Kingdom of Ash

Snapping Abraxos’s reins, Manon sent him
flying over the city walls, his blood raining on
the soldiers fighting there.
He made it to the castle battlements before
his strength gave out.
Before he hit the stones and slid, the boom
of impact ringing across Orynth.
He slammed into the side of the castle
itself, wings limp, and Manon was instantly
freeing herself from the saddle as she
screamed for a healer.
The wound to his neck was so much worse
than she’d thought.
And still he’d fought for her. Stayed in the
skies.
Manon shoved her hands against the deep
bite wound, blood rushing past her fingers like
water through a cracked dam. “Help is
coming,” she told him, and found her voice to
be a broken rasp. “They’re coming.”