Ascream jolts meawake.
I blink my eyes once, twice, three times. Something wet cakes my lips, and as I lick them, a metallic flavour buries deep into my subconscious, filing away for a later, unidentified date—preferably a never-to-return one.
Rubbing at the strange substance, I notice the other person in the room—a person who shouldn’t be here, who was never meant to witness this. I look deep into her eyes, pleading for forgiveness,but her mouth just opens and shuts continuously like one of those blowfish I’ve seen in the cavern waters below.
There’s an extra niggling extension within my chest, whispering that something is wrong.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
As my full awareness comes rushing back, I take stock of what’s beneath me—no, ofwhois beneath me.
Unimaginable.
Unquestionable.
My heart freezes over, and once again, black wings and crystal onyx eyes are my savior.
eleven
Rivern
We make good time,finding the entrance to the tunnel gracing a moonlit beach.
“Looks like I’ll be on foot from here, Mage.” I swing off the large stallion and give him a good scratch behind the ear. “Don’t get into any mischief while we are gone.” A puff of air washes over my face, and I grin.
The large, speckled stallion has gotten me out of a few tough spots in my time. Besides Solen, I trust him with my life. I don’t know what it says about me that my only true friends are animals, but we are all creatures of Oonahere.
“Fuck.” A gripping, icy bolt cracks my core in half, and I double over, wheezing to catch my breath. “Let’s—ooff—go, Sol—argh. Fuck, I can’t take this nuisance feeling any longer.” I pound at my chest to try and dislodge the ice shards that are shearing me deeply.
The whole beach ride, I experience the harsh reality of my situation. The closer one becomes to their bonded, the stronger the connection, and it seems that my bonded is not having a good rhythm of it. This is making my own feelings aboutherjumbled. I don’t understand what is happening to her to make her feel such distress—beyond distressed, really. A complete disconnection.
Fortunately, I receive a slight reprieve for five breaths until it starts back up again. My anger and agitation climb with what my bonded feels in each moment.
Lifting my arm, Solen comes to perch on my leather vambrace. We don’t need him damaging his wings on the next part of our journey.
It is risky going down the long tunnel without any eyes ahead, but I’ve studied this route. Before leaving Terra, I memorised the underground labyrinth within Haven—which I hope is still only known to the fae. It’s how they escaped all those centuries ago without detection from the onslaught of the human army. Like a wave of ants, they spread out of this mountain, seeking refuge from the humans slaughtering and raping our people on the other side.
Only if—
“Riv, let’s go.”Sol fluffs his wide wings out.
With sweeping, punishing steps, I push forward, feeling the comforting weight of my sword and dagger strapped to my belt, ready for what I might find at the end of this tunnel.
twelve
Dove
Once again, a screamwakes me from my cocooned reprieve of soft wings and restful ignorance, and I’m running—
Running across beautiful mosaic tiles. The same tiles I scrub mud off each turn.
Not anymore.
Now, as I drip blood on her floors, I realize I’ll never see this place again. Not after what I just did.
This knowledge shatters me. My heart cracks into tiny shards, leaving no piece whole. Just a jumble ofbroken bits.
Pieces fall as I run, leaving a trail of devastation in my wake. Not even Wren makes a peep.Maybe I’ve killed her too in the breaking of my heart. My only home gone in an instant. The pain screams through not only my bones but my muscles and skin, my very marrow.
