Eris needed air and sea and open sky.
Fool.Fool.
She’d made a mistake, bringing Safire here. Taking her to that beach. She never should have kissed her. Never should have laid her down in the sand. The smell of her was everywhere now—like sunrises and juniper berries. The taste of her, too.
Safire tasted like the sea. Like someone Eris wanted to kiss every day. First thing in the morning. Last thing before bed.
Which was why she needed to leave. To finish this job and get as far away as she could from the girl standing before her loom. A girl who came from a different world. One she could never belong to.
Eris was so focused on getting to a door—any door—and stepping through it that she didn’t see what was before her until she almost walked into his feathered chest.
Eris stumbled back.
The summoner stood in front of her, its red eyes peering into hers.
“Jemsin wants you.”
A dark dread crept over her.
“I nearly have her,” said Eris, about to shoulder around the creature. “Tell Jemsin I just need one more day.”
“It’s not about the job,” said the summoner, blocking her way.
Eris’s stomach twisted at those words. She was about to double back, to head for a different door.
“It’s about the girl.”
The words stopped her feet. “W-what?” she whispered. “What... girl?”
“The one I can smell all over you.”
Eris felt suddenly small and exposed.
“No... ,” said the summoner, looking up, over her shoulder. “I can smell herhere.”
Like the sea spirit on the dock who’d transformed into a bloodthirsty monster at the sight of Safire, the summoner shifted, shedding its black feathers to reveal a sickly-looking creature with fanged jaws.
In that moment, Eris knew what it would do. She’d seen it do it a hundred times before—tear a person limb from limb. On Jemsin’s command.
Unlike the sea spirit, there was nothing Eris could do. The summoner was something far older and more lethal. She’d seen it break men like twigs. Seen it pull out their livers and gorge on their hearts.
“You’re wrong,” she said, blocking his way. “She isn’t here.”
But just as she said it, Safire stepped into view, drawn to the sound of Eris’s panicked voice. Eris could see the reflection of her in those bloodred eyes.
The summoner’s black lips pulled away from its teeth.
“No!” Eris screamed.
It shoved her against the glass. Eris heard a crack before she felt the bloom of pain in the back of her head. She tried to get up. If she didn’t, Safire was as good as dead.
But before it could devour Safire, before it even reached her... something stepped between.
Eris’s vision blurred, but she recognized that icy chill seeping through the air. Knew the presence that came with it. When her vision cleared, it wasn’t a shadow that stood between Safire and the summoner, but a man. Raven haired and gray eyed. Handsome and stiff jawed.
Crow. The ghost in the labyrinth.
The summoner reared back in surprise, snapping its sharp jaws and shaking its head.
