Page 126 of Lana Pecherczyk
“Did Ash travel with you?” Sometimes he bunked with Sera, and their casual intimacy was an open secret.
She swiped tears with trembling fingers. “He didn’t want to stay. Flew ahead to the Great Murder from home.”
“Shit.” That meant Ash had already used a portal stone. There’d be no way he could return. River straightened, touching his mate’s shoulder. “Stay in the van. Sera’s going to shift and lead me to where the others went.”
“Not bloody likely.” Blake’s chin jutted forward. “I’ll go with you.”
“But why aren’t you shifting?” Fear sharpened Sera’s voice as her gaze raked over him. “There’s something wrong with your wings, isn’t there?”
His muscles seized. It was only a matter of time before someone figured it out. River had only hoped it was after he’d destroyed Cloud.
But there was no time to think about vengeance or damaged wings, not when young lives hung in the balance. Ignoring the question, he sprinted into the forest, vaulting over splintered wood and scattered belongings.Peacemakerslid into his palm, and he stretched his senses outward for any sound or movement.
Blake’s boots crunched behind him.
“Get back to the van!” he snarled.
“It’s okay!” Her breath came in ragged puffs. “Sera gave me a knife.”
What the fuck? River spun and snatched her wrist before disaster struck, before her blade found his gut. She’d been focused on her footing rather than the path ahead. A growl rumbled from his chest. “You can’t be here, Blake!”
“Why not?” Her voice faltered despite her defiant stance.
He shoved her back, stomach clenching. “Why do you think? The van is safer.”
“It’s safer with you.”
“I can’t protect you and do my job at the same time!” Even now, her rainbow hair soaked up the sun’s rays, brightening with each passing second. She might as well have carried a sign that said, “Here I am. Come eat me.”
“I can help!”
“You can’t.” The words sliced between them. “You have no training, no powers. You’re a liability, Blake. Go back.”
“But…” Her eyes glistened. “You’re my only safe word.”
“And that’s not healthy.”
He’d tried to warn her. Obsession was the beginning of madness.
Another scream ripped through the forest, startling birds and insects. Winged figures darted between branches ahead.
He ran toward them, silently cursing when Blake’s footsteps followed.
Three sentinels in angel form clustered ahead, their leather armor gleaming in the dappled light. He recognized Tommas instantly. He had the same unruly black hair as his brother, the same natural fuck-off demeanor carved into his features. But where Cloud burned cold enough to freeze blood, Tommas merely chilled. No wonder Lark had matched with him.
“Thank the Well you escaped the nesting spell.” Relief saturated Tommas’s voice. “We could use a Guardian.”
River’s jaw locked. No crow admitted to needing Order help unless disaster had reached apocalyptic proportions.
“Somebody fucking explain. Now.” He jabbed at the bloody shirt clutched in another sentinel’s hands. “How many dead? Any survivors? Where did they go?”
Each answer stabbed like a blade. Four adults dead. All fledglings were alive, except maybe one whose shirt they’d found. The mother’s scream had been the one echoing through the trees earlier.
River pressed his palms against his eyes until stars burst behind his lids. “Timeline?”
The sentinels’ gazes kept sliding past him to Blake, to her Well-blessed marks glowing faintly against her skin.
He snapped his fingers in front of Tommas’s face. “I asked a question.”
