“You’re sure this is where the trail leads?”
He nodded.
“Magic trails are potent. This is it alright,” he confirmed, his eyes narrowing.
I felt a soft tremor beneath our feet.
“That way!” I said, pointing toward some cliffs that rose up out of the desert far away in the distance. My powers were slowly returning.
I focused my eyes and zoomed in on the cliffs. Green palm trees and ferns were strewn across the sharp incline of one of the cliffs. It was easy to control my powers when I didn’t think about them. In that moment I just did it, because I needed to, because I had to find my sister. My stomach knotted.
“We’ll find her,” Troy said as he took my hand. “I believe in you,” he added, his tone sincere.
I nodded. I wanted to thank him, but I couldn’t, because I didn’t believe in myself just yet. I pointed at the cliff once again. There was a distinct vibration coming from its direction. It felt like a machine was digging into the ground.
“Just behind it,” I said.
My heart began to beat faster. Neither of us had any idea what was looming around the corner. I hated not knowing. Troy pulled out a dagger and handed it to me.
“No, thanks.”
He pushed it into my hand persistently.
“Fine.”
I took it from him and slid it into my knee-high boots.
“You look gorgeous,” he said, a mischievous smile on his face.
I looked at my reflection in the mirrored surface of the aircraft. A wicked smile appeared on my face. We both looked gorgeous. Anaya was talented alright. I looked like a girl out of an anime film in my brown, skintight, leather pants and knee-high boots. My waist belt littered with straps and leather harnesses which held all kinds of tools and gadgets. I twirled my pendant in my hand, thinking of my sister. Hoping she was still alive and well. Troy turned and my smile widened.
“Your ass looks great in those pants, too,” I said.
He swung around, smiled back and grabbed mine.
“Not as ravishing as yours!” he replied, making me blush.
As we moved further away from the aircraft, our suits changed color. Kronan had coated them with a magic liquid that made the fabric mimic and blend into our surroundings.
“I’ll race you,” I said, arching one eyebrow as I challenged him.
After Troy had made sure that the aircraft had cloaked itself, I dug my heels into the ground and shot off. My feet bounced off the surface after every step. Within seconds, our suits began weighing us down so we wouldn’t float off into space. Gravity suits, I contemplated. The ground beneath us shook as we pushed past each other. My powers had returned and it felt good. At first, the speed was frightening, but I got used to it quickly. I got there first.
“Beat you!”
“I let you,” he said, smiling.
“If you say so,” I retorted, shrugging my shoulders at him.
We stood with our backs to the wall of the steeply inclining cliff. The scorching hot wall of rock began to sting my arms. I guessed that our suits protected us from the blistering hot temperature of the cliff face. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and blew out a breath of air. It was unbelievably hot on the moon we were on, which, in itself, was strange as I thought it would be cold on any moon. I squeezed in between a tree and the cliff face. Troy pulled me back.
“Ava,” he said, his face stern and his tone serious. “We’re just here to scout out the circumstances.”
I nodded.
He grabbed my arm, “Ava, I mean it. No matter what you see, don’t just go rocketing in to save them. We don’t know what’s out there. It wouldn’t surprise me if he already has an army of aliens working for him.”
I swallowed hard. That had occurred to me on the way there.
“Think before you act,” he concluded.
“I promise,” I said, kissing him on the cheek.
We both knew I didn’t mean it. He shook his head silently and drew a slender blade from his harness. My heart was pounding in my chest and adrenaline coursed through my veins. The rush of blood in my ears drowned out the sound of us moving through the ferns. I peered around the corner, holding the dagger steadily at my side. I was ready to strike. I could tell that Troy knew I wasn’t there just to scout. I was fairly sure he had been reading my mind again. I spied a thicket of low bushes and a dark green lake. I narrowed my eyes to sharpen my focus.
“There’s someone over there, on the other side of the lake,” I told Troy.
“I can see him,” he said, nodding.
I frowned.
“Of course you can,” I replied, sniffing at his comment.
I slid around the corner of the rocky wall, keeping an eye on the dark figure across the way. I squinted as I tried to make out what he was doing. I zoomed in on his face. I gasped and dropped the dagger. Troy snatched it out of the air before it hit the hard floor. I fell to my knees as I realized that I knew the man I was stalking. I knew him very well.
“Son of a bitch,” I spat. The sweat poured down my neck and my mind raced as I fell onto all fours. “This is bad. This is very bad.” I shook my head as I fought the return of the numbness.
Troy stood staring into the distance and then his eyes fell on me. I wasn’t watching him, but I could feel his stare. It felt like a heavy weight had been placed upon me. I could tell he was furious. The tension mounted.
“What have you done?” he asked me, disgusted.
My heart sank, and all the regret and filth came clambering up again.
I looked up and into the familiar face of my enemy, he saw me and smiled. I took in his scent as I stood, deeply inhaled his intentions for me – Evanescent.
We are broken.
How does one restart?
Words unspoken.
The broken beating of my heart.
The Broken Destiny Page 33