Raven's Ruin (The Keeper Origins Book 2) by JA Andrews

Author:JA Andrews [Andrews, JA]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Forty-Six

Sable held her arm out awkwardly, expecting Innov to feel heavy, but she was as light as a candle. She peered into Sable’s face and let out a sharp caw.

The phoenix was astonishingly small and young. Her head was tiny and almost round, supported by a slim neck. Her eyes, huge orbs in her small head, were still orange, but they glittered with other colors. Not just yellows and reds, but flecks of rich blue, and glints of purple. Her body was thinner, too, more streamlined, her feathers shorter and sleeker.

More than all that, the bird was a towering pillar of heat, hotter than she’d ever been before. Reese took a step back, leaning away from her.

Except, while Sable could recognize that Innov was blazing hot, she felt nothing but warmth from the phoenix. It seeped into her arm, pressing up through her chest, spreading into the dark, tumultuous depths inside her. It swirled around the cold grief of Narine’s death until it warmed, thawing emotions Sable didn’t wanted to face.

A cascade of sorrow spilled out, but that cold, damp sadness warmed as well, turning bittersweet. It didn’t disappear—in fact, it expanded, washing up against everything else, taking up more space than Sable wanted it to. But it was different now. Still sad, but less…hollow.

“Do you think Narine is happy?” Sable whispered to Innov. “Wherever she is?”

The phoenix didn’t answer. She merely looked at Sable, pouring warmth into her.

With every breath Innov took, sparks showered off her, landing on the rock and glowing briefly before fading. But not a single spark landed on Sable’s arm.

“Innov,” Sable said. “Why are you here?”

The phoenix blinked, then tilted her head, looking around the rock.

“We need to move.” Reese started back toward where they had slept.

Sable nodded absently at him. She reached out a tentative hand and ran the back of her fingers down the bird’s glowing chest. Sparkles of light burst out from between her feathers, the deepest ones a vivid blue among the other fiery sparks.

“Sable,” Reese said with more urgency. “Your shiny bird just rose into the air, circled a few times to make sure she had the attention of every single person looking for us, then flew directly to you.”

Sable glanced down in the valley, realizing that Innov must be visible even from the island in the pre-dawn light.

She shook her arm. “Go on, Innov. Go back to the priory. There’ll be a new prioress soon who’ll need you.”

Innov let out an annoyed squawk and tightened her grip on Sable’s arm.

“Until that sun rises, she’s a beacon for anyone to find us.” He frowned back at the bird. “Hopefully she’s not so bright that she’ll still be visible after that.”

The sun was nearly up, and the world was growing brighter by the moment, but the phoenix blazed like a bonfire.

“Innov,” Sable said, “if you’re staying, could you dim down a bit? Just for a little while?”

The phoenix blinked her round, orange eyes, then looked away, as though bored.

“I guess that’s a no,” Sable said.

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