The waterfalls shimmer softly on either side of us as we run, our footsteps quiet on the sparkling surface. The other end of the bridge is also shrouded in fog, but it’s a decent way away, and it takes us several minutes before we draw near it.
I slow my pace as we approach. When we first arrived to this bridge, Roman stood in front of this end, as if he’d been guarding it. I couldn’t see then what was behind the haze, and I still can’t, not even when I use my demon vision.
Koda finally pulls to a stop right before the edge of the glistening fog, his cobalt hair appearing brighter against its white backdrop. “We need to go in.”
Roman’s sharp gaze grows shadowed, but he doesn’t object. Only states a warning. “This mist hovers over the Forbidden Lands. Step carefully.”
I watch where I’m walking, reaching out for my sisters and my wolves, urging them to stay close as the fine snow-like surroundings swallow us.
For a full minute, we shuffle along in silence.
Then Koda calls, “This is it. We’re at the ledge.”
My sisters and wolves pull up beside me as I peer ahead. The bridge ends abruptly, a sharp drop, also cloaked in white fog, which is even whiter and more crystalline than the mist shrouding the bridge.
“What now?” I ask Koda.
“Now we jump,” he says, as if it’s a simple suggestion.
Taniya’s already shaking her head. She partially shifts and her armor splits neatly at her shoulder blades to allow her amber wings to emerge.
Roman’s dark feathers also form rapidly across his shoulders, although he keeps his wings tucked tightly to his sides. With a firm nod of acknowledgement for Taniya, he says, “We can fly everyone down one at a time. Even the wolves. Although they may not like it.”
“You can’t use your wings,” Koda says, his voice sharpening. “You can’t fly into this. You have to jump.”
Roman pushes forward, glaring at Koda. “If we jump off here, we’ll plummet into the Forbidden Lands.”
I shudder, remembering the last time I was dropped into the dark lands beyond the Wilds. A monster made of thorny vines nearly ripped me apart. Not to mention all the hungry souls that tried to drain my energy.
Koda doesn’t quail in the face of Roman’s wrath. “You can’t control this path. You have to let the current of magic take you.”
His voice is bleak and the hunch of his shoulders as he speaks gives me pause.
Instinctively, I reach for him. “How do you know this?” I ask carefully, my voice low and quiet.
Koda shrugs. “Because I was trying to escape my fate. To die in the Forbidden Lands was preferable to being beaten to a pulp by Arga in whatever fucked-up trials Crone would devise. That was before I came to Earth. Instead of falling, I found a crack between the worlds. The chaos of our father’s disappearance must have created it. It’s how I got through without using the gates.”
There isn’t time to ask more questions. We’ve already delayed too long. My wolf’s hearing picks up footfalls in the distance. They’re unsteady and irregular. It sounds like Esta is casting around, trying to locate us. She doesn’t have my wolf’s senses and she won’t be able to see us through the fog. Even so, I estimate that we only have a minute before she’ll be able to attack us again.
Koda takes a step back, teetering at the edge of the bridge. His silhouette is shrouded in glistening, white particles that quickly cling to his broad shoulders. I’m surprised when Ruby follows him, eyeing Ace before she turns to face the edge.
“I understand your distrust,” Koda says, meeting my eyes. “But I’ve fought beside you, Nova. I don’t want you to die.” His gaze passes across the others. “I don’t want any of you to die.” His lips press together. “It’s up to you if you follow me.”
He takes another step and in the next instant, he drops from sight.
I glance at my sisters and my wolves. I’m their alpha. If anyone is going to take this leap of faith first, it’s me, but Roman strides forward, only pausing beside me for a second while he tucks away his wings. “If this is some sort of trick on Koda’s part, I’ll be the one to meet him.”
His gaze burns across me before he leaps from the edge, disappearing into the white fog. I’m not prepared for the sudden tug on my heart when Roman disappears from sight. Every instinct within me screams at me to follow him as quickly as I can.
“We need to go,” I whisper, keeping my voice low. “Together.” The way we always take leaps of faith.
My sisters step to my sides and my demon wolves crowd around us. Taniya puts away her wings. The mist becomes colder the closer we get to the ledge.
I study the ground, taking care. “Easy,” I warn. “Another step will take us over.”
The white fog is like snow brushing my face and shoulders, a calming sensation that feels like another illusion in this world that is built to play tricks on me. My wolves’ hackles are raised and shivers race across their bodies, growls passing their lips.
I sense the power in the snowy fog. A different power to the energy that fills the air at the other end of the bridge. Here, the sensations scattering across my face and hands are sharp. Biting. There’s danger below and only the jump will tell me if it’s because we’re about to fall to our deaths in the Forbidden Lands.
