The impact sent Zeri straight into the jagged edges, then without a sound, into the forest below.
Everyone was silent.
Even Ezra seemed slightly stunned, as if he only expected to make it harder, not impossible, for the girl to survive. The land itself was still for a moment. Until a bone crushing, soul-shattering impact resounded from below. The clouds covered the sun entirely then, dimming the landscape as the wind moved in circles around them all.
The roar was deafening, snapping Sol’s senses back into herself. She could only stare at the spot where Zeri had been, then wasn’t, even as the cold air strained to drag her attention away from the bridge.
A horrible numbness seeped from the base of her neck to her feet, leaving her in a breathless shiver when it snapped into a teeth-chattering rage.
Jonah and Phil ran to Sol’s side, leaving Cade yelling in pain beneath their magic as the wind picked up speed.
Winderlynwas pissed.
And so was she.
Sol had never witnessed a god’s wrath firsthand, and certainly never been stuck in the midst of it. The atmosphere itself seemed to shift, becoming electric with every new gust. Pebbles and branches slammed into each other and everything in between, echoing the sound of the bridge as it crashed against the stone over and over and over. She wanted to move. She vaguely heard Jonah say something as he came to her side, but Sol was woven to her spot.
Zeri.
Zeri.
She cut her gaze to Ezra.
Cas stood over him now, his Shadows dark as nightmares unleashed completely. They pinned the Earth Caller to the ground. Cas's eyes sparked with lightning, his shoulders coated in the remains of a Ward. He turned his face to her slightly as she joined him. “Your call, Princess.”
Sol knew he would kill Ezra. Would damn the consequences of meddling with the trials and toss him over the side of the rock. But it was only the second trial. And Sol had a sudden thirst for vengeance.
“Spare him,” she said numbly, then turned to Cade. “Him too.”
Cas's lips twitched at the corners, his Shadows spreading to Cade to pin him down as well.
“Winderlyn is angry,” Phil whispered, pulling at Sol’s hand. “The air feels—it's not responding to my call.”
“And not to alarm anyone further, but,” Ezra said, seemingly unaware he now had a bounty on his forehead, “the sun is setting.”
Indeed, as Sol turned to the horizon once more, a small patch of lighter clouds was descending dangerously close toward it, almost reaching the tops of the pine trees.
Jonah gave Sol a small nod and grabbed Phil into his arms. “Quickly, then.”
With a careful dance and sway of his hands, green magic flared from his palms. The land instantly responded, the place where thestone had crumbled to drop the bridge began to shake. Sol gasped as the blunt peak began to stretch, the mountain itself seeming to reach an arm of stone to replace where the wooden bridge had once been.
“You’ll get a penalty, Jonah!” Phil cried as Jonah slit a delicate wound on his brother’s neck.
In response, Jonah did the same to himself. “I’ll take the gamble, brother.” He turned to Sol, outstretching his free arm. “Princess.”
Lightning began in the distance. The sky continued to dim as if ink had been splattered upon it. Sol knew she needed to act quickly. But as she looked from Jonah, to Cade, to Cas, then to Ezra, she wanted nothing more than to melt into the ground. The deaths of Felice and Lucas had been ground shaking, melting something within Sol that first night in the Villa. Two people she failed. But seeing Zeri fall snapped something. It clicked in her ears, echoing and twinning with the fury that looking at Ezra ignited.
“Princess,” Cas observed her with lethal focus. “Get across safely. I will hold them down.”
Sol shook the fog and the nausea that made her hands tremble. Through the airborne dirt, she said, “I’m not leaving you here.”
Ezra laughed, a caw. “Surely you would provide great reinforcements against me and Cade, Yarrow.” He pouted in mockery. “What even are your skills? Besides the uncanny ability to boss Casimir around.”
“I heard she was a barmaid when they found her in Graniela,” Cade drawled. He seemed inclined to continue the thought, but Shadows wrapped over his mouth.
“Sol,” Cas’s voice lowered. “Go.”
Sol knelt beside Ezra, tapping the edge of her dagger against his temple. She dragged it lightly down his cheek, creating a thin slit through Cas’s Shadows. She willed her face into calmness. Her jaw tightened as she whispered, “You are going to pay for her death.”
