Page 187 of Ash and Feather

“It could end up an indefinite stalemate,” Mairu said, almost hopefully.

But Savna shook her head. “It will be too tempting—all of those humans sitting so close to our protected lands? Andrel will order an attack before long.”

“The numbers are greater than we hoped,” Dravyn said solemnly, “but that doesn’t change our plans. The three of us still have our work to do, and Karys and her sister have theirs.”

While my sister and I infiltrated and disbanded the elves’ forces from inside Ederis, the three of them would do what they could to slow the oncoming storm of human soldiers.

There was little time to second guess this plan, and even less to say goodbye.

Valas moved first, sprouting ice-glazed wings with a roll of his shoulders before striding toward me, cupping my cheek, and leaning his forehead against mine in a conspiratorial kind of way.

“I would tell you to be careful,” he said, “but I don’t think it would do any good.”

“I’ll be exactly as careful as the situation allows for,” I told him.

“Exactly the sort of less-than-reassuring doublespeak I’d expect from a divine being,” he said, grinning. “I’m so proud of how much you’ve learned, and how horribly I’ve managed to influence you.”

“I have a long way to go to reach your level of horribleness.”

“That’s very true,” he said, stepping back and giving me a wink. “You still have plenty to learn.” With that, he leapt into the air, summoning an icy blast of wind and unfurling his wings fully to catch that gust, letting it carry him into the bright morning sky and nearly out of sight.

I felt Dravyn’s eyes settling on me. The ring on my finger warmed as I looked over and met his gaze.

“You need to go,” I said, even as I walked toward him, fighting the urge to grab his arm and hold him close. “Stay with Valas so he can’t do anything foolish.”

“He’ll still manage to do that, either way,” Dravyn pointed out.

I laughed as I brought my lips to his, partly to hide the true, more painful surge of emotion that overcame me as I kissed him goodbye.

“I love you,” I whispered, hoping with everything in me that this would not be the last time I got to say that to him.

“I’ll see you soon,” he replied, pointedly.

This is not our ending.

I wasn’t sure who thought the words—me or him—but there they were in my head, and I held to them as tightly as I could as I watched him take to the skies alongside Valas. His wings were even more impressive than the God of Winter’s had been, thefiery span of them stretching no less than ten feet, with each beat summoning more embers that built upon their solidness.

My sister was still staring at the display, eyes wide and lips parted in awe, when Mairu stepped in front of her.

“Hold still,” the goddess commanded, golden threads of magic sprouting from her fingertips as she pressed them to my sister’s face.

Savna flinched, but ultimately managed not to flee, even as the Serpent Goddess’s power swelled.

The ribbons of gold lengthened and completely wrapped around my sister’s body, where they held for a breath until Mairu snapped her fingers and unraveled them all in a blink.

They flew toward her outstretched palm, twisting into a neat ball of shining gold as if wrapping around an invisible spool.

She beckoned me toward her, guiding that ball of energy into me as I approached. It sank, warm and heavy, into my chest. As the magic settled and spread through my body, I felt myself changing. It seemed different than other transformation spells she’d used—deeper. More powerful.

“Well,thisis incredibly unsettling,” Savna said, peering around the goddess and watching just as I felt the magic tickling around my eyes—shifting them from green to blue.

“It’s not the most unsettling thing I’ve witnessed during my time among the gods,” I assured her.

We shared a nervous laugh over that, and then I closed my eyes as the last parts of Mairu’s spell finished washing over me.

Within moments, I had finally become the person I’d always wanted to be—but only so I could finish the task of becoming who I wastrulymeant to be.

The irony was not lost on me.

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