Felix’s tail lashed behind him; he was deep in thought. Likely, his train of thought washow the fuck are we going to get off this island?
“How the fuck are we going to get off this island?” Felix said.
Called it.
Avery smiled to herself, trying to hide how out of breath she was from the run. Her lungs burned, face dripping with sweat. It was funny how quickly you could know someone when they were meant for you.
“I could hot-wire us a boat?” he suggested.
“Do you know how to do that?”
Felix looked to the side. “I could figure it out.”
Avery sighed. Even with all his amazing qualities. He was still a man.
The sound of heavy wingbeats had their necks snapping up towards the sky. A black silhouette of a dragon blocked out the moon; it was only for a second, but it was long enough for them to know that they were, once again,utterlyfucked.
“Go!” Felix shouted at her.
They bolted back toward the tree line. Branches whipped at her face as they plunged back into the forest, ducking and weaving between trunks. But there was only so far they could go. This whole side of the island was cliffs, sheer drops that plunged straight into ocean. She could already hear the waves smashing against rock somewhere ahead, the raging ocean ready to swallow them whole.
“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.”Felix’s inner monologue made its way to her head. It would have been funny if they weren’t being chased down by a fucking dragon.
The trees thinned out, the forest floor turning to a meadow of wolf’s milk, and beyond that—nothing. Just the sound of the ocean roaring up from below, confirming what she already knew. There was nowhere else to run. Nowhere to go but overthe edge. Why had they even run this direction? She knew this was a dead end. But something had called her here. Something always pulled her back.
Before they could double back, the ground bucked beneath her feet, the impact so violent that every flower shook like they themselves were frightened.
The dragon slammed down in front of them, claws gouging deep craters into the earth. Wren sat on top of the beast, the glinting rifle already trained on Felix.
Every instinct screamed at her to run. Something in her was compelling her to go forward. To try to make her sister understand, even if she had imprisoned them before. Out here, though, it was just them. Maybe that changed things. Maybe Avery could make her understand. Even if they had a different mother, Wren was still her sister. At the very least, she had to try.
She took a step forward. Felix caught her wrist, and she whirled to face him.
“Don’t,” is all he said. His nostrils flared, emotion swimming in his gaze that he didn’t try to hide. Fear for her. Fear for him.
She pulled her wrist free as gently as she could, holding his gaze. “Trust me, it’s my sister.”
“Avery,”he warned.“Please, I can’t lose you, too.”
The words wrenched her heart, like he had just reached inside and squeezed. Still, she turned around and didn’t look back. Somehow, she knew this was the right thing. It had to be.
Wren slid off her dragon, boots thumping onto the ground, never taking her rifle off Felix. As she closed the distance between them, she saw the ice in her sister’s eyes, dark circles running under them. Her hair was dark and lifeless. So, she was sleep-deprived and pissed. Lovely. Her sister always struggled with no sleep. It always made Avery wonder what she had seen.How much did she know about the council? It was enough to keep anyone up at night.
“Wren—” Avery started.
Wren cocked her rifle, cutting her off. “You have three minutes before this place is swarming with enforcers.”
Avery swallowed hard, looking down the butt of the rifle. Her sister was ruthless with shifters. If Felix so much as twitched, Wren would pull the trigger.
For a moment, she froze, her mind going blank. How did you even start a conversation like this without sounding insane?“Hey, sis, the council’s been lying to us for centuries, and also Mom’s evil?”Every version sounded deranged.
Wren took a step forward, gripping the rifle harder. “Avery, now.”
“Our—your mother isn’t who you think she is,” Avery managed to get out.
Wren narrowed her eyes.
“They’ve been lying to us. Trapping shifters in statues and bonding them to witches.”
