None of those things were much help before. Have you ever heard of someone commanding the wind?Eagles had an understanding of the wind that was unmatched by any human, but I didn’t think that extended to being able to control it.
He paused for a moment in walking, pretending to only be adjusting his feathers under his wing, but I knew the tide of painhad risen to the point where every step sent a stabbing agony into his broken bone.No.
We can stop here and rest.
One golden eye fixed on me.No.
I sighed but continued to take slow, plodding steps toward the foothills in the distance. We both fell silent after that, focusing on escaping the hot sun of the plains. An ache had been growing in my abdomen, dull at first, but with every breath becoming increasingly sharp. It made my vision start to blur and my breath come in pants. Neo tried to lend me strength with his uninjured wing, but I pushed him away.
At long last, we made it to the very bottom of the foothills, where thick trees provided shade and shelter, and the burbling of a creek promised cold water. Neo collapsed beside the creek, dipping his beak into the water repeatedly. I staggered toward him, eager for a taste in the hopes it would make the pain stop, even for a moment, but then I coughed. When I wiped my mouth, the back of my hand came back red.
I stared at it uncomprehendingly as the pain twisted in my abdomen enough to double me over. It was probably the lowering of my head that caused the sudden rush of dizziness, the darkening of my vision. Distantly, I could hear Neo calling me in my mind, and his shriek of surprise when I toppled to the ground like a tree.
My last thought was extremely profound:
Shit, I’m falling.
4
Zara
Adrenaline had rushed through my veins, making my hands shake and my breaths come in pants. We had left the downed eagle and its rider miles behind us and made it to the shelter of the trees, like General Isa ordered, an hour ago, but there was still no sign of them. Had they survived their own battle?
Call,it had said.
Call and I will answer!
Had I really called forth the power of the wind? I thought of that powerful blast that tore the eagle and its rider out of the air. Of the way they’d crashed to the ground. There was no other explanation for such an impressive gust of wind—no sudden tornado from the sky. Being connected to the vastness of that ability, even for a moment, felt like it would drain away my energy until my heart stopped. My heart was beating normally now, but exhaustion wrapped around me, dulling my senses and making it difficult to sit up straight.
How could Ama have called this a lesser power?I askedShazeera. She shook out her mane and twitched her tail but didn’t answer me.Shazeera?
What was the matter with her?
“Shazeera?” I whispered, but she still didn’t respond.
An ill feeling of dread swirled within me, gaining momentum with every minute that I couldn’t hear Shazeera through our bond. There wasn’t a moment in my life when I couldn’t talk to Shazeera and hear her answer in my mind. Not since I first bonded with her.
I was three years old, and Ama carried me in her lap while she rode Nafalla to the grasslands in the very center of the Equnox Plains. An ancient band of horses, descended from the very first horses created by the Earth Mother, surrounded us. They were a beautiful array of colors, from the deepest black, to rich chestnuts and bays, to shining white. Their tails were so long they dragged on the ground. In the center of these beautiful stallions and mares were the foals, happily playing.
As soon as Ama helped me down from Nafalla’s back, the adult horses parted, and the foals came over to me on their impossibly long legs. I remember laughing at the way they seemed to dance around me. I wanted to join them, but they were all more interested in playing with each other than with me. But one filly left the others and came to stare at me with her big doe eyes.
Her coat was a much duller version of the deep blood bay it would eventually become, but even then, with her short, babyish mane and tail, it was beautiful. She tossed her head at me and did a playful half rear, inviting me to join her. I laughed and jumped at the chance as she led me in a game of tag. The elders looked on approvingly. And when we were so tired we both collapsed in a heap, Ama came and helped me to my feet, while the little filly’s mother did the same.
The foal’s mother lowered her head around her baby in an embrace, and then on shaky legs, the filly walked over to me.
She wasn’t much taller than me, but she still had to lower her forehead to touch mine. The moment she did, warmth spread throughout my body—it was like waking up in the night terrified, only to be enveloped in your mother’s embrace. Like the purest love. Tears streamed down my face.
I’m Shazeera,she said for the first time in my mind, and the bond between us solidified inside me.
When I felt for our bond now—that strong, seemingly unbreakable rope that connected us—it was different, no longer easily found within me. It was like it was buried deep underground, and I would have to dig for miles to find it again.
Shazeera,I said, my mental voice sobbing. Tears stung my eyes, and my throat felt thick. I placed one hand on her strong neck, the other entwined in her mane. She turned to look at me, one eye meeting mine, and I could see the fear in her gaze.
Panic surged within me so fast, the edges of my vision went dark. Then it wasn’t just me. She knew something had happened to the bond, too.
Before I could say anything else, we both heard the rumbling of hoofbeats. Relief hit me when I saw General Isa astride Kamil and the others behind her, but at the same time, I tried to hide my growing panic at whatever had happened between Shazeera and me.
“First Daughter!” General Isa said, glancing at the now-empty sky before cantering toward me. “I’m sorry it took us so long to find you. You were farther south than I thought you would be.”
