It’s #bookqw and flying would take your ‘breath’ away!
More from Chapter 4:
Fern opened her mouth to scream, but she could only gasp as her rescuers lifted her among oak and birch trees.
Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod. The leafy ground dropped away, her stomach with it. “Lemme go,” she screamed. “It’s safe now. Look!” But last year’s leaves blurred to dark patches. She flinched, and her arm slipped in Rescuer Guy’s grasp.
“Nae,” he yelped, at the same time that Raven shouted, “She canna touch the ground!”
The three of them lurched into a sparkling fog, snapping branch tips before they emerged with Rescuer Guy’s arm hooked under her armpit again, his breath panting in her ear.
On her other side, Raven clenched her to his body. “Lass. I’d love to oblige you,” he said, sarcasm edging his voice. “But you’d end up in the rip, and me dad’d have me head.” He looked pointedly downward.
They’d risen above the trees. The oaks’ tops mounded like green mushrooms floating in mist, a glowing murky line twisting through the undulating haze. Fern swallowed, thoughts of struggling dissolving. Whatever the rip was, it didn’t look safe. Neither, her gut said, was relying on strangers. How had they known she’d fallen into the rip? And where were they taking her? And how did they fly like storybook angels, keeping their legs up? Hers were dangling like wet bedsheets pulled from the washer.
Come on! Why worry over that teeny bit of magic? Freaking flipping portals lurked at the edge of the Meadows, and Gran had mentioned only, “Take care if you see flickering,” in an offhand way. What other impossibly crazy magic was out there to bite her in the butt?
At least she was still on the Isle of Giuthas. The same mountains rose on either side of the Meadows’ cloud-filled valley, the familiar rock cliffs only closer now.
Squinting against the wind, Fern peered at the first guy, who was still panting, and then Raven, who scowled back at her. He was anything but an angel. She had to be reasonable, to sound reasonable. “Thanks for the rescue. I appreciate it. I’m safe now. Please—”
“Hardly,” snorted Raven, the word snatched by the wind.
She sucked in a quick breath. Nice. Be nice. “Please take me to the Meadows.”
* * *
Thanks for reading!
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