The men laughed harder and clapped one another on the back. Everyone in my legion was completely delusional.
They wiped tears of mirth out of their eyes like the idea of them being evil was funny.
I stared down at the table with horror.
Holy sun god, they didn’t know they were villains?
I was the sanest person at the table.
A twisted, oily sensation expanded in my gut as my teammates kept laughing.
I pressed my pipe between my lips, tipped my head back, and whispered the inscription that was carved in small lettering on the floor of the fae palace.
The one I’d stared at for hours as my teeth chattered and my muscles cramped in the aftermath of torture.
May the sun god save us from ourselves.
Chapter 36
Aran
SADIE FINDS OUT
Metamorphosis—Day 50, hour 14
“Yeah, and then John came back two days ago,” I said to Sadie as I jogged beside her.
Well, Sadie jogged.
I walked.
It wasn’t even a brisk walk. I was moving at a slow stroll.
Sadie pumped her arms aggressively like that was going to give her momentum. Poor girl could enslave a man with her blood and shift into a monster cat but couldn’t move faster than a granny shuffle.
At this point, I was 80 percent convinced she was faking it.
It was physically impossible for someone to move as slowly as she was. It had to be a ruse.
Sadie gasped for air and said, “No way, so they really are twins.” She stopped running and keeled over with her hands on her legs.
So far, we’d run back and forth along the shore twice. Half a mile at the most.
Sweat poured off Sadie’s face like we’d run fifty miles. How is that even possible?
She needed medical help.
I kicked a pebble into the roaring surf and pointed out, “I don’t think leaning over will help you move faster.”
Sadie glared at me as she spat out a thick glob of mucus.
I stretched my arm above my head, needing to release some restless energy because watching my friend struggle with basic fitness was surprisingly boring.
“You’re such a drama queen,” I said.
“Sorry not all of us—” Sadie coughed and choked. “—have the body of a horse.”
I stared at her. “Did you just compare me to a horse?”
“Your—” She choked on a juicy cough. “—legs come up to my armpits.”
I put my hands on my hips and stared down at my vertically challenged best friend. “That doesn’t mean you get to call me a horse. That’s just rude.”
She made a stupid face and asked, “Isn’t that why you named your crow Horse?”
I gaped at the woman I called a friend. “I didn’t name my crow Horse because I thought I was a horse. How does that make sense?” I kicked another rock into the sea. “Super rude.”
“Grow up.” Sadie leaned forward and puked.
I rolled my eyes and moved aside. “You have an actual issue. This is literally disgusting.”
“That’s what—” Sadie vomited aggressively. “—a horse would say.”
I shook my head and turned my back to her as I said, “You know, a few weeks ago, we had to run fifty miles, then do more training afterward. And no one got sick like this. You didn’t even do one full lap.”
Sadie moaned, “No one cares.”
Dragging my fingers through wild curls, I surveyed the island and imagined what it would be like if I didn’t have friends.
Life would be peaceful.
The only blessing was at least I wasn’t having to train with the rest of my team.
A few yards away, they hoisted boulders alongside Sadie’s mates. Apparently, all the men had woken up today and thought, I want to lift something and put it down for literally no reason.
I’d said it before, and I’d say it again: men were deranged, and they should all be shot. On sight. No questions asked.
Once Malum had announced we were lifting, I’d spent the morning mentally preparing to impersonate a pack mule.
However, the sun god had intervened on my behalf.
Bless up.
I lifted one boulder, and all the stitches on my arm had pulled open. Blood had gushed down my arms, and I’d fallen to my knees, gasping.
Everyone had freaked out.
Malum had burst into flames, Scorpius had yelled obscenities, Orion had taken the boulder from my hands and tossed it away, and John had wiped at my arms frantically.
Zenith’s and Vegar’s wounds had also pulled open, but they’d smiled like they enjoyed the pain and hoisted boulders faster.
Malum had forbidden me from lifting and gone on a five-minute rant about how I needed to take care of myself, and blah, blah, blah.
Truthfully, I’d stopped listening as soon as I’d realized he was the one speaking.
When he’d concluded having his mental breakdown, I’d saluted him with my middle finger and walked away.
That was how I now found myself dealing with my best friend’s antics.
Since I was too injured to lift, and Sadie liked to pretend to be a weak woman to get out of any manual labor, the two of us were jogging back and forth across the rocks near where the men trained.
At least, that was the plan.
I’d forgotten that my friend had the endurance of an asthmatic suffering from tuberculosis.
Vomit splashed across the rocks, and I plugged my nose. This could not be good for her health. I joked about it, but I was concerned for her.
Sadie groaned miserably. I sighed and did what any good friend would do.
I walked fifteen feet away down the shore, lay down on some rocks, and pretended I didn’t know her.
Spreading my arms and legs wide, I inhaled deeply.
Salty sulfur burned my nose.
The howling winds pushed against the black cloud cover, and the dark sky rolled tumultuously.
The clouds seemed angry.
Black contrasted with red and made everything glow.
The supposed incoming storm was all that anyone seemed to want to talk about inside the academy. Students whispered about it like it was the coming of the sun god himself.
This morning, I’d watched incredulously as servants boarded up the windows with enchanted pieces of wood. There was literal lightning in the halls; I was pretty sure the academy could withstand a little thunder and rain.
My guess was that everyone was freaking out because there were never any weather changes in this realm.
Now, with the windows boarded, the black marble halls of the academy had a cave-like feel.
It was dark and peaceful.
I repositioned my neck to get more comfortable on the rocks. Closing my eyes, I sighed contentedly as the sea sprayed against my clammy, abused skin. Waves roared and hammered the shore.
Thunder boomed high above.
I opened my eyes, but it wasn’t the fabled storm.
It was the angels.
They were little specks amid the clouds that resembled the wind fae action figures other kids had played with. The crown princess hadn’t played with toys. Obviously.
Ice swords clashed, and a CRACK echoed loudly through the sky.
Crystal wings flapped, and feathers clattered.
I unfocused my eyes until the entire group of angels was a pretty blur of light blue.
The angel with the feline features and mismatched eyes folded his wings and plummeted downward toward the raging sea.
I refocused my eyes.
Inches from the waves, his wings shot out, and he hovered above the sea, glaring directly at me.