“Thayla…”
A breath hums through my mind and panic pulses in my chest.
“Seismet? Seismet!”
The silence that responds is the furthest thing from comforting.
“V, wait. Something’s wrong with Seismet.”
He ignores my calls and pleas for him to slow down.
The only way I can follow him is by keeping my eyes peeled for the highlight of his body.
His stunning white feathers seamlessly slip into a frost-blue that fades into a lavender. That light purple merges into a rich, deep shade that reminds me so much of the Angel Aura Amethyst.
All of it bleeds downward in a rush until the tips of his wings are a near-black indigo.
The whole ombré embodies divinity.
As he soars through the starless sky, it’s as if the night is chasing his light through the colors of his wings.
That’s because it is.
A gasp gets lodged in my throat as I trace the thin black ropes slithering across his body. My legs and arms pump faster as I race toward him.
“V!”
He answers my warning with a painstaking screech that’s so powerful, my hair flies behind me.
The entire realm slows, spinning in sync with V’s body as he plummets toward the ground. When he makes impact, everything—the very core of existence—shivers and a fissure splits between my feet.
I can’t pull air into my lungs as I skid to a stop and fall to my knees at his side. A ray of moonlight beams on his form that’s no bigger than a couple of feet and only a few pounds. I cradle his softness in my arms.
Black bleeds into his beautiful white.
“V. Please open your eyes. Look at me.”
His lids flutter, but his bright teal irises are muted. Dull.
“Thayla…”
“I’m here, I’ve got you. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“I failed.”
“No, don’t say that. No, you didn’t. I’m going to get you out of here.”
I scour the darkness, looking for someone, something, help, but all there is, is night.
“My first…and last time guiding blindly. I failed my Calling.”
A breath laced in death rattles his chest and my eyes widen through the tears clouding them as his color fades.
“No! V!”
No, no, no, this isn’t real.
This isn’t really happening.
