Page 40 of The Sweetest Lies

“Cers. Cersia,” Avian whispers so faintly but so peacefully, I’d recognize his gentle voice even among a war zone.

Which we’re currently in.

Flames of fire and broken bodies litter the ground. And there among all the death and dying lies a naked shifter. I can’t see his beautiful features, but I know it’s him. I especially know it’s him by the other two men surrounding their friend.

Avian.

The creatures I stomp over as I land and come barreling toward them are nothing more than an afterthought as I lean in so close my snout brushes his chest. His breath fans my face in shuddering exhales of pain. His hand lifts but falls to his side before he ever touches me. And his heart... his fucking heart beats so slowly, it hurts my own soul to hear the pause of silence between every thud.

“He’s hurt. He’s hurt.” Roman’s lifting his friend, one arm thrown over his broad shoulders as he staggers toward me.

Zilo lifts him carefully, and the two of them fling Avian over my neck with a grunt that leaves the poor man in a breathless cough. Then they, too, are climbing up my wing and onto the large space I offer upon my back.

“We have to go. Calm your mind, beautiful,” Roman says in a rush. “Fly us out of here, and calm your mind. I’ll get us out of here with your help.”

Beasts: wolves with two heads, demons with long horns, and fae with frightening teeth are all hurtling toward us with flames, magic, and swords all pointed our way.

“Get her!” someone yells out from somewhere in the distance, and I know who it is.

It’s no longer my future on the line.

It’s Avian’s life.

And as much as I want to destroy this woman before she can destroy realms and realms of people... I can’t help but think about what that world would feel like without Avian in it.

His shy smile and warm voice shiver through my mind.

Are their lives worth more than his?

My gut sinks low.

It hurts to weigh the value of his beautiful soul.

And I won’t.

My wings shove hard, and with every move they make, agony strikes through the wound in my right shoulder that’s stabbing through my spine. I fight through it and carry us higher. Higher and higher until I can smell the peace of the clouds and feel the light of the stars upon my face.

It feels like hope.

It feels like he’ll be okay.

He’ll live.

He has to.

My thoughts slip away, and I calm my mind just like Roman said. I let it all drift into silence until his rumbling tone kisses the back of my mind.

You did it. We’re almost there now.His tone shivers all through me.

Where are we going?I ask the voice skimming along my thoughts.

To see a powerful mage about some deadly dragons,he says rather mysteriously.

My eyes narrow, but he never says more. He lets those words linger for so long, I finally ask him what the fuck this hell cunt is talking about.

But then... the world spirals away from me. The darkness of the sky bleeds into the shining stars. It all goes black with a crackle of magic.

And I just know.

I just know he’s taken us away from the kingdom of Hell.

For now.

The End.