On instinct, I lifted my gaze. The mountain that loomed over the clan was shifting. Sheets of snow cascaded down the slope in a white tidal wave, threatening to engulf everything in its path.
I pumped my wings, staying airborne as I watched the avalanche overwhelm the burning village. The onslaught of snow drowned out some of the distant cries. It went eerily quiet.
I didn’t feel present anymore. It all felt like it was happening to somebody else.
But I did feel Poppy’s warm breath against my scales. I felt his racing pulse, his trembling frame.
“Violet,” he whispered, small and broken. “I’m so sorry...”
My head spun. Suddenly, I felt deeply, profoundly sick. But I couldn’t afford to lose my balance, not midair with Poppy in my arms.
I need him to be safe.
“Violet,” Poppy said weakly, staring at the wreckage. “Is Sorrel okay?”
I need to take him somewhere safe...
“Violet,” Poppy repeated. “Is my brother okay?”
As if being struck on the head, an abrupt clarity flooded over me.
Oh.
Oh, no. No, no, no...
I gasped for air. My lungs felt as raw as if I’d screamed for hours.
What the fuck have I done?
The haze in my mind began to clear, but being fully conscious was worse than feeling nothing.
The gravity of my actions bore down on me like a million pounds crushing my spine. The strength slowly seeped from mymuscles. I no longer felt the surging, boundless energy I did moments earlier.
I’d succumbed to my feral blood lust and killed Konrad—but at what cost?
Frantic, I searched the scene below. Half the village was buried under snow, and the other half remained ablaze. I saw no movement besides the billowing smoke. The clan must’ve fled the grounds, if they weren’t lost to the avalanche.
I weighed the options, but came up empty. Smoke inhalation or risk of a second landslide. It was too dangerous to search for Sorrel now, not while holding Poppy in my weakening grasp. I couldn’t carry them both. The only thing my dwindling strength could manage was to get him to safety.
So I flew.
I flew far, far away from the tundra.
At one point, I noticed Poppy’s silence. When I glanced down at him, I saw he’d fallen asleep, or unconscious.
Deep dread yawned like a chasm within me.
I did this to him, I thought as I spiralled into a pit of self-loathing.I’ve ruined his life. He’s going to hate my guts when he wakes up.
Fields of snow turned to dark water turned to concrete and sprawling lights. My strength was depleted. I landed clumsily on a hill overlooking a small city, knocking a few branches off the trees on the way down. My breath came out in hoarse gasps as I shifted back to human form.
With shaky hands I placed Poppy gently on the ground. The climate was warmer here, wherever we were, but it was still cool outside, so his remaining in wolf form was a mercy.
Tears stung my eyes as I stared down at Poppy. It was deeply selfish of me, but if we never met again, I wanted him to have something to remember me by. With shaky hands, I reached intomy satchel and pulled out Wolfy. I placed the plush toy against him, then forced myself to turn away.
Exhaustion hit me. My legs gave out. I collapsed, tumbling down the dirt slope until I crashed into a thicket. Once I was down, I was too weary to get back up. I passed out.
My bleary eyes snapped open at the quiet, unfamiliar sound of someone sucking in a breath of shock. I didn’t move a muscle, but my gaze sharpened from my spot in the secluded thicket. I saw the back of a figure in the watery dawn light. Despite his youth, he was broad-shouldered, and his footsteps were suspiciously quiet. He carried himself with grace and purpose, like he was wise beyond his years.
