it makes me smile, despite everything. “I always knew you would be trouble, darlin’.”
I frown because the thought of Henry and me never seeing each other again seems impossible.
“Never-ending sounds a lot better for us. We are both too stubborn to give up easily.”
“Run, fight, do something. Don’t let him win,” Henry whispers to me, and in his eyes, I see the moment he decides to ask me one more thing, even when it means telling me another secret. “Call Erendriel and see if he can help.”
“How do you know Ren?” I whisper in pure shock, and Henry’s eyes give it all away. He knows my secret, he always did.
And he knows who Ren is and likely more secrets I wouldn’t even know to ask for.
“Minute is up,” Riley states as he grabs my arm. “In fact, our time is up.”
“No, no, no!” I scream as Riley effortlessly drags me towards the fire waterfalls until I can feel their heat on my skin. I struggle, tugging at his hand on my upper arm, hitting his chest and face, but he is like a stone.
“We will see how you feel when you come out of this,” Riley whispers to me.
“REN!” I scream as Riley pushes me forward, and I start to fall. I twist around just as Ren appears so close to me and reaches both his hands out to catch me, even when he can’t. As I fall into the fire and it burns my back, I grab Ren’s hand, and somehow we touch, and I drag him into light angel fire with me.
Chapter 28
Bright white light burns in front of my eyes as I sit in a pool of white fire. It flickers around me, almost like a dance, never hurting me like I suspected it would.
Almost like I wish it would.
“I didn’t choose the light.”
My words seem to echo around the fire, and they don’t respond. The white fire seems endless, and I wonder if I’m going to die now.
I don’t know if life as a light angel would be worth living at this point.
My best friend is a monster who betrayed me in the worst way.
Henry and Thallon might be seriously hurt, if not dead.
My parents don’t remember who I am.
Even I don’t know who I am anymore.
“You’re mine.” I look up to see Ren, not ghost Ren, but he is real as he walks through the flames to me. His clothes are the same, still torn in places and very outdated. His skin is no longer a ghostly pale, but flushed and tanned. Everything about Ren is more like this, and it makes me wonder if I’m really dead now. Maybe the white fire killed me, knowing this wasn’t the future I wanted. Tears form in the corners of my eyes as he picks me up off the fire floor and holds me to him. Ren walks, still holding me, through the fire even as it hits his skin, and he flinches. He still keeps walking as he grits his teeth, and I hold onto his neck. Without realising it, large white wings cover Ren and me.
My wings.
I stare up at them as they shield me and Ren from the fires, the soft feather wings not being damaged at all. I have wings now, and yes, they might not be what I wanted, but I can’t deny how truly lovely they are.
Soon the bright white fire is gone, and cold air blasts against my back where my T-shirt must be ripped.
“Who are you?” Riley demands as Ren gently places me on the ground outside the fire. He is real, it’s not just me that sees him anymore. Ren moves quicker than I can track, punching Riley so hard that he is instantly knocked out on the floor. In less than five minutes, Ren has all Riley’s friends on the floor, and I don’t even care if they are breathing.
“It worked,” Henry’s voice says in the distance, like he doesn’t believe it any more than I do.
Ren laughs. “You look like shit.”
“I’m not dead yet,” he laughs back, like they are long lost friends or something. What world have I just walked back into?
“How do you two know each other?” I ask, standing up despite how weak and dizzy I feel. “Wait, how are you alive, Ren?”
Both of them pause and look at me, and yet I can’t read their expressions. Guilt? Longing? Wishing to speak more lies? “I will explain everything soon, my Kaitlyn.”
I shake my