Fly or Fall

Chapter Eighteen

"How is this possible?" the empress asked as she paced the throne room. "You said the mission was a failure. The Valek soldiers slaughtered your guards leaving only one survivor. Tell me Nyx, how is that woman here. How did she get onto the island? How did she make it past my guards and into the palace?"

Nyx shook her head. "I-I don't know," she said and pinched the bridge between her eyes. "None of this makes any sense. She's unconscious in the infirmary right now but as soon as she's awake I will get the answers out of her."

"Don't let her out of your sight," the empress ordered. "Layla Echowood is proving to be more dangerous than we thought." Nyx nodded.

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Andy and Anna sat on a bench outside the infirmary. The sun was rising, casting the hall in a warm orange glow. Andy didn't feel warm. His body was cold to the touch and his limbs were stiff like the dead's, except for his left leg which bounced like an over caffeinated chihuahua. She's okay, she's okay, she has to be okay. She's okay. He repeated the words over and over in his head.

He'd been in his room trying futilely to sleep, he had too much on his mind, when Anna had come in, her face soaked in tears. Anna didn't cry often so he knew immediately something was wrong. After he got her to calm down she'd told him everything. Aunt Layla had shown up at the ball, collapsed and had been whisked away to the infirmary. They had rushed over as fast as they could but the healers wouldn't let them in.

It'd been hours and still no one had come to tell them how their aunt was doing. Andy felt like screaming or throwing something or crawling into a ball and crying. He needed to know if she was okay. She had to be okay.

"Do you think she's okay?" he asked for the hundredth time.

Anna shook her head. It was the first bit of movement she'd made in hours. Her skin was ashen and the bags under her bloodshot eyes were a nasty purple colour. She looked how he felt. His stomach sunk even further.

"Andy, Anna," Salena said as she came out of the infirmary. Andy shot up to his feet at the sound of his name. Anna merely shifted her gaze from the marble floor to Salena's piercing cobalt blue eyes.

They hadn't seen her in weeks but she looked the same as she did the night they'd met. Her brunette hair fell over her bare shoulders in wavy locks. She wore an ankle length blue armless chemise dress and brown leather sandals.

"How is she doing?" Andy asked.

"She's stable," Salena said and he sighed in relief. "She sustained several injuries, a broken rib and a few burns but nothing life threatening. She'll survive."

"Can we see her?" He made a move for the door but Salena placed her hand on his chest.

"She's resting right now," she told him. "I think the two of you should do the same. I'll call you as soon as she wakes up."

Andy wanted to argue but then a yawn escaped his lips. "Okay," he said. "We'll be back." Salena nodded and returned into the infirmary.

"Anna," Andy said as he knelt in front of her. "We have to go."

A sob erupted from her lips. "She's okay," she said the words as if she didn't quite believe them. "I was so scared we'd never see her again."

"Me too," he admitted then he held onto her and they both cried. They needed to cry. They'd been holding onto so much these last few weeks it was any wonder they hadn't crumbled under the weight of it. But it was over. It was all over.