Things That Should Stay Buried - Casey L. Bond Page 0,61

a wish. He’d do the same from the balcony. It didn’t matter if the star was real, as long as the wish was, he’d say.

While Aries paced outside my door, I flung my arm over my eyes and wondered what I would wish for if I was sure the wish would come true. Would I wish for things to go back to how they were the morning the Zodia woke? Or would I wish for Mom to be free of Libra and Dad to be free of Taurus, free to come here and live, and for the world to stay as it was?

ARIES

No matter what I did, I couldn’t calm down. I spent hours quietly pacing outside the door to Larken’s room.

She was upset. Not over the kiss itself, but over the feelings it elicited. Kes’s anger didn’t help matters. Admittedly, I understood his position and his objections to the pair of us.

I’d thought the same thing to myself, over and over and over again. But no amount of logic or rational thinking could squash or even quell the feelings I had for her. She was the breath in my lungs and the blood in my veins. She was the whisper on the wind. She was the cool mountain air mixed with the sun’s warmth on my skin. All things beautiful and good in the world.

Kes appeared after Larken finally fell asleep, her breathing steady and calm. His eyes pleaded with me before he spoke. “Please, Aries. You cannot do this with her.”

“Why is it so bad that I have feelings for her?”

He looked at the wall as if he could see Larken asleep on the other side. “Think of how it will feel, Aries, if Taurus and the others succeed? Think of what that would do to you.”

I opened my mouth to assure him – again – that no harm would befall Larken. I would protect her. But he raised his hand and stopped me.

“Virgo did not think Lager would ever be harmed. She thought the very same thing that you are thinking. She believed that her strength, her love, and the pledge would keep him safe. She was wrong, Aries. And you might be, too. Just… for one second, please consider that something might happen that would compromise her safety.” He swallowed thickly. “I don’t want to imagine it either,” he rasped. “But if something happened to her, with the way you feel about her now, what would you want to do?”

“I would want to shred the world.”

“And if your feelings continue to develop and grow? If what you feel now deepens…”

I tilted my head. “You aren’t worried about me weakening?”

“Virgo weakened, because that is her way. She fell completely apart and allowed despair to claim her. You are not Virgo, Aries. I cannot imagine you acting as she did. She is all we have to compare to, but I know you. However, I fear that if something happened to Larken… nothing in the world would be safe from your wrath.”

His fears were not invalid.

I was not Virgo.

I may not react as she did. I had a temper that she certainly did not possess.

“Maybe it was not the broken pledge that weakened her,” Kes offered. “Maybe it was love.” The hallway went quiet. “And maybe love would turn you into a monster.”

I swallowed thickly. Perhaps he was right.

Perhaps, other than the Zodia, there were other things that should stay buried, like one’s feelings.

15

The next morning, I woke up grumpy. Still tired after having a crappy night’s sleep, I quickly dressed in leggings and a thick, mustard-yellow hoodie. I tugged on my sneakers and made a quick trip to the restroom, taming my hair and brushing my teeth as I tried to ignore the ridiculously hot, horned Zodia brooding outside.

I needed air. I needed space. Room to think – and my mind was clearest when I ran.

“Where are you going?” he asked as I stepped into the hall.

“For a run.”

His brow popped.

“I can’t stay cooped up in here all the time. I’ll go crazy.”

His dark brows furrowed. “This isn’t a prison, and we only guard you to keep you safe.”

“I need this,” I told him.

He nodded respectfully. “Would you allow Kes to accompany you?”

I was ninety-nine percent sure Kes was still pissed at me for kissing Aries, or pissed at Aries for kissing me. Or both. But he showed up when Aries called him. He took one look at me and told me he’d be right back, then