Page 189 of Flame and Sparrow

I gasped as the mark flared to life, brighter than I’d ever seen it in this realm.Another thorn of hope dug into me, catching me and dragging me back from collapse at the last possible moment.

My gaze darted back to the veil, seeking another sign, another flash of brightness coming to life in the darkness—hoping, not for the chaotic lightning I’d been witnessing, but for fire. For some sign that the god of it was near.

The veil remained unchanged.

I stared at it for several minutes.

Still nothing.

Meanwhile, I heard voices in the distance, steadily growing louder. Closer. The air grew heavier. Tendrils of shadows started to snake their way through the veil, coming closer to where I stood. No chaotic energy filled these dark paths yet, but it was only a matter of time before it did, before everything shattered and the world would be forever changed—and not just for me.

Chest heaving, I pried my gaze away from the veil and fixed it on the damage I’d done to my wrist, watched the blood dripping from it. Each drop of crimson against the mud was another moment gone, another second ticking by with no answer, another sliver of confidence lost.

Yet I kept looking back to the veil. Kept clinging to my threadbare hope. I would have bled myself dry as long as I still had a chance, any chance, to set things right.

The minutes crawled on.

The shadows breaking across the veil grew bolder.

I knelt, wrapping my arms around myself, and huddled against the sobs trying to rise through me, not caring about the blood or dirt smearing across my already filthy tunic.

Then I looked up, and I saw lights.

The same wisps of flame I’d seen at the beginning of all this. The lights that had led me into the river of fire. To the divine realm. Tohim.

Now they were leading me toward the cliff before me.

Cautiously, I crawled to the edge of it, my gaze following the fires. Down into the canyon they went, disappearing into the hazy scraps of the veil’s grey energy that had collected at the bottom. Or what I assumed was the bottom, anyway.

Was there really something down there—some path I couldn’t see?

I rose to my feet, readjusting the straps of the bag fixed across my body, and backed uncertainly away from the edge.

The sound of someone shouting jerked my attention behind me.

The fires I’d summoned—which still blazed brightly alongside me—had not gone unnoticed. They were essentially a spotlight drawing attention to where I stood, and now two males on horseback were racing my direction, their armor and weapons flashing in the moonlight.

Moth fluttered frantically around me.

I dashed toward the cliff again only to lose my nerve at the last instant, my boots barely catching the edge, sliding and scraping, sending pebbles and dirt bouncing down into the canyon as I fought for balance.

The sound of hooves pounded closer. An arrow hit the ground immediately to my left, so close to striking my shoulder that I felt the wind from it as it shot by.

I looked to the bloodied, glowing mark on my wrist, then once more to the flames stretching alongside me.

All of my instincts, my logic, my years spent not trusting the gods or anything related to divine magic told me that I was a fool to even consider following the path of fire over the edge.

But my heart saidjump.

So I jumped.

Chapter50

There wasno river this time—no peaceful floating in the water, nor gradual heaviness dragging me slowly to the other realm.

There was only falling, fast and furious, while I was excruciatingly aware of each of my body’s flailing twists and turns and failed attempts at control.

I finally struck dust-covered ground—hard—and lay motionless for long enough to draw a concerned purr from Moth as he glided down beside me and nuzzled my cheek. I lifted my head quicker than I should have, trying to reassure him. Dizziness struck, bringing the urge to vomit with it.

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