Dark Angel Academy (The Complete Series) - G. Bailey Page 0,113
in the crowd. Gods, how do I tell her?
Henry’s sister calls him, and I nod, letting him go to her even as his eyes search mine, both of us knowing we have a lot to talk about.
Before I can move, Thallon cups my cheeks and kisses me softly on my forehead. “You’re alive and safe.”
“And you’re an angel now?” I question, stepping back to run my eyes over his large black wings. They suit him, and his eyes lock onto mine. We don’t have to say anything, my missing wings are enough of an answer for us both.
“Bryne!” Vesnia’s shout jolts me, and I turn to see her run to Bryne the moment he steps into the room. He grabs her the second he is close enough and picks her up, swinging her around and burying his head into her hair as she cries. Gods, she loves him. I know that feeling well.
“Where is Masita, Kaitlyn?” Aala asks, and the world seems to slow as I turn around to face her. I go down on my knees, making us the same level as I pick up her tiny, cold hands. I think she knows...but having it confirmed is a different matter. How do I tell a little girl that all the family she had left in the world is gone?
“I— She didn’t make it,” I tell her, and she stares at me, blinking her big eyelashes a few times. “But I swear on my life, I will look after you. Your aunt saved my life, and I will care for the only person she loved: you.”
Aala bursts into tears, and I can only hold onto her, trying to soothe her by rubbing her back and just being here for her. Eventually she pulls away from me, and the room is a little emptier than it was before. I can still hear the vampires just outside the room though.
“Where do people go when they die?” she quietly asks, her words catching on thick emotions that break my heart. No one as young as she is should have to feel this way. I don’t have an answer for her, and I struggle to say anything, even as she stares at me like I should know. Thallon kneels down next to me and catches Aala’s attention.
“My papa used to tell me that everyone leaves this world only to find the next place their soul belongs, and you know what?” he asks, and she shakes her head. “I asked him how I would find my family in a new place. How would they know me?”
“What did he say?” she curiously asks as I wipe her cheeks of tears. I look down at her small hands, seeing a familiar ruby ring clutched in the middle of her palm. Why would Masita give her the ring? I wonder if she knew she would die; maybe Aala wasn’t the only one in her family with gifts.
“He took my hand and told me that souls remember other souls. That family and love are bonds that connect us far past the death of our mortal bodies,” he tells her and offers her his hand. “My name is Thallon, and I promise to protect you alongside Kaitlyn. We can’t replace your aunt, but we can be each other’s family. What do you think?”
We both pause as she slides one of her hands out of mine and into his, and somehow I know Thallon means every word. He will make sure she is safe and protected alongside me.
“We have to go and see the leaders of this place. They have a way of getting Ren,” Henry softly says behind me. Turning to see him, Vesnia and Bryne standing behind me. I look once at Thallon, and he nods, letting me know he will watch her and the other vampires while I go and get back their leader.
“Where the hell are we?” I ask as we step out of a cabin in the middle of a thick forest with one stone pathway through it, which is lit up with tiny solar lights. The sun is setting over the trees, casting thick yellow and vibrant oranges through the green leaves. It’s super beautiful here, but as I stare at the setting sun, I realise it wasn’t this late in the day before we came through the portal.
“That’s hard to explain, but I will try,” Henry says, linking his fingers with mine. “One of the tales leaders is hiding us in another dimension that