Swift Wings

Prologue

My knees slammed into the freezing mud as we landed, leaving my bones quaking beneath my shivering skin. A yank on my hair had me stumbling as the Illyrian warrior dragged me towards the post in the centre of the courtyard. My hands grappled for anything to hold onto: a rock, a branch, anything; but the yard was stripped of any life as I clawed through the mud.

My body started to shake as we approached the post; my eyes welling with tears as I fought to find a way out. Hands pushed at my shoulders from behind, shoving me closer and closer to the post. We were near enough now that I could see the scratches of past victims embedded in the grey wood.

My knees stuck the cobblestone dais with a resounding thud. I felt the cold trails of tears on my face as they spilled from my eyes. The warrior grabbed my wrists and tied my hands around the post with a rough rope. I tried to wrench my hands from his grasp, but he was too strong, and I was too weak.

"This won't hurt too much," the Illyrian warrior drawled with a wicked chuckle. "Only a bit."

My breaths became frantic as I panted, trying to breathe, trying to get any air into my lungs. All of my dreams were gone in a single accident. A misfortune sent from hell.

White snow fluttered around the dais as a harsh night wind blew from the mountains. My wings quivered in the cold and I tucked them into my back as tightly as I could. All these years protecting them, protecting myself, and I couldn't stop this. Couldn't hold back my fate.

But this was not my fate, I thought, the wind blowing my hair across my face. This was not how it will end. I will not let this destroy me. I will not forget.

I will never forget the roar of the wind in my ears and the press of the air around my body. The feeling of freedom I felt as I flew through the snow as it flurried down toward the ground. I will never forget the icy cold of the night air against my skin as I flew though the night and into the dawn. I will not forget.

I heard the crunch of the warriors boots as he took a step forward. I listened to him unsheathe his blade and palm it between his hands. I felt his rough hands as they grabbed hold of the ridge of my wing and spread it out before him.

And as he brought the knife down in a single arc, I made three vows.

A vow not to forget.

A vow to not let this fate destroy me.

And a vow to have my revenge.