Things That Should Stay Buried - Casey L. Bond Page 0,120

was absolutely not okay.

Kes was gone. Kestrel was dead. I would never be okay.

But I wasn’t afraid of them now. I wasn’t the same girl they’d threatened. I was their equal. Immortal. And I would spend an eternity making them pay for what they did to me. To Kes. To Kestrel. To this world.

They could see it, too. Cancer scuttled away, quickly disappearing into the wall, and Sagittarius trotted after her. I sensed the moment Leo made his mind up to leave. I shot him a look that told him I’d see him soon enough. He disappeared with a roar, making me smile. Promise of a future war staved my tears for a moment.

Pisces gaped. Though I couldn’t see her, I could sense every scale. “Do you require water as I required air?” I asked venomously. She vanished, retreating to her territory.

Like pieces in a puzzle, I sensed those who’d fled slide back into their rightful place. I felt where they were and how far away. I knew if I wanted to go after them, all I had to do was pull on that invisible tether and reel myself to them.

I tugged on Virgo’s, appearing before her in a flash and gifting her with a ferocious backhand. The force made her stumble and she bowled Libra and Gemini over as they braced to catch their traitorous friend. I started after her, fully prepared to end her or give it my best shot, when the coward disappeared. Her little friends followed suit.

Libra hissed, but vanished without striking. Gemini’s sneer seared into my mind as she also left the castle. My castle.

That just left our little team of allies and Aries’s Guardians, who were working to remove the bodies of Taurus’s Guardians. They fell the instant he did, and when I took his place, whatever magic he used to breathe life into them died with him.

I began crying again when Capricorn offered a smile that was half encouragement and half pity. They were created. They were Zodia from their first breaths. But I was transformed. My human life meant everything to me, and I put everyone in jeopardy by trying to cling to it.

Nevertheless, I appreciated them fighting for and with me. I appreciated it more than they knew, even though Kes had fallen. My ribs felt too tight as I fought to keep my breaths steady against the onslaught of heartache threatening to cleave me in two.

Scorpio watched me with his disconcerting pale eyes. Without a word, he spoke, balling a fist and slamming it into his chest.

I repeated the action. Thank you, my eyes told him.

He slammed it again before taking his leave.

Capricorn inclined her soft furry head and trotted away.

Aquarius stood fast next to Aries, whose pink eyes were constantly assessing me. “You fought well,” he said. “That was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen.”

I snarled in disgust. “Fought well? My brother is dead!”

Aries looked as crushed as I felt. “He has already been reborn,” he offered. I knew he wanted me to feel better, to know that Kes was okay, but that wasn’t what I meant.

I shook my head. “Kes has, but my brother Kestrel is truly dead now. Before, with Kes in his body, I could convince myself he wasn’t dead. Now he is. Now I have to tell my mother her son is gone. How am I—” My voice broke. I fought to speak past the knot in my throat. “How will I explain all this? How will I explain these?” I asked, spreading my wings as wide as I could, watching the feathers stretch and flare.

Aries gave the simplest, truest answer. “One word at a time. Your mother and father love you and they will understand.”

“Where’s my dad?” I cried.

Aries swallowed and asked his Guardians to leave us so that only me, him, and Aquarius were in the room. Aquarius balled his fist and beat his chest, the clang ringing throughout the room. My tears blurred his golden form, but I managed a half-hearted chest thump and watched as he faded away.

Aries pinched his lips together and closed his eyes. “Your father is alive, but injured. I’ve sent someone to heal him.”

“Who?”

“Kes,” he answered. “He would like to explain everything to your father, if it’s okay with you.”

Of course it’s alright!

Though he said Kes would be reborn, it didn’t occur to me that he would be regenerated so soon and could slide right into his role as Guardian. If he was going to talk to