Page 104 of Ash and Feather

Mai drew closer once more, but I ignored her, looking instead to the sky, losing myself in thoughts of soaring through it and getting a better view of the world below. I could transform entirely. Become a beast, ignorant of whatever damage this human form had sustained. It might not rid me of that damage—there was a chance it could aggravate it further—but as long as I could find out where Karys had been taken before the injuries overwhelmed…

Valas stepped in front of me, his expression serious for once, as if he could sense the mad, desperate plan half-forming in my mind.

“I’ll stay in this realm and keep searching for Karys,” he said.

Before I could answer, Mai added, “And you and I are going back to the divine realm, in the meantime.”

Even when I wasn’t gravely wounded, she was still a formidable opponent. With the poison continuing to spread and drain me, I had almost no chance of fighting off her magic. She knew it, too, and she showed no mercy; a tendril of controllingpower wove its way around my chest, crisscrossing it like a heavy set of chains.

“Release me, you witch,” I half-mumbled, half-snarled.

“Be quiet,” she snarled back, taking a physical hold of my arm while her magic continued to bind me. “And don’t fight me, or who knows where we’ll end up transporting ourselves to.”

Her grip on my arm tightened. Before I could utter another syllable of protest, the scenery blurred around us. Then we were moving, lifted by unseen hands, pulled into the space between realms.

I closed my eyes. Kept them closed long after we touched down in the divine realm once more. I didn’t want to be here without Karys. I wanted to go back. To her, to my brother; back to the beginning of this night so I could fix all the mistakes we’d made and somehow make a new ending.

I heard Mairu say, “She’ll be okay, Dravyn. Even if you can’t feel her, she’s strong enough to endure. I…I’m certain of it.”

I didn’t answer. Or maybe I did. I was no longer entirely aware of what my body was doing. Her words had triggered a memory of a conversation, and now it was all I could think about.

I know a wildfire when I see one,I’d once told Karys.And I don’t think they would have put you out so easily.

As I opened my eyes and took in the divine landscape before me, I tried one last time to sense her energy. We’d reached across realms to one another before. Even when doing so should have been impossible, I’d felt her through whatever fire and chaos surrounded or separated us.

But this time, nothing but my own pain and exhaustion answered my reaching.

It felt as if every fire inside of me had gone out, and the middle-heavens loomed darker and colder than I ever remembered them being before.

Chapter 26

Karys

At first,the only thing I noticed were smells. Woodsmoke and dust. Melted candle wax and warm earth.

Then, the sensation of touch. Little by little, I managed to move my hands, fingers feeling across numb, tingling skin, trying to assess any damage I’d sustained.

Once I’d confirmed I was in one piece, with all limbs accounted for, I slid my hands down to the lumpy surface I rested upon—an old mattress? The sheets beneath me were worn and scratchy, but…familiar. Comforting. Warm.

All at once I realized:This smelled like my old house.

This felt like my old bed.

My old room.

And when I opened my eyes to confirm it, I realized I was not alone.

My sister sat in a rocking chair at the foot of the bed. A chair I recognized. One my father had made many years ago, before I was even born. It used to sit on the front porch.

But now it was here, cradling the unmistakable form of my sister.

My sister.

Her eyelids fluttered with restless sleep while her legs slowly pushed the chair back and forth.

Creeeeak.

Creeeeak.

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