New Wings

Chapter 14

She'd never looked more beautiful, and had never felt more empty.

The train jolted, sending a tingle down her spine. She blinked several times, every movement sluggish and awfully slow. The view whizzed by, one person's hometown after the next becoming nothing but a meaningless blur.

Cress felt like she was the train, in several small ways. She was hurtling down a path she wasn't ready for, at a speed so unbelievable she couldn't focus on just one second at a time. She was leaving everything she'd ever cared about behind. She was losing it all, and with every minute a few more miles separated her from the only chance at freedom she'd ever known.

It was a little difficult to find hope in the situation. It was a little difficult to make sense of anything, really.

Cress blinked again, memories colliding with reality and making it hard to determine real from fake.

He was much younger than she'd initially thought. Probably only twenty six or so. The dark hair she'd been wary of actually had streaks of blonde running through its waves. His eyes glimmered, with mischief or mayhem, she didn't know. It made her nervous, but somewhere deep down, the brave part of her was intrigued.

She'd been an idiot. Never again would that blasted Carswell Thorne, or anyone else, hurt her.

"Alright, you win lady. We are headed to the superb and glamorous streets of Brooklyn!" He spread his arms wide, like an announcer at a circus. She blinked.

"Brooklyn? But isn't it a little...unsafe?"

"That's the whole point. Your parents wouldn't think that we'd stop in a place so close to home, and such a dirty place at that. Besides, my friends own a bed and breakfast over there, and I haven't seen them in years."

"Why?" She asked, noting how his eyes dropped suddenly.

"You have secrets, and I'll keep mine, we clear Cress?" He said, so quietly that she gaped at him.

Cress let her eyes fall, shutting out the world as his face echoed in her head.

Who was she kidding? She didn't have the strength to be stubborn. He'd already stolen her heart; there was no way she was getting it back. And as for never getting hurt; that seemed to be the only thing coming in the future. She might as well brace herself while she had the chance.

She was going to die. She was going to die.

Cress was about to die.

But you know what? She wasn't scared any more.

He flashed her a triumphant smile, his mask slipping back into place, "You'd be absolutely lost without me, darling."

If only he'd known.

Thorne-

"Cinder? You there?"

"Yeah. Ise is hea. Whadda want."

"My, aren't you friendly."

"I'm not in the mood for youse's games, Thorne. My head is still hoitin from youse shoving it inta da wall. Ise needs ta sleep if youse don'ts have anythin worthwhile ta say."

"Wait- please don't go."

"M'kay."

"I-i mean we--." Sigh. "We really messed up, didn't we?"

"Yeah. Yeah wes did. But when it comes ta stupidity I think youse won. Youse lost da one goil who'd neva double cross ya. Ise could sees it, she coulda followed you anywheres."

"No need to rub it in. I'm fully aware. And hey, it's not like you didn't lose something special too."

"How dare youse joke abouts Peony?! H-HOW DARE YO--"