about to come soon. Either way, I better hurry.
Extending my leg toward the stirrup, I gripped the seat of the saddle and willed my body to leap onto her. Immediately, my foot connected with air, and I realized I’d missed the stirrupentirely. Instead of mounting the horse, I cascaded down to the ground.
“Hellllls,” I groaned, knowing tomorrow my entire body was going to hate me. Shuffling and the click of boots echoed throughout the stable and into my stall.
“Your owner’s coming, girl, we’ve got to move fast.” I rolled onto my feet once more.
The horn of the saddle felt slick with the sweat of my palm as I gripped it. Just as I lifted my leg into the stirrup, a heavy hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled my body backwards up against the wall of the stall.
Thick shadows swirled around the body of my captor. As they cleared, I came face to face with a pair of lethal verdant eyes.
“Just where do you think you’re going,Wildfire?”
Chapter 17
Declan
Elena’s eyes were blown wide, her body frozen between fear and shock. The longer the silence passed, the more energy seemed to fill the air around us.
“Are you going to answer me?” I growled, taking another step towards her, caging her body with my own.
