Infernal SoulBond

4, Home

⟡ Ember ⟡
⟡

The takeoff wasn't as troubling as I expected it to be. I felt the tremble course through the dragon below me, and I felt my lungs drop into my stomach - and that was it. I didn't sway, thanks to how smooth MoMo took off, and I didn't fall off like Zaya had implied could happen. The air quality changed the higher we went, it felt thinner yet cleaner. It didn't feel thick and full of tension and unseen irritants. The trees, that surprisingly looked small beside MoMo, turned into the size of ants as the clouds and I became one. I didn't feel them as we drifted through, the land below us disappearing us. I didn't feel the cheeky grin that plastered my face until my cheeks started to hurt. I wish my mom and Renzo could experience this. One day, I prayed.

This was freedom, this is what everyone in the UnderSide yearned for. The feeling of being free from ourselves, free from the chains of the SunSide, free from reality. Just hold on a little longer, I wanted to say to my coven. I will free you. I will bring you to the SunSide even if it costs me my life.

The landing wasn't anything like the takeoff. I felt like I was plummeting to the ground at a speed I didn't know was possible. No, I was diving toward the ground. One second I was holding in a laugh, pure joy seeping through my veins and the next I was holding Zoya's shoulders like the Grim Reaper was standing beside me - beckoning me with his finger. A scream was stuck in my throat and my lungs were no longer in my stomach but my brain. I was lightheaded, dizzy and on the verge of throwing up. The clouds disappeared and the green lands appeared - fast. Trees blurred, I didn't know where they started and ended. MoMo was going to kill us. This time I did scream.

Zoya growled, growled, pushing backwards. Her back flat against my front. "Focus your weight, child! You're gonna kill us both." A second passes. "And don't ever scream in my ear again or i'll leave you to the Slakey." I didn't ask what that was, I couldn't even if I wanted to. By the time we landed, my legs and arms were trembling with terror and adrenaline. It took me several minutes to find the strength in me to stand and get off MoMo.

I expected a castle, maybe a mansion. I've heard from stories that all leaders and Kings lived in astronomical stone castles, with pillars and watch towers. Guards and maids and chefs, commoners to serve them and dozens upon dozens of rooms in dozens of halls. Yet, where I stood was the complete opposite of those stories. Cabins and houses built out of logs, stone walkways and flower beds by every window. No pillars and no guards. It looked like a Village, a few people walked the dirt roads despite how dark it was outside. The street lamps were the brightest, pure white i've ever seen. Even the lights back at the ballroom weren't this white. It looked almost angelic, ironic considering demons lived here.

MoMo shot back into the sky behind us, straight up like a beam. He twirled, spinning with his wings tucked. Then he was gone, disappearing in just seconds behind the clouds. "He's returning to Warren." Zoya answered the question that was written across my face, and I nod. "Let's go, your house is just up here." She motions, stepping under one of the lamp lights. I almost felt stupid when I blinked at her words, surprised at the word house. I didn't have the time to think about where i'd stay, about what would happened once I got here. I was too distracted at a ginormous winged creature to even think about our destination. I was being given a house. Why did that hurt my chest?

I finally step forward, one foot in front of the other, ignoring the ache behind my ribs. Zoya was a few feet away from me, never looking back. "What's the Slakey?" I ask, remembering her earlier threat. She glances over her shoulder, a corner of her lips twitch.