Defy by Raine Thomas Page B

the rest of the way. Out of
the corner of his eye, he saw flashes of silver and blue-green.
    Damn. He’d been spotted. He should have used
his second power, but he hadn’t wanted to expend the energy any
more than he already had.
    Trying to hurry to get away would have been
foolish. Wings were much faster and he’d probably just end up
slipping and falling onto the jagged rocks. So he watched as C.K.
and Ini-herit approached, followed very closely by Quincy carrying
Sophia.
    “What are you doing out here, Tiege?” C.K.
asked. She hovered a few feet away with a concerned expression on
her face. When Quincy flew up beside her, she glanced over with
surprise. “Hi, Quincy. Soph.”
    All eyes turned to Tiege. He shrugged. “Just
out for a climb.”
    C.K. snorted. “Tate was always a better liar
than you,” she said. “That’s why you always let her do the talking
when you two got into trouble.”
    There was a heavy pause as everyone focused
on her words. Intentionally keeping his tone casual, he said, “Tate
doesn’t let anyone else do the talking if she has a say in it.”
    “You speak of your sister as though she is
still alive,” Ini-herit said.
    Tiege blinked over the other male’s
perception. He couldn’t tell them where he was going. As an elder,
Ini-herit shared thoughts with Uncle Gabriel, who shared thoughts
with his father. This venture would be over before it began, and he
had to get to Tate.
    “What’s going on, Tiege?” Sophia asked then.
“You’ve got a waterskin and a bag that appears to have some food
and clothing. You’re wearing your kamas. Something’s up.”
    He looked again at Ini-herit. C.K. caught the
glance. “Don’t worry about him,” she said, giving Ini-herit a firm
look. “He’ll keep his thoughts to himself.”
    Somehow, Tiege wasn’t convinced. But the
longer he sat there chatting with them, the longer it would take
him to get to Tate. “Okay,” he said, looking between C.K. and
Sophia. “Tate’s alive and I’m going to get her.”
    As he had expected, his cousins exchanged
concerned and dubious glances. Quincy looked equally troubled.
Ini-herit, however, was the elder of a class based on faith.
    “How do you know this?” he asked.
    “I experienced some kind of connection with
her earlier. She’s in pain and in a dark place. She called out to
me for help.”
    “Then you should be acquiring assistance from
your parents and not out here alone.”
    Frowning, Tiege replied, “My dad doesn’t
believe me. He forbade me from discussing it with my mom or my
uncles. He thinks I had a nightmare resulting from the trauma of
Tate’s death.”
    Again, his cousins and Quincy exchanged
looks. But Ini-herit just studied him with his placid gaze and
said, “That would certainly be the human explanation for such an
experience.”
    Tiege couldn’t deny the deflating effect of
the words.
    “However,” Ini-herit continued, “I think they
are incorrect.”
    Amazed, Tiege found himself unbelievably
grateful to this male he barely knew. He caught C.K.’s thoughtful
gaze as she looked between him and Ini-herit. She nodded.
    “Okay,” she said. “You think Tate’s still
alive and Ini-herit has faith in you. That’s enough for me.”
    “You’ll help me get to her?” Tiege asked.
    “We can go to our parents,” she said, but
stopped when Tiege shook his head.
    “No, you can’t. They’ll communicate with my
dad, and besides, they’ll all feel the same way he does. They won’t
believe me.”
    “You can’t know that,” Quincy said. “We
should try.”
    “Did you believe me?”
    Quincy didn’t reply. It was enough of an
answer to Tiege’s thinking.
    “Look, you’re all keeping me from my sister.
So either get on board and help me out, or let me keep climbing,
okay?” When they all exchanged looks, he continued in a quieter
voice, “You didn’t feel her pain. She’s frightened and alone. I can
somehow feel her pulling me to her. I have to get to