ShadowSong [Book 3]

Chapter 53 - Locked Within

With no ice yet no fear, Cryo dove from the platform with his partner beside him.

He reached out for Banshee's hand and twined his fingers with hers, tight enough that the wind stood no chance at ripping them apart.

As each metre flashed by, Cryo felt the first tingles of frost at the tips of his claws with a dull recognition. Little by little, the ice reclaimed his body, smothering the emerald glow. The frost sharpened the edges of his wing crystals and smoothed his gauntlets, removing all evidence of the other power he'd found, deep below the snow and solid ice--yet when the frost reached the final sliver of that power, he found himself desperate to hang onto it.

He didn't know what it was. All he knew was that when DragonFae's magic had left his Frostsong silent, he'd reached past it. Deeper than the hungry, eternal wasteland at the bottom of his Song was another kind of buzzing, fluid energy that thrived within the silence--one that he recognised, that felt more in tune than the frost ever had.

So as the frost reached to claim that final sliver--Cryo held it back.

But they were still falling, and he needed that frost to fly.

Banshee's fingers tightened on his.

Cryo looked at her, meeting her crimson-eyed gaze with a nod. With an easy movement, she pulled herself to perch on his back. Cryo drew a deep breath, filling his lungs with bracing cold as he swept his arms down.

The first flap did nothing. The frost was still trying to reclaim the last piece of him, to freeze over the sliver of power he was clinging to. Refusing to be ignored, Cryo wrangled it down to the tips of his claws. He fought the fall with three, powerful flaps of his arm-frozen wings and lifted their course directly towards the waterfall.

The roar of the water was deafening. It thundered inside his ears, shaking his skull, and Cryo suddenly wasn't sure if the falls would even allow them to pass. The Celestial's Falls were blessed by Skypillar. Its waters could set starstone, and far too much water fell from the Celestial's Eye lake for it to be physically sustainable, but maybe there was more to them than that. With the ruins sealed away behind them, the Falls were a gateway--a guardian.

It seemed Banshee had similar thoughts, because just before they passed through the falls, Cryo felt her shadows seep into him. His weight all but vanished, and the next downward flap of his wings sent them soaring upwards and into the falls.

Even in the shadow shift, the Falls slammed into them.

The sheer force of the water nearly knocked Cryo from the air. He heard Banshee's gasp on his back. She crossed her arms over the front of his chest, fighting to stay on as the Falls held them captive, demanding that final sliver of power he was clinging to.

The water became thicker, more insistent, invading Cryo's nose, his mouth. He flapped furiously, struggling to pull through the downpour. He felt Banshee's shadows sink deeper into them both, felt her fingers bite into his flesh with the effort.

Whatever this power was, it wasn't worth her.

Cryo relented. The frost swallowed the sliver, claiming him once more as he drew in a frozen breath and unleashed his aura. Not as ice, but snow, freezing that plunging, reckless water into soft flakes that were swept wild by the howling winds from his wings.

It was enough to pull them free.

They broke through the gateway of the Falls and into the night air, quickly pulling away from the blinding spray. Cevinari was closer, but Cryo aimed for the shore on temple grounds, if only so they'd have a moment to themselves before they were swarmed.