Page 59 of These Fractured Bonds

Curiously, it melted off of her soon after it landed. Because despite the freezing chill, she was burning. Yareli slipped into a dream-like state, losing herself in the anguishing waves of pain, fever, and cold. Once, she thought she saw a woman standing over her. Her mournful purple eyes remained with Yareli long after her illusion disappeared. She endured, clinging to life despite it draining from her.

She wasn’t sure how long it’d been when another rift opened near her. Was Tuom back to finish her off? Had his promise of rescue been a lie, a trick to torture her further?

A familiar head of black hair appeared.

“August,” she murmured. “You found me.”

His face, devoid of his usual iron mask, was downturned in what seemed like anguish. It made her sad.

“Don’t look like that,” she said. “It hurts to see you like that.”

He kneeled next to her, removing her hands from the dagger. He was saying something, but she couldn’t hear him through thegrowing void surrounding her senses. She was falling, slipping into the comfort of unconsciousness.

“You shouldn’t take it out, you know. I’ll only bleed out faster.”

He picked her up. His heat was a welcome change from the damp snow she had melted into a puddle and lay in.

“I hit him. I slapped that fucker.” She rambled, mumbling a stream of consciousness before she lost her struggle to remain awake. She thought, however, that a drop of hot liquid hit her cheek right before she passed out.

Chapter 22

Aheavymisthunglow on the ground, parting as Yareli walked through the thin trees. Her breath unfurled in a white cloud. The forest was unlike any she had ever seen, with bare, white trees and the reddest dirt. She rubbed her arms as she made the slow ascent. Toward what, she hadn’t the faintest clue, but the pull in her gut was clear—go up.

By the time she reached the top, her thighs and lungs burned. The mist grew heavier, making it difficult to see more than a foot in front of her. She hesitated, the blank wall intimidating her. Her gut twisted, telling her to go forth, and she took a smallstep. The mist dissipated like it had been waiting for her, and it revealed a small clearing before a cliff. A lone figure, facing away from Yareli, sat on a log. There was space next to them, and she sat. It was a woman, Fae, her pointed ears peaking through her long blonde hair.

Yareli waited, but when it became clear that the Fae had no intention of speaking first, she asked, “Who are you?”

She received no answer, and she bit her lip.Fae, she thought,enjoyed being cryptic.

The Fae woman spoke. “In a few days, you must travel to the capital.”

“Why?”

“What you seek is there.”

Yareli frowned. The only thing she sought was a vial of Tuom’s blood. Or did she mean her memories?

“What’s there?”

“You’ll know once you arrive,” she replied.

“But—”

She hushed her. “It’s almost here.”

Unease finally made an appearance, and Yareli surveyed their surroundings. It was cold and empty with dawn’s early rays peeking over the summit.

“What is?”

“A new sunrise.”

She looked at Yareli then, her eyes a striking violet.

“Go to the capital.”

A gust buffeted Yareli and threw her off the cliff, her scream swallowed by the rush of air in her ears. Somehow, she knew she would live, and her scream died in her throat.

So this was how it felt to fall.