All that kept him on Caia's back was his determination to fulfill Eva's wish. One he refused to think of as her last.
Time seemed to have no meaning as he rode. It slipped by unnoticed.
He barely reacted when Brisa yanked herself upright, alarm in her expression as her gaze darted around their surroundings as if expecting an attack at any moment.
"You're awake."
About time.
Not that he particularly cared about Brisa's wellbeing at the moment. Only that she survived. Otherwise, everything that had happened would have been pointless.
Eva's sacrifice. His abandonment.
Guilt barreled down on him like an avalanche, threatening to crush him under its weight. Ruthlessly, he suppressed the emotions.
He ignored the burning in the back of his eyes. The tingling in the bridge of his nose.
Not now. Not until he saved Eva.
With a supreme amount of effort, he found his composure. When he opened his eyes, it was to find a pair of amber ones inches from his own.
Jason controlled his reaction.
"Where is the Caller?"
The words stabbed at his most vulnerable point. He tried to speak, only he couldn't around the tight feeling in his throat. It was like a noose depriving him of oxygen.
Jason almost wished the visual was true. He deserved punishment for what he'd done.
Horror grew on Brisa's face as she read Jason's face. "Where is she?"
His eyelashes fluttered before he steadied himself again. "Gone."
It was the only word Jason could force past the knot in his throat.
"No." Brisa shook her head, wrenching herself out of Jason's arms, half falling, half sliding off Caia's back.
Her damaged wing trailed behind her as she limped away.
Jason drew Caia to a stop. "Get back on the horse."
Brisa crawled up the side of a boulder, putting more distance between herself and Jason.
"Get. Back. On. Caia," he bit out.
If they got caught because she was being stubborn and wasted Eva's effort, he'd kill her himself.
"You do not tell me what to do," she screamed back at him. "How could you just leave her there? She's supposed to be your friend."
A sob built in Brisa's chest as she wrapped her arms around herself, looking so small and frail in that moment.
"You left her," she repeated in a broken voice.
Jason teeth ground together until they felt like they would crack with the amount of pressure he was exerting.
Brisa scrubbed a hand over her face, swiping at the snot and tears there. "Covath was right. Humans can't be trusted."
Jason's control snapped. A roar left him. "Whose fault do you think this is?"
