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Back The Endless Skies
Chapters (57)
  1. Copyright Notice
  2. Dedication
  3. Map
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  55. Also by Shannon Price
  56. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  57. Newsletter Sign-up

I’ve been unsure of myself for so long, but it’s like Io said—I am learning. I am learning, and I am at peace with that. In this impossible prism of a moment, alone and plummeting toward death, I accept it.

The spark of magic in me explodes.

I let out a roar as I shift into my lioness form and swoop up, climbing higher and higher. My wings catch the air as they push me back up the way I’d come and beyond the cliff.

The humans scatter when they see me. Their fear permeates the air. My leg, still throbbing in pain, is manageable now that I don’t have any weight on it. One of the humans fires at me, but it the bullet flies harmlessly through the long edge feathers of my wing. Diving, I sink my claws into the soldier Callen has been holding back. The human flies like a toy in the opposite direction, and I catch Callen’s grin before he, too, steps back and over the edge of the Cliffs.

A heartbeat later, another roar joins mine. The humans stare in awe—but only for a moment. One of them takes aim at me and I duck, shifting back into my human form for a moment to make myself a smaller target. Immediately, I regain my lion form with a rush of life-giving magic. When I look back, the human is aiming at me again, hand on the trigger—

A flurry of arrows rains down from above. Looking skyward, I make out the shapes of a dozen or more Leonodai warriors, bearing down fast.

The skies have never given me a finer gift.

46

ROWAN

Pivoting, I beat my wings and swoop toward the trees, searching desperately for the bags containing the cure. I seize the leather strap of my bag in my jaws. Io dives into the underbrush beside me, and I toss her the second bag.

“I’ll go to the Keep,” Io says. “You fly for the Queen’s Tower.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Arcing upward through the forest, I break out above the tree line, opening my wings as wide as they can go. Golden sun blesses the feathers, filling my blood with heat and hope. As I make a break across the water, I hear Callen following below me. Sethran follows, too, but he won the race on High Summer for a reason and is beside me in no time.

“Queen’s Tower!” I roar. “Io went to the Keep.”

Ahead of us, winged black machines swirl in uneven arcs around the city and over the open waters to protect the humans’ ships below. Somehow that enrages me more. The skies are our haven, our home. I refuse to let them take that, too.