No.
I couldn’t lose them both.
My feet pummeled the snow harder, as if wanting to punish the entire crater for daring to take them away.
Clouds blurred the moon’s light, taunting.
Light.
They needed light.
My power still trembled from being snapped by the purple pulses, but I still called upon it. Harder.
Faster.
Desperate.
“Silver moon ray, do not stray, come this way.” I forced the chant out along with the blue tendrils, still running through the thick snow blocking my path at every turn.
My power glided through the air, catching the moon’s rays, and rushed back toward the lake. But they hesitated to touch the surface. Like they were terrified, too.
They twisted and blended into an orb, right above the opening.
“Please,” I mouthed. Air refused to escape my chest. “Guide them.”
The light levitated, but didn’t draw them out.
Each second that passed with only the sound of my racing heart and the wind in my ear slashed through me.
How long had they been under?
Two minutes for Ryker.
Maybe more.
Longer for Dax.
I’d wanted to show Ryker the wings, to prove Dax’s innocence.
I’d been the one who’d called upon the gods’ wrath–and they were punishing my insolence by striking where it hurt more.
I finally reached the shore in a flurry of snow and ragged breaths. As soon as my boot touched the ice, it cracked. The water hissed as it breached the surface.
A warning.
I clenched my jaw so tight, the pain reached my temples.
“I will shatter the Heart right out of you if you don’t let them go,” I said, half-delusional from fear.
A blinding madness burned through me.
I stepped onto the ice once more.
It fractured again.
Another step, another crack.
The water had already reached my knees when a frantic gasp filled the air.
