Page 149 of Black Wing and Shadows
Then—light.
From the ash below, fire was whirled upward, swirling into a new form. A red phoenix was released, wings spread wider and brighter than anything witnessed before, its cry split the sky like a trumpet. It was lifted on a column of heat, rebirth achieved in flame and glory.
But the saddle was lost.
And Landonwas gone.
The phoenix circled once, a keening note sent out that left hollowness behind. Wings were tucked, and a dive sent westward. The bird was swallowed between the peaks—a streak of fire erased by the horizon.
“She will rejoin us once she mourns her Rider,”Esme reassured me.
The silence in the drift had been heavier than the wind.
I clenched the pommel until my knuckles whitened, blinking hard against the sting in my eyes.
Landon was gone.
Daphne would mourn him for the rest of her years.
At last, we were spat from the mountains. Wind eased, stony walls slipped behind, and a broad sweep of pale sky opened above. Our group was left forever altered.
An orange-golden blaze was seen rising behind—Daphne soared, slicing through cold air with haunting, terrifying grace. Her cry rang out, high and mournful. Intense grief poured through her voice.
She slipped quietly back into formation, the molten glow of her feathers casting a shadow across the silent group. No words were spoken, but every gaze flicked her way, to the space Landon once filled.
Esme’s hum rumbled low in my chest,“the phoenix knows. She will stay with the drift, but the Rider is gone.”
We flew on in heavy silence, the air biting colder with every wingbeat. Finally, Nikolai’s dragon angled down toward a clearing on the mountainside—a patch of hard snow cut with dark stone, barely wide enough for all of us to land.
“Down,” he barked, his voice low, clipped. “We stop here.”
Descent was made, one by one. Snow crunched beneath Esme’s claws, and sharp, cold air forced through my boots as we reached the ground. My legs wobbled as exhaustion and a chest-tightening weight combined. Korra landed next, and Sadie slipped down stiffly, her face pale and determined. Remus’s black wings were folded as he stood nearby, tall and silent. Zane landed on the frozen ground, his expression hardened, unreadable.
Daphne landed away from the group, talons pressed into icy snow. She spread her wings wide, flames flickering through crisp air, then folded in,embers fading. Her golden eyes appeared full of sorrow. She emitted pain that we all felt across the field.
We all stood in silence. Only breath and the faint crackle of phoenix fire broke the stillness. Zane came up behind me and wrapped his arms tight around me.
After what felt like several minutes, Sadie broke the silence. “I can’t believe—” She’d stopped, jaw clenching hard. “He was just here.”
Nikolai’s gaze was sharp, but not cruel. “He knew the risks, we all do. Death doesn’t negotiate. It only collects.”
“That doesn’t make it easier,” I said, my voice rougher than I meant.
Zane ran his arm down mine, grounding me. He hadn’t said anything, but the bond pulsed warm, steady. He knew just what I needed without saying it. It was more than I could ever ask for.
“Ashes don’t ask, they simply remain,”Esme said.
We sat in silence a while longer, the phoenix’s glow casting long shadows across the snow. Landon was gone. But Daphne was still with us, flames now embers, soaring because that was what she was born to do. We had only been bonded with our fliers for a short time, but the bond nestled deep within Rider and flier.
Nikolai ordered us to carry on, not wanting the group behind to close the gap. Sadie and I mounted our fliers, and the formation shifted gradually. Zane and Remus stayed in front, guiding the group. Sadie settled far left, my position was set in the middle left, Nikolai took the middle right, and Daphne was on the far right. This time, Nikolai didn’t give any command. Esme relayed the order from Nikolai’s dragon, Inna.
Remus maintained his quietness. When he broke his silence, surprise jolted through me. “We are thirty minutes out, we will land on the east outskirts of the city. Afterwards, your fliers can go above the skyline, and head to Ashen Vale.”
“I can be back there quickly, if you need me,”she purred to me.
“I am sure that Zane won’t let anything happen to me.”
“He better not, or he will be a toasted bat.”
