Phoenix form. Massive wings spread wide, feathers made of flame blazing so bright I have to squint. Talons big enough to crush bone.
She dive-bombs from above.
The creature doesn’t have time to react.
Sheslamsinto it with the force of a collapsing mountain. Talons dig into its back, piercing through matted fur and corrupted flesh. It screams—high, wrong, inhuman.
Revna drags it backward, wings beating once, twice, lifting it off the ground.
Then shethrowsit.
The creature’s body arcs through the air and crashes into the river with a spray of dark water.
But its momentum catches Kaia on the way.
The impact jerks her sideways. She doesn’t have time to brace. Her wings fold as she’s knocked off balance, stumbling—
And then she’s in the water.
“No.”
The word rips from my throat.
No no noNO.
I dive.
Zero hesitation.
The river slams into me like a wall. Cold punches the air from my lungs. My fire extinguishes instantly—every spark, every ember, gone.
I force myself forward. Muscles screaming. Current dragging at me like it wants to pull me under.
I see her ahead—hair streaming dark in the water, arms flailing, trying to surface but the current’s too strong.
She’s going under.
No.
I kick harder. Force my way through water that feels like molten lead, heavy and brutal andwrong.
The current shifts.
Slows around her.
Frost forms on the surface—delicate patterns spreading outward like someone’s redirecting the flow.
I don’t look. Don’t need to—Aspen’s right on the bank. I can feel the cold tug of his magic.
Twin bond or instinct or both—I know he’s with me.
I reach her. Grab her arm. Pull her against my chest.
Her head breaks the surface. She gasps—chokes—coughs water.
“I’ve got you,” I rasp. “I’ve got you.”
The current surges again, trying to rip her from my grip.
