Page 56 of Feathers of Ash and Hope

My fingers are stiff from the cold, and I can’t wait to get close to a fire. The rest of the flight is not any better off, except for Zaza, who uses her fire gift to push her body temperature intotoasty regions. The steam coming off her body is a foolproof sign of that.

I bury my fingers deeper into Daeva’s feathers for warmth and keep my eyes open for anything moving below us.

The threat we encounter most at the borders is not an attack from neighboring countries but from creatures of the mist. The mist that separates the five kingdoms from one another.

We pass over a little village that sits right at the border. In my opinion, it’s too close to the mist on a sunny day, but today, the ominous white even seeps into the streets.

How can people live like that?

Avina, located in the north, is too far off the border to interact with the mist, its people, or its creatures. So I had no contact growing up. Now, I know them much too well.

The dark clouds make night fall early.

“Movement at nine o’clock,”Daeva warns only seconds before the first arrow flies past us.

I slip my bow over my head and curse when the first arrow I retrieve nearly slips out of my stiff fingers.

“Way to make a miserable day even worse,” I mutter.

“It’s a full-on raid on the village,”Daeva says. I slip into her view, the contortion of color and view so natural to me by now that I acclimate quickly. Through Daeva’s eyes, I can easily count ten human shapes moving in the mist. She’s right. This is a coordinated raid of the titans instead of a random creature attack.

Fuck.

I have Daeva relay the information to Tanner, my flight’s squadron leader and second-in-command, and have him take over so I can concentrate on shielding us. He has us draw a tight circle and takes point. His arm is raised, and the wet air gathers around his fingers, coalescing. A dive brings us into shooting range, and his arm comes down.

A volley of hailstones the size of hen’s eggs accompanies his movement, and the whole flight loses their arrows.

They multiply in the air, thanks to Jared’s illusions, making it hard for the enemy to distinguish the real ones.

Three of our enemies fall, but that means at least seven are left, and maybe there are more waiting in the mist. Tanner’s hailstones took our enemies by surprise, and they didn’t have the chance to retaliate, but that won’t work again.

Sure enough, they all took cover on the next sweep, and we can’t get a clear shot. They lose their arrows, which fall back harmlessly, stopped by my shield.

I manage to hit one more on the next one, but with the darkness, the rest of the flight is at a severe disadvantage. We’re on our fourth pass when a sudden flare of light blinds Daeva and me since I shared her sight. She caws in outrage, and her unease at flying blind floods our bond.

I’m momentarily disoriented. The bluish-white dots dancing over my vision remind me scarily of the lightning wielder’s attack.

“It’s fine. You’ve got this.”I try to calm Daeva, but how am I supposed to shield us when I can’t see where the threat is?

“Everyone pull up,” I shout, but I don’t think anyone hears me over the wind, so Daeva relays the message as well. I have no idea how close we are.

The sharp pain in my leg hits me the same moment Daeva’s cry pierces the air. We are hit.

Daeva pulls up, but her movements are labored.

“Where is it?”I demand to know.

“My right wing,”she says, and I find the exact location easily once I slip into her perception. It sits between her elbow and wrist. Thankfully, it missed the tendon, but it moves with every beat of her wing, a stabbing pain radiating outward. I curse.

“Can you land?”I ask her.

“In a moment,”she tells me.“But I’m not sure it’s safe around here.”

“Could you bear my weight on your wing if you glide?”I ask her, and she snorts or a sound as close to that as a bird can get.

“Jared and Zephyr are on their way over. I told them what you are up to. They will follow our movement from below,”Daeva informs me. They’ll catch me in case I fall is what she leaves out. Not that I plan on that. My vision clears with every passing second, and Jared and Zephyr close in on us.

Despite the pain, Daeva wins on height, using the air currents to her advantage. The air turns even colder. I’m focused on Daeva, caught up in her perception, and only remember I was hit, too, when bending to loosen the straps, jostling the arrow in my thigh. Fuck.

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