Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Wings and Starlight
NORA
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Suddenly, I’m snapped back into my body, and my stomach lurches and twists violently as my mind tries to piece together what led me here.
Tears stream down my cheeks as I think of my sweet sister and Katie and how disappointed and heartbroken they’ll soon be.
The last thing I remember is appreciating the view from the bridge and then turning to leave.
I should be on the ferry close to home by now. I shouldn’t be here.
Thrashing in the air, screams force their way out, even knowing no one will hear me, that no one could save me now even if they wanted to.
As I soar toward the surface of the rough lake below, I have no choice but to quickly accept my fate, whether I remember my decision to end my life or not, I know this is goodbye.
Clamping my eyes closed tightly, I take in one last breath of the fresh, lake air, then accept my unfortunate ending.
It was never a fight of darkness versus light for me. Darkness was always fated to win.
At the sound of flapping wings nearby, my eyes scan the darkness, my head jerking left and right but finding nothing in sight.
Shock and fear course through me as suddenly something with large, feathery black wings crashes into me, swooping me out of the air and wrapping large, warm arms tightly around my waist. My gut-wrenching scream could shatter glass if there was anything but open skies and emptiness surrounding me.
I fight against the force of whatever has a hold of me, but it’s useless.
It won’t let go. I didn’t want to die, but now I’m wondering if this might be worse, as the wings flap louder and I’m carried faster toward the rocky shore.
Maybe this is another nightmare, a new one to give me a break from the monsters that haunt me every time my eyes close.
Maybe this monster is worse than the ones I’m certain murdered my parents that night a year ago on the same bridge that led me here to this one.
Maybe I’ve finally just lost my mind completely.
The edge of the beach gets closer and closer, and I take a deep breath, preparing myself to run as quickly as I can as soon as my feet hit the ground.
The trembling of my body does little to hide the fear that courses through me.
A moment ago, I was okay with death. I welcomed it although it didn’t feel like I was in control of my thoughts.
But whatever it is that has a grip on me now, I have a feeling is much worse than death itself.
I can’t turn my head to look at it. I can’t open my mouth to speak.
I’m frozen in terror and wishing like hell I would have never come near the bridge tonight.
I’m not ready to die, not this way, at least.
As soon as I hear the thud of boots hitting the ground, and feel the freedom of being released at last, I propel myself forward as swiftly as I can, using every ounce of strength within myself.
I run without ever looking back. I don’t want to see what it is that’s sending its dark energy swirling around me.
I’ll never escape. It won’t let me go; I can feel it.
I push myself to run faster until my legs ache and I hold my side as the muscles there twitch painfully.
I focus on the empty spaces between the trees as I race through the forest behind the beach, surrounded by nothing but complete darkness now.
Maybe it won’t see me. Maybe I’m safe. I hear nothing but the sound of my own shoes pounding against the dirt.
Tripping over my wobbly feet, I stumble, falling face-first into a tree before collapsing onto the ground.
“Shit…” I mutter breathlessly, rubbing at the aching, burning sensation on my forehead.
Tucking my long strands of hair behind my ears, I place my back against the tree, crouching down in an attempt to stay hidden.
My breath is too fast, and my heartbeat thuds and echoes so loudly it might as well be screaming out my exact location.
I close my eyes, hearing nothing but the leaves on the trees swaying softly in the wind.
Deep breath in… and out. I force myself to count to ten, feeling the adrenaline subside and my racing heart slow.
Opening my eyes to face the dark, I immediately regret the decision.
Crouched before me is a man in a black robe with a hood pulled over his head.
I can’t see his face or even his eyes within the shadows of the robe. Maybe it doesn’t have a face at all.
I open my mouth to scream, but nothing comes out except for a small, ragged whimper.
The shock of the swords peeking out from behind his back, the daggers strapped to his legs, and the huge, black wings spread out wide behind him render me speechless and motionless.
My eyes widen as I rake my eyes up and down as he slowly stands, hands hanging at his sides casually.
He bows his head as if wanting to appear safe or even respectful in front of me.
What the fuck is he? Staring at him, it feels as if he’s staring back at me, into my soul even, but I can’t be sure. I need to see his face.
“Please let me go!” I beg, my voice cracking as sobs force their way through me. “What do you want from me?” I breathe out the words, feeling almost certain whatever this thing is wants to kill me.
Tilting his head to the side, he crouches down again, reaching a black gloved hand out toward my face.
Instinctively I push his hand away and he stills, before slowly caressing my cheek with his thumb.
My heart stops. I can’t breathe. What the fuck is happening?
When he pulls his hand away, he holds it in front of his face, and thick, red liquid drips from his gloved finger onto the grass between us.
I reach up, wincing and hissing as I touch the wound near my temple, feeling the warm blood flowing down my face.
“You’re hurt…”
I stiffen as his smooth, silky voice sends waves of déjà vu through my heart and into my soul.
“You should be dead.” Ripping a piece of cloth from his cloak, he gently dabs at the blood dripping from my wound. “I’m glad you’re alive.”
I don’t pull away, I simply watch him carefully, brows furrowed and eyes slanted, wondering why he doesn’t just kill me.
Is he responsible for my fall from the bridge?
For my parents’ deaths? Whatever he is, I want nothing to do with him.
For the past year, I’ve wondered how true it might be that ghosts, monsters, or demons exist in this world, but here in this moment, I no longer have to wonder about any of it. It’s true.
“What are you?” Blinking slowly up at him, I clench my teeth to stop the shivers that have my teeth rattling together, but the shaking isn’t from the cold, it’s from the fear racing through my body as he continues cleaning the wound on my head.
He appears too focused on getting the bleeding to stop to notice me watching him.
I can’t trust him. I don’t even know what the hell he is.
I need to go home. I need to get to Olivia.
Quickly I reach for the sword behind his back, grabbing the hilt and standing as I pull it up and out of the holster.
Pointing it toward him, I watch as he slowly—so terrifyingly slowly—turns his head to look at me.
As he stands, he lets out a laugh that makes my heart race all over again.
I feel his dark power pouring out of him in my direction, reaching and grasping at me to get closer. I can’t let that happen.
As he takes a step toward me, I take a step back. Then another.
“Please!” I yell out, tightening my grip on the sword and preparing myself to use it if needed.
“You wanted to die.” He prowls toward me slowly. “Now you want to live?” He asks, again tilting his head sideways as he watches me.
“I don’t want to die. I… I don’t even remember jumping! Please… don’t kill me!” Lifting the sword up higher, I clumsily jab it in his direction.
“Believe me, Nora. I want nothing more than for you to live.” The sadness in his tone distracts me, and my gaze shifts and settles on his face instead of his hands.
He sighs quietly, standing still as a statue before quickly lunging and grabbing the weapon from my hands.
He doesn’t even have to try hard. He overpowers me more easily than any human would.
Pulling away from him, I stumble and fall, hearing the loud clunk of my head smashing against a rock as I land backward on the ground.
I stare up at the man or monster or…angel before me, and everything around me blurs as I softly moan in pain.
He pulls his hood back and reveals his face, and the last thing I remember before everything fades to black, is the look of pure panic and gut-wrenching torment in his bright green eyes when he scoops me up and into his arms.
“Darkness guide me. Gods save me.” His voice is like a healing tincture to my wounds as he whispers into the wind.
He’s so warm. His comforting energy shatters the iciness that wrapped around me before, making it feel wrong and unnatural and not okay.
Somehow, his darkness seems to chase the other darkness away.
His offers light. It’s not suffocating or commanding like the energy I felt on the bridge, it’s full of hope.
Powerful and yet freeing. It’s so many things, things I can’t begin to explain or understand, but I don’t need to understand it to tell the difference between the two.
My head throbs in pain and I let it fall onto his muscular chest, unable to hold it up any longer.
We’re back in the air in an instant, rushing up toward the puffs of white clouds far above.
This can’t be real. He can’t be real. The sound of flapping wings thunders loudly around me as starlight shines brightly in my eyes, the clouds parting around us.
Not even the closeness of the stars floating and twinkling around us tonight could outshine the beauty of him, whatever he may be.
He is terrifyingly beautiful. Those haunting green eyes meet mine as he shifts me in his arms and opens his mouth to speak just as darkness pulls me under.