“Francesca, I’m so sorry. Please don’t be afraid of me. I can’t take it. I failed to protect you,” he told me with desperation in his eyes.
“It’s all right, Avianna. He’s back. He won’t hurt me again,” I told her when she flew nearer.
I needed to touch him, so I embraced him with my arms. His skin felt so good, and the savaged heat was back.
“Idris, I get it and nothing has changed. You’re special and I know you would walk into the fire with me,” I said and before I could say another word, he kissed me.
His lips were tender and soft at the same time. Everything was perfect again and I wanted this moment to last forever. Avianna was singing in my head but I didn’t care until Rhian’s words got to me.
“Wait, wait. You’re not strong enough to leave.”
Then I realised Nicolas was still in the cell when Idris kissed me. I’d completely forgotten about him. I pulled away from Idris, breathing hard and telling myself that this was so wrong. I allowed myself to lose control and forgotten about my best friend. We’d both been through a lot, but this whole thing wasn’t over yet. We still needed to get out of here before the Dark Ones figured out what had happened.
Rhian was standing in the cell, looking at both of us. My stomach dropped, and Idris dragged his hand over his head.
“You shouldn’t have done that, Fran. You hurt him,” Avianna’s voice rang in my head.
“I’ll be right back,” I snapped, pulling away from Idris. Everything happened so fast and I was so damn stupid. Nicolas was vulnerable, hurt and weak. I just stabbed him in the back by letting Idris kiss me. After all this time I should have known better.
Nicolas was pacing around, looking anxious. I slowed down, telling myself to keep it together. His face was sullen when he saw me approaching.
“Just leave, Fran. I don’t want to talk to you. The Dark Ones will show up here at any moment and we’ll all be locked up. It looks like your rescue mission was for nothing,” he said. I wanted to touch him, tell him that I never planned this. Idris and I just clicked.
“Nicolas, no one knew we were heading here. Magnus was working alone. I’ve gone through a lot to get you out of here,” I said. He laughed.
“It doesn’t matter, nothing matters anymore, Fran. Not when you’re with him,” he whispered. I couldn’t believe that he wasn’t happy for me. Maybe it was unexpected, but I just embraced the moment. I never promised anything to Nicolas. We were just friends.
Moments later the floor started trembling and the electricity flashed around us. I pushed Nicolas away from the wall where suddenly a crack of magic appeared. It was yet another portal and I couldn’t believe that we were so fortunate. My eyes widened seeing the human city, probably London.
“A crack. For Qesborth! We’re so lucky. We need to go through it right away before it closes,” Rhian said, approaching. She must have sensed the magic. She was right: it was a crack. Our way out of here.
“The Dark Ones are nearer,” Idris said, looking ahead.
Nicolas looked scared and I had no doubt that Magnus had tortured him. It was going to take him a while to regain his strength, but I wasn’t planing to give up on him.
“Come on, Nicolas; you go first. We’ll be right behind you,” I said. He agreed, but I sensed that in a way, I’d lost his trust. The wind was blowing, and we heard voices in the corridor. Rhian nudged Nicolas and soon, he vanished inside the crack. Idris’s aunt was right behind him. Avianna sat on my arm, and I told her to hold on to me tightly.
“Ready?” Idris asked me, taking my hand.
“No, but it doesn’t matter. We’re finally walking toward freedom,” he told me and then we both jumped into the unknown at the same time, leaving the Dimond City, most likely forever.
The End of Book 2
Afterword
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