He crouched in front of her and leaned in until the abhorrence in his blue gaze transfixed her in place. He spoke low for only her to hear, “The Nephilim may pity humans but hundreds of Watchers lay in wait in this forest. You will perish here before the sun sets.” His promise hung over her head as his sword once had.
Clutching her shaking fists, Dyna lifted her chin. “Only if the God of Urn wills it.”
The captain sneered and reached for the knife holstered on his calf. She threw up her hands, calling on her Essence out of instinct, even if she had no real magic to defend herself. But an unexpected current of scorching power surged from within her, coursing through her body with an uncontrollable force so painful she screamed. Green fire exploded from her palms and hit the captain, hurling him across the forest. He crashed into theHyalustree and fell as a charred heap over its roots. Dyna stared at the smoke billowing from the broken wings on his still form and at her shaking hands.
The Seraphs gawked at her in horrified silence.
What had she done? Had … she killed him?
Captain Gareel groaned and twitched. He wasn’t dead yet. Dyna launched to her feet and bolted for the trees.
No one stopped her.
* * *
Thorny brambles slashed at dyna’s cloak and arms as she tore through the dense woodland. Her heavy breaths clouded in the air, a heavy chill embedding in her bones. She had never produced such power before. The blast of Essence left her weak, but she kept running. She had to escape this place.
The forest was thinning. Beyond the branches, the sky merged into shades of blue, orange, and red with the sunset. Hope flooded through her. She crashed through a wall of bushes but came onto the boundary of a cliff and her toes teetered on the edge. She shrieked, arms flailing. Thrusting herself backward, Dyna fell on solid ground with a grunt.
Her wild heartbeat drummed in her ears, and she gasped for air, placing a hand over her heaving chest. Her lungs screamed for respite, but there was no stopping. She staggered up and peered over the cliff. It rose hundreds of feet high, ending in a strip of sea. Roaring waves rammed into the serrated rocks below. Falling to her death would have been worse than the quick strike of a sword.
Fifty feet across from her was another cliff with the ongoing dense woodland of Lykos Peak. She made it.
Dyna dragged her pulsing feet north along the cliff’s edge, searching for a way to the other side. She came upon a wretched old bridge swaying in the breeze. Moss and vines choked the rotting planks. The rope had wasted away and was missing in a few places. It couldn’t have held Zev’s weight, but she moved to investigate further.
“Stop!”
Dyna jumped at the unexpected shout. The Seraphs found her!
She dashed to the bridge and ran across the creaking planks. It teetered with each rapid step. She reached the midpoint when a violent crack sounded beneath her feet. She stilled, but it made no difference. The rope slowly disbanded under her fingers.
“No, please no,” she begged.
A shadow fell over her and she looked up at the winged silhouette flying against the sun’s glare. “Take my hand!”
She ducked out of his reach. “Get away from me!”
“Take it or you will fall!”
The bridge lurched, and wood splintered. It would not hold her much longer. Dyna whirled for the Seraph and reached out to him. Their fingers nearly brushed when the planks beneath her feet snapped. She dropped through the bridge. Her earth-shattering scream rang within the cliffs as she plummeted for Death’s Gate.
The winged man watched her go, still holding out the hand too late to save her. Dyna closed her eyes and let herself fall.
All she could see was Lyra sitting on their front step, waiting for her to return, not knowing she would never come back. She would die knowing one dreadful truth: she failed.
Her descent came to an abrupt stop and the force knocked the breath out of her. The raging sea, inches below, splashed icy water on her battered legs. She stared down at the waves, finding herself floating in mid-air. A rhythmic whoosh filled her ears at the same time she realized strong, warm arms cradled her. The blaze of the setting sun masked her savior’s face except for the graceful black wings flowing behind him.
The roaring wind bustled against them as they soared back up the precipice. She gripped his silken clothing, hiding against his chest, inadvertently inhaling his scent. It was unlike anything she had come across before. Otherworldly. Indescribable. But if she had to try, she would say it was almost ambrosial.
Together they flew high in the sky, and the Zafiro Mountains rose in the distance. A sprinkle of red, orange, and yellow treetops dotted the forest among the endless pine trees and the rare indigo canopies.
But Dyna couldn’t admire the sight when she was highly aware of the stranger carrying her. What did he plan to do with her? He wouldn’t have rescued her if he planned to harm her. Would he?
With a steady flap of his wings, he flew them to a small clearing by the cliff. Neither of them spoke, and he didn’t put her down. Instinct warned her to be afraid, but she wasn’t.
Dyna took a deep breath in preparation before she dared to look at him, sensing she would need it. The moment she met his eyes, gray like a raging storm, the air was once again stolen from her lips.
The low rays of the sunset fell around him in a red, golden hue, accenting his silk black wings and striking features framed by hair so black it looked like spilled ink against his face. His pale skin had a subtle glow as if he harbored a light from within. He wasn’t real. How could he be? His kind no longer existed in the world.
