The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,74

like her parents or the others. She was the master of her fear, not the other way around.

She'd left the Trateri behind. Granted, she'd had little choice and it was probably the best decision, but now it was time to return.

She stood. "We need to go back."

Sebastian shook his head.

"Yes, we do. We can help them. You can help them."

She reached for his side. A shrill sound escaped him as he shied away.

"Sebastian?"

He shook his head again, backing away one step at a time.

"What's wrong?"

It was the only question she got off as he whirled, galloping away and taking to the air.

"Sebastian! Wait! Come back," she screamed after him.

He was gone.

"Don't leave me alone here," she said in a nearly inaudible voice.

The dark that hadn't seemed quite so frightening with the Kyren at her side now pressed in close all around her. Claustrophobic and terrifying, all the more for what she couldn’t see in its depths.

She wrapped her arms around herself as she held herself together. She was alone in the Highlands, a place known for being the second most dangerous of all the lands, where dangerous beasts were a constant threat. And she had no supplies.

No one was coming to save her, and her last hope had just flown off.

"Priceless, Eva, you dolt." Her voice was raw with emotion. "You just had to get on the damn winged horse and let him carry you off from the others. Couldn't have figured out a way out of that mess that didn't involve flying your way halfway across the country. It figures you were abandoned by the same harebrained creature that got you into this mess in the first place."

The next time she got one of her strange urges, experienced a feeling that wasn't hers, she was going to ignore it.

She allowed herself several brief moments to panic. Then she was done.

She'd survived two weeks with no human companionship when she left her village. Granted, the Lowlands were a little less wild, and she'd been familiar with that land, but it didn't change the fact that she'd done it. She could survive—even with no tools except for her dagger.

It'd be hard. Uncomfortable. Definitely uncomfortable. But she could do it.

She looked around. There wasn’t much light to see by, but she caught hulking forms crouched in the darkness, mountains or rock formations. She doubted they were trees.

When she closed her eyes and listened, she could hear the rustling of the breeze against the long grass that covered much of the moors up here.

Seeing what she assumed was the indent of a hill or boulder, Eva made her way carefully over to it. She curled into its side, pulling her jacket around her and placing the dagger in her lap.

It was her only weapon, though fat lot of good it would do against a red back or a revenant.

No, she couldn't think that way. She had to believe Sebastian wouldn't drop her into a beast's nest and leave her behind. She had to. Otherwise, her sanity might not make it through the night.

For now, she would stay put, hope he came back or at the very least, wait until dawn to get her bearings.

Eva brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She rested her chin on them as she stared into the darkness. Sleep felt very far away, but she needed the rest if she was going to find her way back to the others tomorrow.

If there was anyone left alive to find.

*

Eva walked beneath a violet sky, small fluttering butterflies descending as they danced on the breeze.

She raised her hand to let one alight on her finger, its wings glowing a pale blue. Its companions became caught in Eva's unbound hair as her feet whispered across the grass.

Mountains reached for the sky all around her, but where she stood was a plain, vast and long, its grass reaching to her waist as a lake nearby gleamed serenely up at the sky.

The edges of the dream were indistinct and hazy. If she thought too hard about them, they would shred like gossamer strands.

Eva found she wasn't ready to leave this place that called to her soul, filling it with peace. She felt more at home here than she had ever felt in her life.

As she stared around her in wonder, the sound of wings from above drew her attention.

Kyren circled lazily as the butterflies parted to allow their descent. Small Kyren, large ones, every shape and color imaginable.