Lost in a chapter

Chapter 2 - Six

They appeared beneath a pastel flower canopy, Lunary, home of the Oracle. The Fayb scuttled away, likely never to be seen again. She had done it, the deal was broken, she still had the bond with Sylvain to deal with, but she had broken the deal, and she had a portal to the human realm, now she needed to find Marthos. Surely, the Oracle had seen her coming. Yet, no greeting came. No pristine guards in white stood at attention. Something was off. Before she could take another step, black smoke curled beneath her feet. s**t was this me. She thought, she waved it away, her pulse quickening.

A shift in the air. A sharp presence.

Then, Solis.

He stepped from the shadows with a force that made her instinctively tense. His eyes burned, dark with fury, but beneath it, beneath the rigid posture, the tightly clenched jaw, there was something else.

Concern.

"You," His voice cut off, sharp as a blade. He inhaled once, steadying himself, though it did little to tame the storm in his expression. "Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?"

Tora held her ground. "I did what needed to be done."

Solis’s gaze darted across their surroundings, his fingers twitching as if restraining the urge to grab her, shake her. "You didn’t just break the deal; you broke him. I can smell Sestian all over you!”

Tora took a step back, eyes narrowing. "So, he's not angry over the deal? Not furious that I let the Fayb go? He’s pissed that I slept with a guard?" Her voice cut through the quiet, sharp, daring him to admit it.

"Are you here to take me back?"

Solis exhaled, shaking his head, but the movement was tense, restrained.

Deep down, it hurt, more than it should.

If the deal was broken, then he should be free of this.

Of her.

"It didn’t mean anything anyway," she said, voice steady, indifferent, too indifferent. "It was a means to an end. If that makes him feel any better."

But she wouldn’t admit that she hurt a little too.

Wouldn’t admit that Sylvain’s reaction, his anger, his possessiveness, had sparked something deep inside her, something she didn’t know how to name. Changing the subject she said, “Something is off here, the Oracle can see us coming, why hasn’t he done anything yet?”

Solis straightened, his expression unreadable. "Because he’d be with the elite. Come."

He gestured for her to follow.

Tora didn’t hesitate.

Curiosity outweighed caution.

They stepped forward, and suddenly, they were elsewhere.

A room made of glass walls stretched around them, shimmering under soft light. Beyond the transparent barrier, a grand garden sprawled in lush perfection, vines twisting along ivory pillars, blossoms stretching toward the sky. A lake rested at the heart of it all, its surface gleaming, impossibly still.

Tora’s eyes lit up at the sight of Marthos, relief crashing through her.

But the moment was short-lived, the elite soldiers stepped aside, a silent command given by Solis.

Marthos approach didnt't slow, didn’t even glance her way, she glided past, wings tucked in tight, and tackled Solis to the ground.

"You asshole! Why did you send these idiots here?"

Solis pulled back, stunned. "To save you," he managed to say. The scent of her drove him wild but he contained it. If he felt like this, she could to. Was anger blocking it from her?

Tora stepped forward; voice urgent. "We came to save you, Marthos."

But Marthos wasn’t listening.

She rose to her feet, her grip tightening around the Oracle, weak, lifeless, barely clinging on.

Her glare burned. "You better hope the healer can fix him. Stand your men down, Solis. Because if he dies," she inhaled sharply, voice trembling, "I’ll kill you." Marthos threat burned within him.

She passed Tora without a glance.

Tora stiffened. "Marthos!"

Marthos turned just slightly, her eyes glossy, full of too much emotion. "Either come with me or return with him."

Tora’s breath caught. Return with him?

She looked at Solis, whose expression had hardened.

Then at the Oracle, his body limp in Marthos’s arms.

The elite had meant to kill him.

Did Solis order that?

Her throat tightened. "Did you do that to him?" she whispered, her voice breaking.

Solis didn’t flinch. "You need to come back with me." His tone was firm, unwavering. "You’ll only cause more trouble for Marthos."

"But I came for her," Tora pleaded, her voice breaking at the edges.

Solis didn’t look at her. His gaze remained fixed on Marthos as she unfurled her wings, powerful and decisive. Then, without hesitation, she took flight, shattering through the glass walls, leaving only gleaming fragments in her wake. Solis barely blinked. Yet the moment the deal shattered, something inside him shifted. A truth, cruel in its timing, settled deep in his bones.

Marthos was his mate.

And yet… the feelings he had for Tora never left. His jaw tightened. Marthos couldn’t bear the sight of him, and Tora, she belonged to his brother. He needed to remind himself of that, needed to let it sink in, needed to accept it. His fingers curled into fists, nails biting into his palms. Yet the thought scraped against something raw inside him. He exhaled sharply, forcing himself still.

"So did I." The words were quiet. Bitter. A confession to no one but himself.

Tora didn’t want to know what waited for her in Sylvarune. Didn’t want to face whatever storm Sylvain was brewing. Didn’t want to endure the look in Marthos’s eyes, one edged in something close to hatred. So, she chose to return with Solis. It wasn’t surrender. It wasn’t defeat. But it was easier than making everything worse.

Solis shadowed them to his estate. “Please wash” he simply said. Tora didn’t argue.

Time alone, true time alone, felt like an impossible luxury at this point. She stepped into the bathroom, letting out a slow breath as she leaned against the cool tile, willing her thoughts to settle. Then a sound. Something outside the bathroom door. Her pulse quickened; she had come to learn to be alert in this realm. Swiftly, she dressed, every movement sharp, deliberate. She swung the door open and froze.

Tall. Still. Waiting.

Shit. She cursed internally, every muscle tensing. "Sylvain," she said, voice steady despite the chaos swirling inside her. "Have you come to punish me?"

His eyes were hollow.

Hair unkempt. A dark stubble shadowed his jaw, as if he had been on a drunken bender, running on nothing but exhaustion and rage.

Something inside her twisted.

He looked ruined.