succeeded, catching her cloak as she crumpled.
That rush that came with action or the unknown washed through me and kept me from feeling pain when my knees hit the ground. After shaking off the hand that held my arm, I hugged her body to me. It protected her head from striking the hard surface but did nothing else. Her limpness caused her to seem much heavier than she really was, and I was forced to readjust my grip each time she slid. Her cloak didn’t help matters, either. The slick material just bunched up and made it harder to keep her from merely slipping right out of it.
After what seemed like forever but was probably only a minute or two, she blinked, a dazed look remaining in her eyes. When she spotted me, her brow creased, and she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. Her gaze darted wildly, and the moment she realized what happened, she stiffened.
“I’m fine,” she whispered, reaching up to pat my shoulder. “Thank you.”
I stared at her, not trusting the apparent lie, but I loosened my arms a bit. I didn’t entirely remove the cage I’d formed around her until she proved that she could remain upright on her own power. As soon as I did, she tried to stand, her cheeks flushing and her gaze averted, but she wobbled.
“Sit down,” I ordered, reaching for her again.
“I’m fine, I said,” she repeated, then fell back to her knees.
“You are not fine. Stop lying to me. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, but if you keep trying to be stubborn, we will be here a lot longer. Especially if I can’t catch you next time. One good smack of your head and everyone will know what happened because I’ll have to carry you into the palace, screaming for a healer.” She flushed again but didn’t rid herself of that determined set of the jaw, which told me she would refuse to listen, so I pulled out my best weapon. “I’d wager that Corin would be quite worried then, wouldn’t he? Imagine it. I’m running, yelling for help with you in my arms, blood covering your face and cloak. He’d be—”
She held up a hand and drooped. “Okay, okay. Just for a moment, though.”
She plopped on her ass and leaned forward to put her head between her knees. Her arms wrapped around her legs, her chest expanding with a deep breath.
I stifled a grin and walked on my knees until I could sit beside her, out of the pathway. Once I got settled, I rubbed her back in circles like others did for me. It always felt nice for some reason, though I didn’t really understand why.
Shadow increased her coldness and crept along my arm, telling me she was transferring to Grace. The sensation disappeared, and she was gone, scampering onto Grace’s shoulder where she could pet Grace’s cheek.
“Want to talk about it?” I asked softly.
She shook her head, but words began pouring out, anyway. “I’m tired of being different, of being the Angel that’s useless. I’m sick of being pushed to the side and ignored. I hate that I don’t know my own people because they won’t let me like I’ll taint them or something. And I’m so angry with my father, with myself, even with my mother. If she had allowed them to kill me back then, I wouldn’t have to endure this alone. Plus, now, I’ll have to see everyone with a dirty cloak because I can’t even get mad properly.”
Her body jumped with hiccups, and she shook with silent tears. My hand kept up the circular motion, and I looked up to find Umstra. It had nearly completed its duty for the binal, and I used it as a distraction while I searched for something to say. What would help her? She has every right to feel how she does, and one doesn’t just get over things like that. I doubt she can push them down and ignore them forever, either. Besides, that isn’t healthy, even if it is my way of dealing.
An idea suddenly appeared, so I ran with it. “Have you ever heard the story of the little blue girl?”
Grace didn’t look up, but she shook her head, widening her knees just enough so that she could before clamping them again.
My chest ached, and my eyes burned, but none could be detected in my soft words. “My mother told me this tale when I was a little girl. It was the