Page 49 of The Searching Songbird

Blessed air slipped once again into her lungs as she managed to relax, allowing the choker to loosen its hold. Chest heaving, she turned disdainful eyes up at the man standing before her. A baroness? Meaning, he'd found some poor woman to take as his wife?

Who would ever want to bind themselves to this monster?

Chapter Twenty-Five

Can't... breathe...

Lily's fingers clawed at her neck, desperately scraping the sensitive skin in a bid to free herself of whatever had wrapped around it. Panicked, she realized there was nothing there, nothing tangible anyway. And yet, the pressure continued to increase, cutting off her oxygen at an alarming rate.

This is it. I'm dying. Lost and alone in this oppressive darkness, away from my family...

She gasped as a trickle of air slipped into her lungs, only to be cut off once again. Torture. It was absolute torture.

My sisters... I'll never see my sisters again...

Another burst of air, just enough to keep her lucid, not enough to provide relief.

Papa, Miss Fairway, Josselyn...

A tiny pinprick of light caught her eye, and she latched onto it, watching it with desperate eyes. She needed that light. She needed...

Draven.

His name whispered through her mind without warning, and she stiffened at the thought of it. No. She didn't need Draven, nor his lies. And she didn't need some distant light. What she needed was to break free of this hell already.

Breathe, damn it.

Wake up and breathe!

Wake –

Her eyes flew open as she sucked in a great gasp of air. Shoving herself up by her hands, she blinked against the bright light pouring in through the window. Her bedroom window.

She looked down at her lap, which was tucked beneath the covers of her bed. “When did I get up here?” She shook her head. Suzu? Can you hear me? Her inquiry was met with silence, and she tried to tamp down the rising panic. Suzu? Are you there? Are you alright?

“I'm here.”

Her relief at hearing the phoenix's soft voice was soon cut off as she realized just how weak she sounded. What happened?

“Whiplash,”the tired bird responded, her voice sounding thin and raspy. “You stretched yourself too far, further than your mind or body could handle. This is the result.”

I'm sorry, Suzu. I didn't know... that is, I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I'm sorry.

“It's not your fault, Shendri. The mission was more important. It's just frustrating, working with these constraints. It wasn't always like this.”

What do you mean?

“Our powers, our endurance, neither should be as limited as they are. When the Shendri were originally created, they were an unstoppable force capable of driving back the devil himself. Now, we're struggling with simple reconnaissance.”

Lily pulled her knees to her chest, letting the blankets slip off as she wrapped her arms around her legs and pressed her forehead against her knees.

It's because I'm so weak, isn't it? If you'd awakened inside someone like Josselyn, you wouldn't have to struggle this much...

“Bullshit.”

Lily jerked her head up in surprise. Suzu, did you just curse?

“I bloody well did, and I'll do it again if I ever hear you spouting off such nonsense. You're not weak, nor are you the reason our powers have been limited.”