The Avowed (Shadowed Wings Book 2)

by Ivy Asher

  Panes and shards of shattered crystal come raining down from above me, and I fall to my knees, unsure if they are too weak to hold me up anymore or if the strong burst of wind in the room shoved me down. I feel pieces of things fall on me, but all I can really focus on is trying to press the escaping blood from my throat back into my body. I fumble for the skirt of my dress and shakily bring a wad of the fabric up to my throat and press it there.

  I’m having trouble breathing, but I can tell some oxygen is getting into my lungs and brain because neither is screaming for air, or maybe my brain is no longer working right because of the blood.

  A roar fills the air, but I can’t focus on the rage and retribution billowing out and surrounding me. All I can focus on is clumsily pulling more of my dress up and pressing it as hard as I can against my neck. I taste blood in my mouth, and for some reason, it sparks a flash of panic. I try to rein it in, knowing instinctively that keeping my heart rate down is better right now, but it takes root despite my efforts to crush it down.

  I don’t want to die.

  Black talons and skin drop down in my line of sight. They step closer to me, and I can just make out a black paw impossibly far behind the ebony forelegs of what has to be a gargantuan gryphon. I blink lazily, and my vision blurs. Something sniffs at me and nudges me gently, and I can feel strength draining out of my hands. A keening purr kind of a sound reaches out to me, and I want to go to it. More roars and crashes suddenly fill my ears as if someone just unmuted a battle scene in a movie.

  I go weightless.

  I know I’m dying. I can feel myself rising in the air, like my soul is finally leaving my body. I’m surrounded by warmth and surprisingly...pissed. I’ve never thought about what it would be like to die, but there’s no loved one to greet me. No calm or peace for my soul to float on as I make my way wherever souls go. There’s not even a light. There’s just pain and guilt and sorrow. All I can think, over and over again, is that I’m sorry any of this happened.

  I know my death will pull the others with me, and it feels horrible.

  I’m jostled, and my hazy vision blinks out altogether. I grumble internally about how the road to the afterlife shouldn’t have potholes. This shit should be gentle and easy; why does it hurt? Something wraps around me, and then the sensation of flying fills the last of my working senses. Peace finally trickles through me, but so does panic because this must be it.

  I don’t want to die!

  Everything around me grows quiet, and in spite of the cool wind I feel caressing my body, I’m warm all over. A flash of Ryn, then Treno, and finally Zeph streaks by the last of my consciousness before I can feel it finally start to shut down. I whimper, and death squeezes me tighter.

  “Don’t worry, little sparrow, I have you,” it growls deeply into my ear, and then everything...goes...black.

  The End of Book Two…

  Thank you so much for reading!!!

  I wouldn’t be shit, without you reading, reviewing, and recommending. Thank you so fucking much!!!

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  Also by Ivy Asher

  Shadowed Wings Series

  The Hidden

  The Avowed

  Book 3 Coming in May

  Standalones

  April’s Fools

  The Lost Sentinel Series

  The Lost and the Chosen

  Awakened and Betrayed

  The Marked and the Broken

  Found and Forged

  About the Author

  Ivy Asher is addicted to chai, swearing, and laughing a lot—but not in a creepy, laughing alone kind of way. She loves the snow, books, and her family of two humans, and three fur-babies. She has worlds and characters just floating around in her head, and she’s lucky enough to be surrounded by amazing people who support that kind of crazy.