Starkeeper of the Fractured Crown

I spun around just as he landed and collapsed to the ground.

I sprinted for him, skidding on my knees to his side, the hard ground slicing through my pants. “Letak,” I tried, looking him over. “Letak, what’s wrong? What’s wrong?”

He released a weak sound, head falling to the ground, beak completely submerged in the water that pooled around me.

I shook in fear. “Mark! Cole!” I called, trying to lift his head while I searched for visible wounds.

They appeared in seconds.

“Mark, come here, come here, please.” I motioned for him to sit at Letak’s head. “Here, keep it up, away from the water so he doesn’t drown.”

Mark nodded, carefully sliding his legs under Letak’shead without hesitation. “He’s going to live, right?”

I nodded, although I couldn’t be sure if it was a lie or not. “He’ll be fine,” I replied distantly. “Cole, get me Asilos Root, Varian, Muskes, and the jar of Lop eggs,now.Letak, it’s gonna be okay,” I whispered, petting his neck, trying to meet his eyes. “You’ll be okay.” He had to be okay.

I looked back to the Fallen still standing in the clearing. “Can someone please help me?” I asked desperately. “Please. He won’t hurt you, I swear on my life.” I didn’t expect much. I honestly thought they would have left by now, but the girl with thick chocolate hair braided down her back hesitated for only a second before she jogged over, Trick close behind, barely able to keep himself standing. “Hey,” she smiled, her husky voice unwavering. “What do you need me to do?”

She was a gods-damned goddess.

I wiped my hair from my face. “I don’t know much about wings,” I told her, looking them over. “His wings don’t attach to his spine, and they don’t have as bulky of muscles as yours do, and I think his bones may be hollow, but I’m not sure. Can you work with that?”

She nodded, walking over to his other side to inspect his wings. “I can sure try.”

Trick collapsed beside me, nearly falling into me, clearly weak. “What can I do?”

I wiped under my nose, searching Letak’s chest. “He bleeds black. I can’t find his wounds. I can’t see his wounds,” I whispered, running my hands over his feathers, over where his feathers melted into fur.

“Kyra.”

I looked over, finding Cole with all the things I wanted in his arms. I sniffed, cursing the weather as I reached up for the things, only for him to pull away. “No.”

“Cole,” I snarled.

“Let me take care of your arm and tell them how to help him.”

“Cole,” I warned. “Don’t do this.”

Cole’s look softened as he knelt beside me. “We can do it. You have to trust us to do it, Talons. We’ll help him, I promise.”

I watched him for a long time, not trusting him in the slightest. My eyes flicked to Trick’s. Seconds passed before I finally pushing myself away. “I can do it,” I snapped when he went to follow me.

I took a bit of Asilos Root from him and went feet away so I could heal myself without anyone seeing the truth.

Cole hesitated for only a moment before he joined Trick’s side, the woman still working on Letak’s wings, her hands working meticulously. “Have you found it?” I asked, quickly mushing the root between my fingers. “Trick?” I called when he didn’t answer. “Did you find it?”

He was still running his hands up Letak’s stomach as Cole checked his legs.

“His right elbow is shattered,” Cole said, looking back. “You didn’t tell me to get the antler.”

“It’ll kill him, demons are allergic to magical creatures save for those that live in water. It’s lethal to their blood. You have to cut it open. Letak, Cole has to cutyou open, okay? You have to stay still.”

“Will he listen?” Mark asked, petting his head.

I nodded. “Yeah, Mark, they’re one of the smartest creatures alive. He can understand all of us. Talk to him, reassure him like I reassure you, okay? Think you can?”

Mark looked up. “But you lie. That’s what adults do, right? They lie about that stuff because you don’t actually know if it’ll be okay.”

The woman, Cole, and Trick all looked to Mark and then over to me, waiting.