The Northerly is weary and reluctant to obey. But I make my request again-firmer this time-and it carries me over stretches of cracked earth and rolling dunes until it sweeps down a row of mountains and sets me in a wide basin of flat white ground. The sharp smell of salt is laced through the air, and I realize I"m in a dried lake bed. A remnant from a time when this valley must"ve been lusher. Friendlier.
Before it all withered away.
It makes me uneasy being below sea level, like I"ve sunk too far from the purer air above. But I suppress an urge to run to higher ground, and make my way across the jagged, salty formations until I reach a sign that tells me where I am.
THE DEVIL"S GOLF COURSE.
This must be what the draft meant about devils and games- not the lead I"d been hoping for.
The winds are much more unhelpful here, whispering their songs so softly I have to strain to hear them. They scoot away from me before I can call them to my side. One gust mentions a place where the wind ends, but when I ask it to take me there, it zips into the cloudless sky before the command fully leaves my lips. So I backtrack through the basin, crossing ground that"s crackled like a honeycomb as I try to find steadier drafts.
The sweltering heat leaves me soaked in sweat and crusted in salt and sand. I"m starting to worry I"m wasting my time when I catch the tail end of a Westerly breeze singing about stones that creep and crawl on their own. I call the draft to my side, relieved when it obeys. And when I listen to the uneven melody, I know I"ve found what I need.
The song starts as a ballad about boulders that etch their own trails in the earth. But it ends as a lament, mourning an indescribable loss in a valley of stillness and sadness. The Westerly feels especially reluctant to take me there, but when I add a plea to the end of my command it tightens its grip and lifts me into the sky.
The air turns heavier as we fly, like it"s trying to force me back to the ground. And as I enter a flat basin, the sky turns achingly empty.
The draft carrying me panics.
I keep control long enough to land on the pale, crackled ground, but as soon as the wind releases me, it streaks away in terror. My Westerly shield is just as uneasy, but I beg it not to leave me alone, and it chooses to stay, wrapping even tighter around me.
I don"t blame the winds for their fears. The unnatural stillness is eerie.
It"s not a calm. Those are always paired with silence-and the basin rings with a grating, nerve-shattering screeching. Like everything rough and horrible is being sc.r.a.ped together and ripped apart. I try to find the source of the chaos, but all I see are large boulders scattered randomly along the parched ground. Crooked lines are etched into the earth all around them, marking their wandering journey through the basin.
They have to be the sailing stones.
But where are the Stormers?
Large cracks cut deep into the mountain along the badlands, and I a.s.sume Raiden"s soldiers must be lurking somewhere in those shadows. But I can"t tell where, and until I"m sure, I have to stay hidden. I will not make any mistakes this time.
I find a narrow crevice in the nearest foothill and crawl inside, tucking myself out of sight. If the Stormers are here they"ll reveal themselves eventually. I just have to be patient.
It"s not easy. The searing afternoon sun makes the jagged stones I"m pressed against feel like burning coals. Even the shade provides no relief.
I distract myself by rebraiding my hair, surprised at how good it feels to wear the guardian style again. For years the braid had become almost painful. Pulling too tight and putting too much pressure on me. But now it feels natural.
It feels right.
I only wish I"d had a chance to retrieve my guardian pendant from where Aston tossed it along the beach. Hopefully the Gales will give me another.
a.s.suming they let me continue my service . . .
Honestly, it"s possible they"ll a.s.sign a guardian to protect me- which is too bizarre of a thought for me to process.
My life has never been worth keeping safe. I lived simply to serve others.
But I"m a Westerly now-sort of. And I"m bonded to the king.
Everything is going to change.
My mind runs through a list of Gales I"ve met, trying to decide who I"d prefer-but a crack of thunder rips me back to reality.
I glance up, stunned to find heavy gray clouds blanketing the sky. A few minutes ago it was a clear stretch of blue.
Lightning flashes and I lean forward to get a better look at the valley, sucking in a breath when I see two Stormers suddenly stationed outside the widest crack in the badlands. Their gray uniforms have an even darker patch on their arms, marking them with Raiden"s storm cloud.
Thunder claps again, and a blinding flash of lightning streaks down from the sky-right next to a man who seems to have appeared out of nowhere.
Dressed in a head-to-toe white cloak with his long blond hair swirling around his face, he looks like the G.o.ds in the groundlings" myths and legends.
I know who he is even before the Stormers drop to one knee.
Bowing to their leader.
CHAPTER 19.VANE.
I.
wake up in my bed, not sure how I got there. My head is a blur and my memories are even blurrier. But I"m very aware that there"s an arm wrapped around me.
I pull myself up and all I see is blond wavy hair.
"What the c.r.a.p?" I shout, jumping to my feet.
I"m relieved when I see that I"m still wearing yesterday"s clothes, but: How the h.e.l.l did Solana end up in my bed?
And what happened while she was here???
"It"s okay," she says, sitting up and brushing her hair out of her eyes, like it"s totally normal that we just spent the night together. At least she"s wearing clothes too-though I don"t know if her itty-bitty dress really counts. I"m sure my mom would- "Oh, G.o.d-you have to get out of here. My mom"s going to freak."
I"ll be grounded for the rest of eternity and she"ll make me sit through every after-school special on teenage pregnancy and STDs and . . .
"Actually, your mom knows I"m here."
"What?"
"She insisted I stay on top of the covers, and we had to keep the door open-"
"Okay, what?"
I spin around, and sure enough, my door is open. And those definitely sound like my mom"s kind of rules, but . . . she wouldn"t even leave Audra and me alone for two seconds.
"She fought us at first," Solana admits. "But when I explained that I could help you sleep, she agreed."
Still. I can"t even . . .
"Wait, I slept?"
"What else did you think you"ve been doing all night?"
My turn to blush. "I don"t know. I was kind of a mess."
"Yeah, I noticed." She stands up, looking around like she"s trying to decide whether or not to leave.
Part of me wants her to go. But I remember my promise to Gus.
Plus, she did help me sleep-for a really long time. According to my clock it"s 12:24, which is later than my mom has ever let me sleep in. I"m still tired, but the worst of the exhaustion has faded.
I run my hands through my hair and sit on the edge of the bed. "Sorry. This is all just really weird."
"I know," Solana mumbles, smoothing the thin yellow fabric of her dress, making it hug her curves even more. "It is for me, too."
She says the last part so softly it"s almost like she doesn"t want me to hear her. But I do. And I feel even more like c.r.a.p.
"Look, about yesterday . . ."
I don"t even know where to start. I"m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that she"s here. With creases from my pillow pressed into her cheek. Standing next to a pile of folded boxers I never bothered putting away.
So I go with the only thing I can think of. "I"m sorry for what I said."
She bites her lips and looks away. "It"s fine."
Wow, she"s an even worse liar than me.
But I don"t know what else to say to make it better.
"So, um, how did you help me sleep?" I ask, deciding it"s easier to change the subject. "I thought the Gales had already tried everything they could think of."
"They didn"t know about enticing. It"s a trick I came up with a few years ago, and I"ve only tried it on one other person." She walks to my window, which is closed tight for the first time since Audra left. "My former guardian used to have horrible flashbacks at night, and I knew Southerlies could draw memories, so I tried sending one into her mind to see if I could change her dreams. It took me a little while to find the right command, and it only works if I"m there to keep control. But she said it helped."
"It does."
Now that my head is clearing I can remember reliving a memory of Audra and me in the snow. I"ve never had any flashes of that moment before, but now that it"s back, I"m going to hold on to it as tight as I can.
She stayed with me that cold, scary day, holding my hand. She cared.
And if she wouldn"t leave me when we were just stupid kids who didn"t even like each other, how could she leave me now?
But she did leave, my brain reminds me, and I want to rip it out and stomp it into a pulp. She"s been gone twenty-five days.
Yeah, but she promised she"d be back, and I have to believe that. I"m not giving up hope just because she sent two vague words across the sky.
Not yet, at least.
"Are you okay?" Solana asks as I get up and walk to my dresser, searching for gum or something to get rid of my toxic morning breath. I settle for a crushed Mento that"s probably been in my pocket for at least a month, but hey, it"s minty-not that I"m trying to impress Solana. Which is good because I also catch a glimpse of my hair in the mirror, and dang, I never realized it could be tall-andb.u.mpy and greasy-and-plastered-to-my-head all at the same time.
"Yeah, I"m fine. I"m just still tired."
"I know. The Gales said you hadn"t slept in weeks." She drops her eyes to her hands, twisting a wide gold cuff on her wrist. "They asked if I"d be willing to stay with you at night to help you sleep. I told them I would, if you were okay with it."
I accidentally swallow my Mento.
I"m coughing so hard I can"t speak, which is probably better because I don"t know what to do with the idea of having a hot girl in my bed all night. I mean, that"s kinda the ultimate fantasy, except . . .
Wrong girl.
And what if Audra came home and found us together?
"That sounds like a really bad idea," I tell her when my voice is finally working again.
"Why?"
"Because . . ." I can"t believe I even have to explain this. She"s my ex-fiancee-sorta-and I usually sleep in my boxers! "I don"t know. You really don"t think it would be weird?"
Solana shrugs and looks away, and I can see her cheeks turning pink. And that"s when I realize . . .
When I woke up, her arm was wrapped around me.
All this time I"ve been a.s.suming Solana"s just as relieved about the no-more-betrothal as me. But maybe . . .
Solana pulls her hair around her face, hiding behind it as she picks up a framed photo from my desk. It"s a picture of me with my parents on a hiking trip from a few years ago.
"I guess we come from two different worlds," she says quietly. "You grew up here, in a house with a family-not knowing anything about sylphs or Raiden or me. But I"ve spent my whole life on the run, never having a home or more possessions than what I could carry. Even my guardians were sometimes taken from me . . ." Her voice cracks and she sets the picture down and turns to face me. "The only thing I ever had to hold on to was you."
It"s hard to swallow again, but this time it"s a lump in my throat, not a Mento.
I clear it away. "Solana-"
"Don"t," she whispers. "I"m not saying I"m in love with you. I don"t even know you. I just . . ." Her eyes well with tears and she blinks them back. "It"s just hard getting used to the idea of a completely different life."
I can definitely understand that feeling.
"I"m sorry," I mumble, sitting back down on the bed. "This is all such a mess, isn"t it?"
"It is," she agrees, sniffling.
It"s so insane. Solana"s standing here crying over me-meanwhile Audra may have already dumped me.
I sigh. "You"re better off without me. Really. I"m a pain. And I"m horrible with girls. Just ask anyone I"ve ever dated."
"Oh. So . . . you"ve dated?"
My brain turns into a running stream of expletives.
Why? Why did I bring this up?
"Um . . . well . . . that"s kinda what everyone does around here, so . . . yeah. But Audra always stepped in and broke things up before anything could happen so-"