The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,75

A winged herd that made Eva ache to be part of.

Her eyes slid closed, imagining what it must be like to fly with them. She could feel the wind beneath wings she didn't have, feel insubstantial hooves pounding over air and land as she raced free from the concerns of her human self.

A Kyren landed in front of her. He was the opposite of Sebastian, his coat as white as snow, gleaming with the captured light of a thousand stars. He was bigger, his build more powerful. Intelligence radiated from eyes the shade of freshly shed blood. Those eyes should have terrified her.

"Don't be afraid of Orion," a soft voice said next to her.

Eva startled, stepping to the side as a pale-haired child looked up at her.

"Mist," Eva said, confused. "What are you doing here?"

The child's eyes were innocent, a blue as deep and vast as the sky. "Your need called me."

Eva wasn’t sure she understood.

Mist waved at Orion, the Kyren waiting patiently as they conferred. "He's Shea's friend. He won't hurt you."

Eva hadn't thought he would.

"Will you accept his people as your own?" Mist asked curiously, tilting her head back to take in Eva.

"I'm not sure what you mean." Confusion pulled at Eva.

Mist sighed. She seemed different than the girl Eva had met back at the Keep, more self-assured, and definitely more verbal. That girl had been locked in silence, seemingly capable of talking but only using her voice when absolutely necessary.

"You need to accept them," Mist said, stubbornly. "The old ones have woken. New ties must be forged, and old promises kept."

"I don't know what that means," Eva said.

"You don't need to. I do. Just accept."

Eva glanced from the child to the waiting Kyren. She wanted to. More than anything.

"What does it mean if I accept?" she asked.

Mist tilted her head as if she didn't understand the question. "You become theirs and they become yours."

"For how long?" Eva asked.

Forever, a deep voice echoed in her mind.

The dream shredded, dissolving away like tendrils of ephemeral clouds. Eva came back to herself, hard stone pressing against her. The dream had felt so real. She could still taste the crisp mountain air on her tongue, feel the breeze off the plain.

Eva pulled her jacket tighter as she shivered. She shifted against the rock, trying to find a comfortable position and failing.

There were still hours left until morning, but Eva knew without even trying that sleep would not return for her this night.

By the time dawn stretched thick fingers of vivid blues, oranges, and pinks across the morning sky, Eva had given up on getting any more rest. She uncurled from her position on the ground, stretching her back out as she gazed around the area where Sebastian had left her.

In the first light of day, the rock she'd rested against was tinged orange, weeds sprouting from small crevasses in its facade. It wasn’t a boulder as she’d assumed, instead appeared man-made. The head of an ancient statue rested against the ground, its cheek using the dirt as a pillow. The rest of its body was missing.

Upright, the head would stand as tall as two men stacked one on top of the other. An eye stared out at the world, the other covered by grass and dirt.

The base of its neck was weathered smooth, and patches of moss covered the smooth surface. The storm last night had ripped some of the moss away, revealing the treasure below.

Eva glanced around, seeing more of the strange lumps and bumps in the land, making her think this wasn't the only head resting here. However, the others were thoroughly covered by thick carpets of moss and grass.

She moved between the odd monuments, climbing atop the tallest to get a better look at the surrounding land. As best she figured it, Sebastian had flown from the east and it was there she needed to head.

Sitting around waiting for rescue wasn’t an option. The only person she could rely on right now was herself. No one knew where she was. If she wanted to get back, she’d have to find them.

She took in the expanse before her. Rolling hills frolicked at the base of the taller mountains in the distance. Sebastian had dropped her into the high point of a glen, the sides gently sloping up. Flowers brought on by the spring rains carpeted the land before meeting the darker shadows of the mountains.

Eva couldn't argue the splendor of the tumbling hills and the soaring cliffs. Still, she