Kilia screamed as a flock of ravens fell upon us, blocking every bit of light trickling through the meadow and turning the towering wall of trees into a flickering blur of black.
“Don’t run,” I cried when he pulled me backward so forcefully I nearly fell.
“E-easy”—Oscri panted as he swatted at the birds—“for you… you to say. You’re in… in the middle!”
“Kilia!” I screamed as my weight shifted toward him. “You can’t leave—” I spat as a feather found its way into my mouth. “We can’t leave him!”
“Fuck!” Kilia cursed as the rope slacked. “I hate birds!”
So did I. It was like being beaten by a thousand wet capes, and the air became heavy with the stench of old blood and oily feathers. My eyes widened when a raven broke free from the swarm and flew straight for my face. I ducked at the last second, but the bird still caught my forehead, the sharp beak slashing into my skin before it took flight again.
“Watch your eyes!” I bent my head down, keeping my steps on the narrow path while using my free arm to shield my face. “They’re going for the eyes!”
Kilia cursed again.
“Oscri,” I called. “Wait for us!”
I had no idea if he did as I asked. The birds came down once more, their wings smattering against our skin and beaks jabbing at us, drawing blood with every peck.
“Oscri!” Kilia screamed. “Answer!”
“There!” I shouted. “He’s over there.”
Oscri stood a few steps ahead of us, and I pushed and shovedthrough the manic flock to get to him. I was about to nudge him so that he could move when the man on his shoulder stirred.
Muddled green eyes found mine before they widened and?—
“No!” I cried.
I was pushed into Kilia’s chest when the man broke free from Oscri’s grip and twisted and kicked and screamed to get down. Oscri fought back, but more birds attacked, and their battle ended before it even began when he had to shield his face from several ravens coming for him at once.
Kilia’s heart thundered against my back when Oscri’s partner’s foot thudded against the ground outside the path.
It went quiet for a second.
Then the birds cawed as one before taking off. Pure dread filled Oscri’s face as he spun to his brother.
The wolves attacked. The black wolf grabbed the injured man’s arm, and the scream that left him as the animal ripped it off would forever be burned into my mind. Kilia cried out as well—a raw, desperate bellow that crawled under my skin and jabbed at my soul—when the gray wolf went for the other arm, the one Oscri was tethered to, driving his brother to stumble.
“No!” I flew forward when Oscri was forced off the path.
The black canine didn’t wait. Jumping in the air, it lodged its sharp teeth in Oscri’s shoulder, and with a violent shake of its head started to pull him backward.
“No!” I cursed as I reached out a hand, praying it was only my feet that couldn’t leave the path. “Kilia, hold me!”
Oscri’s eyes filled with pain as the wolf fought him, but he managed to take hold of my fingers as his brother came up behind me, lodging his arms around my waist. It was like trying to pull a ship on dry land. I leaned as far back as I could without risking us following Oscri’s partner, and Kilia’s breaths came fast in my ear.
“Use your strength,” Kilia begged. “Please!Please help him!”
Fire burned behind my eyes, and I fought with everything that was alive within me. But it didn’t matter. For every tug andgroan, the wolf pulled harder, and Oscri’s face went paler and paler, his grip on my hand weakening.
I tried to find that spark of magic, even if I knew it had been snuffed out forever.
Help me. Help me, Father, I begged. But no one came.
“Don’t you dare let go,” I snarled when something soft overcame the twin, an understanding I didn’t want to see—that I never wished was a reality—dawning across his face.
“Help him!” Kilia screamed as his fingers dug into my flesh. “What are you doing? Please help him!”
