RISING SHADOWS (Shadows Book 2)

Chapter 22

A small voice inside my head told me to keep falling. Down, down into the deep dark. After all, water was my birthright - a fitting end.

Then another voice came, much louder than the first. It sounded in my ears like a war drum pounding the names of the people I loved into my brain. The droning beat drowned out the peaceful hum of the ocean.

Arden. Fawn. Rafe. Gran. Arden. Fawn. Rafe. Gran.

I forced my eyes open to face the sting of the salt water. From somewhere in the endless depths, I called on Astrea's power. The seas bowed and rocked in response. A rush of invisible currents surged upwards, enveloping me.

And then I was flying. Rocketing skywards until I broke through the surface. I gasped, drawing air back into my lungs as the world above welcomed my return. I'd barely had time to take a few breaths before a winged shadow covered me and I was plucked from the ocean.

Rafe pulled me up so he could hook his left arm under my knees and tucked my sodden body into his. I trembled from the cold blasts of arctic air that raged against this coast.

"What the hell did I hit?" I managed through chattering teeth.

"No idea. Use your fire magic to warm yourself." he said, circling back round towards the rock where Astrea was.

I dug deep into my magic pulling at the thread of heat I felt until that tiny thread became a cord and then a ribbon, growing and changing until warmth spread to every limb and I no longer trembled.

Rafe landed planting two solid feet on the black rocks. No resistance this time. "Steady," he warned, putting me down as the surrounding sea sprayed and spat at us. Rafe kept hold of my upper arm, supporting me while I climbed over the jutting rocks. Astrea's body was a tangled mass of broken limbs. Even though she wore black, it was still possible to see the dark stain where she'd forced the knife into her heart.

My stomach heaved again, ribs cranking tighter with every breath.

With pain tracing every muscle in my back, I moved Rafe's hand off me and resorted to crawling to Astrea. Jagged peaks bit into my hands, but I was determined to get to her. Even on my knees I slipped. Once. Twice. Blood flowed from my palms down my wrist and arms where the sharp edges had sliced my flesh. It stained the white of my sleeves.

"Riley-"

There was a shot of green from above. It landed right in front of me and from it the rock swelled creating a solid wall of black mass stopping me reaching Astrea.

"No!" I screamed. Snapping my neck upwards and squinting at the sky, I made out the Nova's form silhouetted against the pale blue backdrop.

Rafe's wings flared. He spun on the spot, sure-footed and craned his neck. "Stay here." He bent his knees readying for take off.

I'd never moved as fast in my life. As swiftly as I could, I slipped over the rocks towards Rafe, taking fistfuls of his shirt in my hands to stop him leaping into the air. "Not you. Not you."

He curled his hands over mine preparing to loosen my grip. "Let me go."

"Astrea," I panted. "You promised. In and out. You promised."

Rafe raised his eyes, squinting at the sky, wind playing with his tousled hair. His jawbone had set in a rigid line, the only evidence of the conflict inside him. Keep his promise and leave me to deal with Nova alone or break his word and go after her himself.

The toe of his boots edged away.

Nova descended.

My grip on Rafe tightened. I rested my forehead on his arm and uttered one word. "Please."