Page 108 of Gift from the Wing

A scream that’s laced with my anger and fear rips painfully from my throat as I shove my air behind me to propel me down faster.

The unforgiving heat that has my skin feeling like it’s melting off calls to the flames that burn in my blood, and I call the beautiful beast who blessed me with it forth.

Share control.

My power explodes out of me with my shift and a furious roar bursts free from my lungs. Pure animalistic instincts pulse through me and I allow plenty of room for it in the forefront of my mind.

Tucking my wings to my sides, I continue my nosedive and as soon as I’m confident I’m close enough, I extend my powerful legs out as far as I can and wrap my claws around her waist. The sudden swoop and unfurling of my wings cause the magma to jump up out of its pool and surround us in waves, but I shove my air out at it with full force, then command it to propel us upward.

Riding on nothing but the current of my element, I tuck my legs in as close to my chest as I can and wrap Oakly’s body to mine by vines, then cocoon her protectively with my wings.

The flaming temperature of her skin sears into my scales and has a hiss whistling through my teeth. My water element instantly responds, flowing freely into her, both trying to hydrate and cool her down.

Like a missile, my large silver body crashes over the side of the stone platform and I slide until my back collides with the volcanic wall. I don’t even have time to take a breath before suddenly I’m being pummeled with brutal strikes from elements and gifts.

It dawns on me instantly that I’ve landed us on the wrong side of the platform, and my dragon shoves more of herself forward. And I embrace it.

With a harrowing roar, I release my flames on anyone who dares to stand in my line of fire.

The deadly purple pours from my throat along with an ear-piercing screech that has the huge crowd scattering like mice away from me, but I don’t allow that. Fuck no.

I command the flames to climb the walls, hunt those down who dared to try to kill my sister, kill me.

“Willow,” a gentle voice calls and I whip my head around, growling viciously.

“Willy, it’s me. Jamie. I need you to pull your flames back. Caspian moved me through his shadows to get me here, but now they’re fighting off waves of Mastery who are trying to get to you. They need you and Ineed you to uncoil your wings so I can get to Oakly. Please,” he says softly, holding his hands up, palms out.

“They need us. Calm down. Focus on who that is.”I coax my dragon.

His sudden appearance startled her and she’s on high alert, not wanting to give me back full control. With a low, rumbling warning, she sticks her snout directly to Jamie’s face and inhales.

As soon as she scents the bond of our sister on him, she relaxes.

Calling my inferno back to me, I see familiar E.F. uniforms now clashing with the sorry-ass Mastery members. My men are somewhere in that chaos, killing their way toward me.

After uncoiling my wings, Jamie immediately springs into action and lifts Oakly into his arms. Once they’re a few feet from me, I shift back.

“Fuck…FUCK. Willow, this isn’t good,” Jamie shouts as soon as I kneel beside him. “This is…this is something far different than what any of us were given. What anyone I’ve ever treated has been given.”

My heartbeat thunders in my ears and a lump forms in my throat. Laying my hand on Oakly’s forehead, I sense that she’s truly burning up. This is a next level fever.

“Is it the Wymfire poison?” I ask, almost hopefully, because we have a cure for that.

“No. She’d be…dead already. I don’t know what this is,” he yells.

“Tell me what you need, Jamie,” I croak.

“My brothers and a healing wing. This is going to take more than me, Willow.”

When his watery eyes collide with mine, my heart shatters into a thousand pieces and my shadows engulf me.

I move through the darkest faster than I’ve ever moved before.

The first of Oakly’s men I find is Nikoli and a breath of relief leaves me. He’s a Detector. He’ll know what this is.

I don’t even announce myself as I step out of the shadows, hit the person he’s fighting with my flames, then snatch him by the collar of his uniform and whisk him into the darkness with me.

I’ve never moved anyone through the shadows before, but my gift is running on purely heightened emotions and desperation.

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