Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,322

I insisted as he cried out in pain and cursed me. People were watching, but I didn’t care.

After a few minutes of whining and composing himself, he sighed before drawing his attention back to the paper. “I don’t know what this means. It looks like a code?” I chewed on my bottom lip, mulling over his words while thinking up everything I knew about the Stonewells. A code.

A code.

A code.

Holy shit. I knew what these numbers were.

“Kemper!” I called out while running my fingers over the paper like it could somehow magically take me to where I needed to go. Within an instant, he was at my side, stroking my arm while wearing a concerned expression. “I know what this means. There’s a safe at Stonewell Manor in Master Stonewell’s old office. I was never allowed to touch it, but I know where it is. I bet this is a code to the safe.”

Kemper smiled before giving me a side hug. “That’s my girl. Always so smart.” Cyler caught my excited expression and excused himself from the group of men eagerly taking orders.

“What put that smile on your face? Got some good news for me, Babe?” he asked with a little half smile before crossing his arms over his chest.

“The numbers Mia told me? It’s a code to the Stonewell safe. If we could make it to Stonewell Manor, I bet it’ll lead us to Payne.” This had to be it. Mistress Stonewell always made a big deal about not touching the safe. I wasn’t even allowed to clean it. It was a mystery I’d long ago forgotten about.

“When can we leave?” I asked eagerly. If I had my way, I’d already be in a transport headed to Galla. Between finding this underground city of people and this clue, it felt like I could finally breathe in fresh air. I started tapping my foot, contemplating pacing. The moment I knew what this meant, my body wanted to start running. It was like the safe at Stonewell Manor was a magnet pulling me towards it.

"Patrick and Huxley are still looking for Tallis and Jules. Mia still needs to wake up, and I'm going to set up a few systems here so that people have a better chance of surviving." The moment those words escaped Cyler Black’s lips, I could feel my body slip into despair. We didn't have time. We needed to hurry up and find Payne so that we could find a cure.

Cyler must've seen my obvious disappointment because he put a hand on my shoulder before speaking again. "Babe, two days is not going to end us. We have to be smart about this. There's still resistance groups in Galla, and we need to be settled before we can go. I know you're anxious to see Payne, but we need to trust that Mistress Stonewell is taking good care of him and that he is safe."

That was the thing, I didn't trust that he was safe with Mistress Stonewell. She had no survival skills and no sense of loyalty to anyone but herself. She was selfish and ignorant to the world; the only quality of hers that could lend a hand to her survival was the fact that she was mean. Cruel. But that wasn't enough when you were in charge of safeguarding a little boy, especially when that little boy held the key to the cure.

"One day," I argued. If anyone could make it happen, I knew that it was Cyler. He frowned before glancing at Mia, who was still in the corner with Maverick. He kept checking her pulse and feeding her water. Getting her rehydrated was at the top of the priority list. I hated that I was so callous to her illness now, but I was looking at the bigger picture. I trusted that Maverick would bring her back to health, just like I trusted that I needed to find Payne. I needed to save my men.

Cyler let out a long and low sigh before answering me. "I'll try my best, Babe. But we have to be smart about this. What if we led some of the leftover guards to Payne? I'm not making any decisions until we find Jules and Tallis and all sit down and discuss this together." Frustration was bubbling up in my chest, and I knew that I had no right to feel the way that I felt. Cyler was being reasonable, he was being smart. But no matter what I