Carrying the sharp, metallic scent of rain and salt water.
We plunge through the shattered opening.
For a single, suspended moment, there is nothing.
No sound.
No sensation.
Just the absolute, terrifying void of freefall.
Tamsin's arms tighten around my torso, her face pressed against my chest, her breathing rapid and panicked against my skin.
And then my wingssnapopen.
The membrane spreads wide with violent force, catching the storm, the bone spurs locking into full extension. The sudden drag pulls against my shoulder girdle, the force reverberating through my entire frame as my body transitions from freefall to controlled flight.
Rain streaks across my face.
Cold.
Sharp.
Mixing with the adrenaline flooding my system.
The city sprawls beneath us—a glittering expanse of lights and shadows and rain-slicked streets. The harbor stretches dark and endless to the east, the water churning under the storm. Behind us, the Obsidian Crescent rises like a black glass monolith, the third-floor executive corridor glowing crimson where the shattered window gapes open.
I bank hard to the left, my wings cutting through the rain, the gold veins running through the leather blazing brilliant incandescent gold against the darkness.
Tamsin's grip loosens slightly.
Not out of fear.
Out of awe.
"Holy shit," she breathes against my chest.
"Are you hurt?" I ask.
"No. I'm—" She lifts her head, her eyes wide, her face flushed. "We just jumped through a fucking window."
"Yes."
"From the third floor."
"Yes."
"And you're flying."
"Yes."
"That's insane."
"It is effective."
She laughs.
It is breathless and wild and completely genuine.
