Page 34 of Ruling in Flames (Reborn 5)
The idea of him being that powerful was terrifying.
“I felt most of it surge back into the Earth,” Az said. “But now that you mention it, it wasn’t nearly on the level I would’ve expected.Fuck.”
“He can’t have that much power,” I said in disbelief, my hand moving to my throat anxiously as my heart began to pound.
“We will find him and handle him,” Marco promised, his voice hard. “You don’t need to worry about him, baby girl.”
But I did need to worry. Malcolm was a problem I couldn’t seem to get rid of…and Ineededto be rid of him. I couldn’t keep living in this perpetual state of worry.
I spoke my thoughts out loud. “But Iwillworry about him. I won’t be able tonotworry about him—he’s ruined so many things in my life, caused so much pain. I need to know he’s gone and can’t do that anymore.”
“We will handle him the minute we have word of where he is,” Atlas said honestly. “We would go search now, but I don’t think any of us are willing to leave you.”
I could feel that through our bond, and I understood it completely. There was no way I wanted to leave their side. Letting out a small, frustrated exhale, I thought through our options. “I think…I think we should go looking for where Ry hunted. I don’t know what to say to my parents yet—I don’t know how they see this happening and what type of leader they expect me to be. Before we go to the Dreki realm and offer their citizens a place here, we need to first make sure thereisa place. More so, we need to make sure that we relieve anyone who’s already here in Earth realm, hiding in fear. Ry can’t hurt them anymore.”
“Let’s go then. It’s early evening, barely dusk. We can fly,” Sai said.
“I won’t shift.” I offered Marco a knowing look at the tension suddenly riding his frame. “I’ll ride one of you—I’m tired.”
He nodded in agreement, turning to the others to discuss the details. As he did, I looked to Az, who was now lounging on the bed as Bella moved around him. She jumped on Atlas, clawing up his shoulder, and as he kissed her head, my heart nearly melted. I swear, these intimidating, large men showing affection to Bella was the sweetest thing in the world. I couldn’t even imagine what they would look like holding a baby—
Something tugged on my memories, like a dream I couldn’t fully remember. It was gone in a flash, illusive like a silk scarf fluttering past me as I struggled to even track it with my eyes. Hopefully it would come back to me eventually.
“Mon lapin,”Az said, motioning me forward. I came to stand between his large legs, his eyes running over me. “I want you to understand something—you don’t have to do any of this. I understood that this stranger put pressure on you to lead, but as he said, you have a choice. There may be consequences, but you have a choice, and I assume that I’m speaking for your mates as well when I say I will support whatever choice you make.”
I nibbled my lip, knowing the others were listening even if they pretended not to be. “It’s true, I don’t want to be a leader. At least not the normal kind—not like my mom. She’s awe-inspiring and so incredibly strong, but I don’t imagine my life like that. If I’m going to lead a group of people, I want to make sure they understand that they are in charge of their own fate, their freedom, their families—I can serve as the in-between for this realm and Dreki, but I won’t sit on a throne and rule over them.”
“And that is what’s going to make you an amazing leader,” Az said, his eyes sparkling with what appeared to be pride, something that had my stomach tightening in excitement. The idea of Az being proud of me made me incredibly happy.
“Do we need to tell your parents?” Anani asked, appearing behind me.
I hesitated. “We could… But I worry they’ll want to come with us, and I don’t want to scare anyone that’s in hiding by bringing a group larger than we already are. We should leave a note.”
They seemed to agree, so I went towards the fireplace and grabbed a piece of paper, sketching out a short note and placing it on the bed. As I did that, the guys opened a set of large windows, and the soft breeze rolled through the room and ran against my skin.
I was excited to go up in the air, but there was no way I was shifting, and I knew Anani was on the same boat because he was planning to grab a ride with Ledger. Az didn’t seem as exhausted from what had happened, at least not physically, his wings flapping easily as if they were a perfect extension of him. I craved to learn how to do that. Heck, I needed to ask my mom if my form I’d taken during battle was normal or something that arose only in times of need, because she clearly had it as well.
I wouldn’t lie—as much as I loved shifting into a bird, it would be equally as cool to simply pop out some wings and fly into the skies with ease.
“Bella?” I picked up the kitten from where she was snuggled in the bed. “You promise to be good?”
She let out a soft meow, and I kissed her nose before turning towards the window, where my mates were already jumping out and shifting. When Anani hopped on Ledger and Croy grabbed a ride with Henry, I walked to the window ledge with Az and looked over their forms. It didn’t surprise me when Sai pulled up next to the window, his excitement nearly contagious.
“Careful,” Az murmured as he helped me on, steadying me as I wrapped my legs securely around Sai.
“Alright.” Az jumped out of the window, soaring up right as Sai took off. His voice still boomed through the air, though. “Head west up towards the higher mountain range. I saw him fly that way fairly often.”
It didn’t surprise me that the others followed his direction without question, and as I wrapped my arms further around Sai, loving how his magic rolled across my skin, I inhaled in excitement. Something told me I was going to find way more than I expected.
I just hoped I could help those who had been wronged so often.
