Wings (A Black City Novel) Read Free Page B

disaster, and two more failed missions to look for Ash in Thrace and our rendezvous point in Centrum, my father was ordered not to send out any more rescue teams.
“I’m sorry, but those are the Commander’s instructions. It’s out of my hands now,”
he said.
    Although my father runs the compound, he isn’t the man spearheading the Sentry rebellion. That person is some rich benefactor, known only as the Commander, who has been funding this operation for years, and
he’s
the one who makes all the decisions around here. I don’t know his real name, as it’s a closely guarded secret to protect his identity.
    I sink my chin into my hands, wondering what to do about Ash, while Elijah continues to work. The gold bands on his wrists glint as he heaves three bags of fertilizer over his muscular shoulders and carries them back to the vegetable patch. He grabs a fork and begins to shovel the fertilizer over the earth. He briefly pauses to mop his brow, smearing dirt over his face in the process. The effect somehow manages to make him look even
more
gorgeous. A group of nearby women cast appreciative glances his way.
    I roll my eyes, laughing. “God, they’re shameless.” Elijah lifts a brow, and I nod toward the ogling women. “They’re old enough to be your mother.”
    A flash of pain crosses his features.
    “Oh, Elijah, I’m so sorry,” I stammer. “I didn’t think . . .”
    “It’s okay,” he says quietly.
    His mother, Yolanda, went missing a month ago, along with Ash’s aunt, Lucinda Coombs, and their childhood friend Kieran. They were all members of a terrorist group known as the Four Kingdoms, whose goal was to unite the four races by any means necessary. Before they disappeared, the trio were searching for the Ora—a powerful weapon believed to be weaponized yellowpox, which targets only those with the V-gene, namely the Sentry. Ash, Elijah and I had been on a mission to find them and retrieve the Ora, before we got separated in Viridis.
    “We’ll find her,” I say gently. “Garrick’s put the word out in Gray Wolf to look for them. Hopefully his men will turn up something soon.”
    “Yeah, hopefully,” Elijah says, unconvinced. “I wish Esme had been able to give us more details before she was killed.”
    Esme was Kieran’s wife, whom we met in Thrace. She’d told us that the trio had contacted her from Gray Wolf, saying they were heading to a nearby mountain called the Claw, to retrieve the Ora. That was the last any of us heard of them. Before we could question Esme further, we were attacked by Sentry guards and Esme was shot. We’ve tried to figure out which mountain the Claw is, but it’s not on any map that we can find. I thought it might be a nickname, like how Crimson Mountain is also known as the Devil’s Fork because of its twin peaks, but the closest mountain to Gray Wolf is Mount Alba, but that has a caldron-shaped crator, so that can’t be it, as it doesn’t match the description of a claw. So we’re back at square one.
    My antique watch beeps and I sigh, getting up. It’s time for my daily appointment with Dr. Craven Eden. Without needing to be asked, Elijah starts packing away our things. He brings the basket of carrots over to Josie.
    “Thanks, kitten,” she says, smiling flirtatiously.
    He flushes, mumbling, “No worries. Always happy to help out.”
    I smirk at him when he returns. “Kitten?”
    He turns a deeper shade of red. This sweet, blushing version of Elijah is so unlike the arrogant, strutting boy from a few weeks ago—that boy’s favorite pastime was flirting with girls, and he wouldn’t lift a finger to help out—but then again he was impersonating his spoiled half brother Marcel, so I’m only just starting to know the
real
Elijah. I pull the wood-handled knife out of the murdered primroses and tuck it into my pocket, intending to return it to the toolshed.
    We stroll through the tranquil garden toward the exit, taking our time. I’m in no hurry to