Page 7 of The Garnet Daughter
“We should be ready for their word. We need to move once 99 gives the all clear.” He clears his throat and rises.
“I can’t even imagine what is happening in there right now.”
A sickening sensation in my stomach I cannot control pulls at the tendons in my body, like part of me is trying to fold the distance while the rest will remain behind. I fight to stay here when a sudden wave of terror spills in from the other side, a warning not to fold to my friends yet.
“This is our part. We wait and you focus on placing the ward. Think of nothing else.” August waits for me to agree, not willing to turn back to the command station until I do. When he speaks like this, it’s clear he is worried. The serious tone has only come out in the most dire of times since I have known him. Gone is the lighthearted man that tries so hard to make me smile with him, and instead his sole focus changes into making sure I am safe,that the job is done. Two facets of him I admire equally, both needed in different ways.
I sit in the nearest chair and open the spell book, balancing it on my lap as I flip through the delicate pages. “I hope Selene finds what she is looking for in the temple.”
August glances over his shoulder, reminding me to stay focused on the task I was appointed and nothing else.
I ignore the sounds in the surrounding city and August’s back and forth with the other Viathan ships docked within its walls. My finger runs over the title of each chapter, some so ancient Ferren mentioned them being used during the war with First Son when the worlds were still one. I scan through until I find the heading about general warding spells and dog-ear the page in case I can find nothing else.
“August.” 99’s voice makes me jump. It’s sturdy and calm and I am certain at least it signifies Ferren is alive.
“Copy.”
“We are on the move toward the temple, standby.”
My attention snaps to August strapping more weapons to his body. “Any minute now,” he tells me.
“I think I have enough.” I flip back to the spells on wards and mark the one closest to our need.
He stands next to me, leaning against the wall at my side and anticipating another message from 99 so we can fold the moment it comes in.
I clasp the book across my chest, afraid of the splitting sensation I felt moments ago returning and taking me over.
“I don’t know what we are walking into, but if anyone can fix this, it’s you.” He looks down at me.
“Thank you, August.” My leg bounces with anxiety.
“We stick together,” he says flatly.
He means it as a statement, but it comes out so soft it sounds like a plea. I repeat it back firmer, and he smiles just a little andleans his head back against the wall behind us, closing his eyes and readying himself like he often does when I take him with me across a longer distance.
We wait in silence for so long I close my eyes too, focusing my breath. The humming of the ship blots out most of the bells and Viathan alarms going off around us. The flashing lights in the cockpit make colorful shadows across my closed lids, the ship ready for August to command it to leave and take us to safety.
I jump to my feet as my ears pop from the sound of Ferren reaching out in my mind’s eye. She says my name like a simple plea and nothing else, and the tone in her voice terrifies me. I lean toward it, cracking open the doors to fold to the chaos on the other side.
“What is it?” August stands more alert by my silent reaction.
“It’s Ferren. She called out.”
“We should wait for 99’s command.” He crosses the space to the receiver.
“We have to go now.” I reach for his forearm at the same moment he understands just how serious it may be to receive the message this way. He holds onto me as I pull us both across the city in a single step and land in the cold temple of the priestess order.
Chapter
Four
August squeezes my shoulder before he lets go, running straight toward the booming sound that vibrates through the entire temple. I want to watch him, make sure he is not in danger, but I have to remind myself to focus as I walk up the stone floor toward Ferren.
She looks so different from when I left her a short time ago. I search her face for familiar emotion, but her eyes are wild as they fall to the spell book in my grasp.
“Did you find anything?” She strides with me as I flip through to the page I marked.
“I think so.”
