No.
He squeezed his heels to her sides. He begged Vivorr for a burst of magic, and brought heat to his hands, reminding his eagle thathewas the one in charge. If she denied him, she’d throw him from her back...
And he would surely die.
You must not fail.
You must never fail.
Somewhere behind him, a scream cut across the sky. But he couldn’t turn back, couldn’t check to see who it was, for suddenly, heburst through the wards. Cyrra had never been beyond them, and she opened her beak andscreamedwith sheer joy...
As Soraya blazed past him, her eagle a blur.
Arawn swore he heard her laughter on the biting wind.
Something in himfizzledat the challenge, and he pushed Cyrra to catch up.
He had no runes marked upon him to make it easier to see in the snow, for a Descent was done as boldly and beautifully –dangerously– as the Riders of long ago.
Up, they pushed, a spiral of wind and wings and feathers as he aimed Cyra like an arrow towards the sky. The others behind them followed, falling into place, for Soraya was goingtoohigh.
To the belly of the clouds, she went.
And thenbeyond them.
He gasped as the clouds began to thin, pulling past his vision in delicate threads of white and grey. He could see every tendril of them as they rolled past Cyrra’s feathers like dew. Soon, they broke away entirely...
And for the very first time in his life, Arawn saw the sunrise.
He had neverseen beyond the veil of winter that wrapped around Augaurde like a thick blanket. He had never seen colors, such as this. The clouds were a sheet of white beneath him, as if he were back on the surface of the world, hovering just above the snow.
But here, it went on forever...
And above that blanket of white?
The sky was onfire.
It had melted into oranges and reds and the most brilliant pink he’d ever seen. Not the oncoming sheen of a snowy sky, but something that was vibrant with life. Eager to be seen. The sun sparkled in the distance, a ball of flame so bright he couldn’t look upon it. It set Cyrra’s feathers to burning, for how golden they shone.
It called to him, sang a song to his bones.
It was like he’d broken out of a cage he’d been locked in all his life.
This was freedom, and glory, and every promise from the gods he’d ever been given. This was what it felt like to rise above.
To walk in the light.
He never wanted to leave it, and as Cyrra gave a final push, climbing higher...Soraya suddenly filled his vision. Her war eagle was level with his now, their beaks twin flames of burnished gold.
Soraya didn’t even look at him, her lips set in a firm line of determination. The sunlight bounded off her dark hair, and he could tell, clever as she was, that she’d used her magic to push the wind from her face during the climb. Because not a single strand had come loose form her flying braid.
She was born for this.
She glanced sideways at him, as they climbed. As their eagles began todancein the sky, playing with the pull of the wind.
Soraya eyes...
They shone like burning embers.
