And she leaped.
No hesitation. No second guessing. Just freefall, no wings to guide her.
“Fuck!” I swore, careening toward the edge.
Beneath, a deep ravine waited, the waters rushing violently over jagged rock. Amid the blue, no red bloomed. Yet not a flash or silver nor a blink of white greeted me either.
Where has she gone?
Something glimmered through the leaves beneath a tangle of branches reaching for a drink. She’d gotten far in only a few moments. The Seer’s feathers stretched wide as she sailed low over the frothing water.
I opened my mouth to give Ilae the order to mark her, but I found myself hesitating.
One word, and she would be all mine. One word, and she’d never escape again.
I didn’t press the image of her defiant face into Ilae’s mind. Didn’t tell him to follow her.
Maybe I wanted it to continue, if only for a little longer.
What was a few more days in the grand scheme of my sister’s plans?
In my marrow, I knew it was wrong. The risk of losing her was great, especially in the wilderness.
I was crossing a line. One that had been seared into the core of my being long ago.
But I wanted her to run.
I wanted to savor the hunt. Wanted tofeelsomething as I did it. Wanted to taste that decadent fear again. So rarely was I allowed to indulge in anything. There was always another group to find. Always someone else Iaoth wanted me to take care of.
When was the last time I did something for just me?
No answer surfaced from the depths of my mind.
White feathers shimmered into existence at my back. To Ilae, I said, “Lead.”
We dove over the cliff together, both our wings tucked tight. Anticipation thrummed in my veins as we chased after the Seer.
Nothing made me feel alive like freefall. And this female had awoken something else long kept buried.
Something dangerous.
Something better left in the dark recesses of my soul.
For there was nothing holy in me. Only the urge to speak one word and bring her to her knees. Only the craving to Command her.
And keep her.
9
Dark, grabbing trees dug into my flesh. A howl chased me, but my legs moved as if through deep sludge. I whipped my head around, seeking the source of the sound.
White flashed.
I slammed my eyes shut.
The whoosh of wings clipped my ear.
I tried to turn, tried to run, but every exertion was weighted and heavy.
