Essence of the Angels (The Starlight Chronicles #2)

Chapter Two

Lucy's POV

We were out of time.

I hadn't been able to escape this feeling of dread since my tired eyes forced me into sleep last night. I tossed and turned through nightmares until Jason had shaken me awake and forced me to get up, fast.

"They've found us," he whispered hurriedly in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. The doors suddenly burst open and two deranged looking Urenphians wearing official uniforms stormed into the abandoned townhouse we'd spent the night in.

I scrambled up off of the couch and followed Jason as he dove headfirst out of the nearest window, crashing to the ground. I'd gotten good at fast escapes—and better at dealing with the bruises that came with such actions. I winced, feeling the scrapes on my wrists.

I risked a single glance back and locked eyes with one of the Urenphians through the window. Those familiar eyes with dancing irises—the ones all Shadeows seemed to share—glared determinedly at me, a swirl of vibrant colors.

In the daylight, their skin seemed to shimmer as if it were highlighted, and I noticed just how gaunt their cheeks appeared.

My stomach dropped at this unusual sight. I was still not used to how different they looked from us—like magic shimmered in every part of their being.

I pushed myself up and tore after Jason through the overgrown, grassy front yard towards the car only to find it surrounded by more Urenphian guards. However, Jason didn't seem fazed; he drew his sword and fought his way to the driver's door.

I elbowed my way past to the passenger side, ignoring the way my joints stung with each impact, and managed to throw myself in just as Jason started the engine. The car chugged to life and Jason slammed his foot on the gas, taking off before his door had fully closed. Barreling through the remaining guards, we shot down the narrow street and headed for the single road leading out of Lorelei.

Well, I was truly awake now. My head hit the back of the passenger seat and my eyes fell closed for a brief moment.

"Good morning to you too," I said to Jason, finally breaking the silence. I kept my tone dull, but neither of us laughed. Maybe if the circumstances had been different, I would have at least chuckled.

If Valarie were here, I definitely would have.

Andrew had warned us not to come back to Lorelei after our narrow escape three weeks ago, but it was the only place we hadn't yet searched. Now, I knew for sure that my best friend was gone. I'd last seen her being dragged into a mysterious, magical void and straight back into enemy hands.

Our time was up. We were exhausted, injured, and empty handed—but that didn't feel nearly as terrible as the gaping hole in my heart.

I had failed Valarie.

The buildings began to thin and the hills began to slope upward as we drove out of Lorelei.

I didn't want to be the first to address the situation, but one of us had to.

"So, what do we do now?"

I was met with crackly static sounding from the radio as Jason stayed silent. It was all we ever heard now that communication had been completely cut off from the outside world.

Jason kept his eyes on the road—his hair was still rumpled from last night. I'd gotten strangely comfortable with sharing a room with him over the past two weeks— which was surprising, considering how little I used to trust him. But I guess two weeks of running from enemies and searching the surrounding cities for your missing best friend will bring people closer—and over that time, Jason had constantly been there for me.