You do not trust them.
“No. I don’t,” she said simply.
Why?
“Because despite what they claim, they don’t want balance,” she said. “They want vengeance. And that isn’t a good enough reason. It can’t be.”
True balance is hard to find.But I am with you, little one.
Shouting below snapped my attention down.
The chanting cut off.
“What is that?” Seph asked.
Something screamed through the air.
A bolt — iron-tipped, blazing with white light hurtled towards us.
Then the bells rang out, loud and warning.
I twisted seconds too late.
Pain exploded through my left wing.
I roared, the sound tearing from my chest as my flight faltered. My wing locked, useless, fire racing along the joint where the bolt had struck. The sky lurched violently.
“No!” Seph cried, clutching at my spines.
I twisted instinctively, angling my body to shield her as gravity seized us. I veered away from the city, forcing my wounded body as far as it would go.
Hold on!
I beat my good wing hard, fighting the pull, fighting the darkness rushing up to meet us. The mountains rose too fast. The river spun beneath us, a silver blur.
I could not keep us aloft.
Not like this.
I folded around her, drawing my wings tight, turning my body so I would take the impact.
We fell, tumbling straight into the river, darkness swallowing us whole.
Chapter 17
Ash
The wind woke me, whispering in my ear that something was wrong.
I sat up and looked around.
Seph’s bed was empty. My gut dropped.
I yanked the next door open without knocking. Dev was reading by the light of a small lamp.
The other bed was empty.
“Where is Jess?”
