Ariane:
There was no victorious feeling in escaping, no triumph in surviving.
“It wouldn't have played out how you thought, Ariane.” Seris had said, but never offered an explanation, and after those words, there was only silence—and the bitter rhythm of a heart still beating when it had long since begged to stop to save those it cared most about.
I didn’t realize I was crying until Seris’s arms tightened around me. His warmth was the only thing holding me together as everything unraveled inside me. We soared through the skies, the wind laced with shadows, parting for the monstrous wings that carried us away—away from Silverfang, from them, from what little remained of my soul.
But pain, I’d learned, was a loyal companion. It followed me even into the stars.
It struck mid-flight, sudd
