Feather Dark

Chapter 13

Keira

Laughter. As I picked my way along the path towards the bungalow, the sound of giggling caught me by surprise. I lifted my face and saw Leigh and Blue soaring above me, bantering as they flew high against the giant glass dome.

They swung up into the white steel rafters supporting the ceiling; her bright wings caught the light, the scarlet a contrast against the vibrant blue of the sky, but Leigh was all I could look at. My golden Leigh, shimmering in the dawn light, his lean limbs stretched out as he hung lazily from the girder. With easy strength, he flipped himself upside down and said something that made Blue laugh harder.

Agony lanced through me. Leigh had been here for a week, and I felt dizzy from the gaslighting I wasn't sure was even happening. My breath hitched in my chest, my eyes burning. Turning my gaze downwards, I fled, running along the dirt path like the lowly earthbound creature I was.

My feet carried me to the far end of the rainforest room, where a deep indoor pool flowed around the base of the artificial waterfall. Stripping down to my plain white swimsuit, I dove into the lagoon, the one place where I could still be weightless.

Under the surface, I used my wings to beat the water back and powered for the crackling surface where the waterfall entered the pool. My wings felt strong; the swimming had kept them in peak condition. The second my feathers grew in, I would be ready to use them.

I emerged, mermaid style, flipping my hair in an Insta-worthy arc. With my head pounded by the falling water, I allowed myself a simple luxury: I wept. It was the one place where I could safely let out my grief without Sevic seeing, Blue asking questions, or Leigh making a joke at my expense.

As I let the water wash over me and carry away my sadness, I reviewed what I knew. I'd analysed Leigh's actions so often, I was worried I might lose my grip on reality, but hey, one more time couldn't hurt.

He came for me. Or did he? Sevic had mentioned that Leigh – Cobbe – had voluntarily joined our ranks because he wasn't satisfied with his former regime. It was possible that Leigh hadn't been accepted into the Squadron ranks. Was it possible he'd betray them entirely?

He loves me. He used to love me. The last time I'd spoken to Leigh was right before I'd ruined the birthday dinner he'd thrown for me, before causing a punch up with his brother and then ditching them both and vanishing. If he'd fallen out of love, who could blame him?

He's undercover. He wouldn't bother pretending not to know me if this wasn't all part of an act. But his callousness wasn't part of the act; it seemed genuine. The Leigh I knew was never so savage, and I had no idea what had caused it.

All I needed was a five minute conversation and I could clear things up, but it wasn't safe. Sevic had the place wired for sound, and if I did ask Leigh any of my burning questions, I would instantly put us both in deep danger. I couldn't even talk to Blue. It was just me and my brain, turning over the same thoughts endlessly.

I tugged at the mental thread in my head, tracing it back to Leigh's first morning with us. I had him pinned on the floor of the training room, and I swore I could see my Leigh in his eyes, the guy who used to brush my hair away from my face while we watched TV, who used to tickle me, who swore to protect me, who kissed me so deeply I almost melted in his arms.

With my hair to cloak us, I leaned forward to ask him a question. I didn't whisper that I was so glad to see him, or how much I'd missed him, or that he was the one I loved. I'd never be able to do justice to everything I felt for him in only a few words. He was clearly safe; my deepest fear the entire time that I'd been locked up was that he'd been hurt or killed. Now he was here, in my arms, between my thighs, his face an inch from mine, close enough to kiss...