Page 129 of Wingless Crow: Part 1

“Okay.”

It was useless to remind him that I didn’t know if I could swim. That knowledge was long gone with the rest of my earlier memories. But Voron couldn’t do anything about it anyway right now.

Next, he produced a small satchel from the saddlebag and put it across my body over my shoulder.

“There is some food here, sealed in a jar so it doesn’t get wet. And these…” He took out a necklace and a pair of matching bracelets. “Human currency is confusing. Throughout your history, you’ve been using anything from shells, to beads, to some cards, and even pieces of paper, the scrolls say. I’m not even sure how much of that is true. But gold and precious stones seem to be always of value everywhere.”

He put the golden necklace that glistened with sapphires and diamonds around my neck, then wound the bracelets around my wrists.

“You got it all ready for me,” I said.

“It’s not much, but I didn’t want the jewels to weigh you down, especially if you do have to swim. Is there anything else you think you’ll need?”

I shook my head. My throat tightened. He’d put so much thought into packing for me.

“No. Just… Do you have any water?”

Despite wearing two shirts, I shivered. My mouth was dry. It’d been a while since my last drink of stale water back in the dungeon.

“Here.” He untied a water bag from the saddle.

I took a few hungry gulps, then hooked the bag handle back over the horn of the saddle. The water washed the grime of the dungeon out of my throat and cleared the fog from my mind somewhat.

“Thank you, Voron. Thank you so much for everything. If I lived a thousand lives, I wouldn’t be able to repay you for what you’ve done for me today.”

He stepped closer, placing his hands on my upper arms.

“I won’t ask for much in terms of payment.”

“Oh…” I didn’t expect he’d want a payment at all. It wasn’t like I could give him anything. I had nothing but what he’d just given me. “What do you want?”

He slid a finger up my throat and under my chin, lifting my face to his.

“A kiss, Sparrow. I want to kiss you goodbye before you leave me forever.”

My breath halted. I stared at him, finding myself trying to memorize every line, every angle of his face. The stormy sadness in his gray eyes. The stubborn set of his jaw. And his lips, parted for one last kiss.

I tipped my head slightly, granting him permission.

He leaned closer and touched my mouth with his. Our lips connected. His breath mingled with mine. It was gentle, nothing like the frantic, hungry kisses we shared before. He made no attempt to invade my mouth, simply savoring the connection as it was.

The thought that this was ourlastkiss gutted me. We never got a chance to have anything more.

He broke the kiss but didn’t move away. His forehead rested against mine.

“Sparrow,” he said so softly, his words were almost lost to the wind. “I’m not asking you to stay, but just know you have that option, too. You do have a choice.”

I swallowed around a suddenly formed lump in my throat. Thousands of sky fae were currently gathering in Elaros, waiting for my execution. This was hardly a choice. I was literally running for my life.

“Thank you.” I gripped the handle of the satchel across my chest. “I should go?” It came out as a question when I had meant it as affirmation.

He removed his hands from me and took a step back. “As you wish.”

I couldn’t look at him again. If I did, I feared I would break into tears, and it was not how I wished him to remember me. With my head down, I turned around and entered the cloudy mist over the river, heading up the bridge.

The gray clouds quickly hid everything from sight. The riverbank, the forest, and the tall man in the black cloak were all gone.

I staggered up the bridge to the place where the thin filament of pink glistened in the clouds just below the railing. It wouldn’t be hard to jump. All I had to do was to climb over the wide stone railing. If I missed the pink, however, I’d fall all the way down to the Below. There was no way to survive such a fall without wings, but if I ever wanted to return to my world, I had to risk it.

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