Grace and Glory (The Harbinger #3) - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,60
of time.
The hours dragged by and by, and I couldn’t wait around any longer. Cayman had ordered up a car for me, and I headed to Rock Creek Park. That was where I spent the last hour or so, claiming ownership of the bench, his shirt and the vial close to my thudding heart.
It will be okay.
It will be okay.
I kept repeating that, over and over, while I stared at the empty walking path. I had no idea what kind of strings the Wardens had pulled, but the last person I’d seen had been at least forty-some minutes ago. I guessed it was a small blessing that I had this to stress over so I wasn’t obsessing over, well, everything else. I looked up at the gradually darkening sky, and my chest tightened.
The reminder I set on my phone dinged, letting me know it was one minute till sunset.
Jumping from the bench, I hurried to the grassy area behind it. Carefully, I placed Zayne’s shirt on the ground beside the vial. I knelt, unsheathing the dagger. With my hand above his shirt, I placed the dagger against my palm. My heart was pounding. Both my hands were shaking.
This will work.
This will work.
This will work.
The second reminder went off from my phone. There wasn’t a moment of hesitation as the sky above me turned to the deepest, darkest blue. I sliced the blade along my palm. A hiss of pain escaped me as bright red blood bubbled and welled. Squeezing my hand into a fist as I sheathed my dagger, I lowered my palm and opened my hand. I dragged it across his shirt, smearing the cotton with blood.
Snatching up the vial, I popped the lid off and tilted the bottle over the same spot my blood marked Zayne’s shirt as I prayed Zayne wasn’t playing creeping stalker and watching me.
Which was something I hadn’t even considered until now.
Too late to worry about that, I supposed.
The golden liquid poured over the shirt. It wasn’t a lot, and the smoke leaked out next, glittering like dozens of fireflies as it drifted slowly to the shirt.
A bolt of light flashed from the shirt, whipping out faster than I could track. Dropping the vial, I rose as the gold light raced to form a circle.
Spinning around, I pushed—pushed hard with my legs as the circle completed. The light pulsed, streaming upward as I jumped through it, hitting the ground on my hands and knees just outside the circle as the light collapsed.
“God,” I whispered, pushing my braid back over my shoulder. That was...that was too close of a call.
I stood, turning back. I couldn’t see any signs of the light. I could barely make out the lump of his shirt in the encroaching shadows, but it was done.
The park lights flicked on as I stood there, chest rising and falling rapidly. My grace hummed in me, ramped up by my anxiety.
Please.
Please.
Please.
Lifting my gaze to the now dark sky, I strained to see anything. There was nothing. Not even a hint of a star. What if this didn’t work? What if I did something wrong? Was I supposed to dump the contents out first and then cut myself? I should’ve written the instructions down, because my memory—
I saw him only for a second before he dropped out of the sky, landing in a crouch mere feet from where I thought the circle started.
My heart stammered as he rose, his wings emanating a soft white glow as he spread them wide. Show-off. He’d changed into a faded pair of jeans. Where he got them, or better yet, who he borrowed them from, I decided I didn’t want to know.
At least right now.
From opposite sides of what I hoped was a functional trap, we stared at one another. Too many seconds ticked by unused. I needed to get him in the trap.
I stepped forward, only about a foot. “Miss me?”
His head tilted. “You did something. I know you did. I felt this uncontrollable urge to come here.”
“You weren’t watching me?”
He shook his head. “I can no longer watch you.”
Because he could no longer trust himself? There wasn’t time to figure that out. “Well, I didn’t want to walk the streets looking for you.”
“I told you to stay away from me. That I would hurt you,” he said, voice a low rumble. “And yet, you did something to bring me to you. I’m beginning to believe you have a death wish.”