I realized as I tore through the canopy, my body enveloped in a sheath of violet fire. I wasn't just flying; I was being propelled by the sheer, explosive force of the magic Sibal had tried to suppress for a decade. It screamed in my veins, a high-pitched keen of liberation that matched the wind howling in my ears.
Below me, the black blur of the wolf kept pace. He was a shadow cutting through the snow, leaping over fallen logs and frozen streams with a fluidity that made him look like liquid darkness.
We were running away from the war. We were running toward something primal.
My skin felt tight, stretched over a core that was expanding too fast. The heat was unbearable. I was a star going supernova in the middle of winter. I needed to cool down. I needed to extinguish the fire before i
