Larissa N
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angle between the horizon and the sky. His breathing slowed as he anchored himself.He sought the instant of absolute stillness in the pause between heartbeats, felt it whenthe moment came. e bowstring thrummed soly as he released. With deadly speed, the sha hurtled upward. She screeched as it penetrated herso feathers, tore her esh, and shattered her breast. Her wings pumped hard to propelher above the pain. en she crumpled and began the long tumble toward the ground.Lower on the hill, Branlen threw back his head and let out a whoop of victory. Jhared stood silently, unable to look away from the plummeting bird, a dull achestarting behind his eyes. Her body somersaulted toward the river and the ancientaqueduct, then disappeared into the thicket along the bank.“You did it!” With a sunny laugh, Branlen scrambled down the rocky incline,heading toward the meadow and the riverbank. e boy glanced over his shoulder to Jhared, who stood motionless: waiting to feel joy, excitement, relief, anything. So many years of waiting.“Come on!” the boy cried. “You made the kill. Come help me nd it!”“Go ahead, Bran. I’m right behind you.” e bird was down. He would be allowedto enter the Becoming. Riana gave him this gi.
e raptor must die in the prime of spring.
Shaking his head to clear away his questions before they could fully form, Jharedmarked in his mind the point at which the hawk had entered the forest, then swung hisbow across his back and turned to follow Branlen toward the sounds of the river.e world swayed and his stomach churned, as though he stood at the edge of agreat height. As he stepped toward the meadow, the ground dropped out from underhim. He lurched forward. e ache behind his eyes exploded into shards of light.Branlen, the meadow, and the forest became small pieces in a patchwork of countrysideas he fell away from them. He saw the blur of the arrow a helpless moment beforeit pierced his chest, felt it ripping through muscle and lodging against bone. Agonyloosed an animal scream in his head. Grey clis, blue sky, and green trees streamed intoone long tail of color as he spiraled over and over toward oblivion.“Jhared?”A distant voice reached him through layers of fog. Jhared tried to answer, butcouldn’t utter a sound. He couldn’t catch his breath for the pain in his chest. Heartbeatsechoed faintly in his ears.“Jhared!”Someone tugged at his body, and he clung to the warmth of that rare contact.Slowly, he tracked his way along a fog-shrouded path, until he could open his eyes.Branlen knelt beside him, gripping his shoulder. e boy’s startled blue gaze dartedover his face, as if trying to determine whether this could possibly be a big brother’s joke. Jhared looked down at his hands, which were clenched over his chest. Unlocking his ngers, he found his palms torn and bloody: not from an arrow, but from the bite of his nails.Branlen’s eyes went wide. “What in Cael’s darkness…?”“I was...we were...falling.” Jhared struggled for breath. No sha pierced his heart, yet emptiness grew within him as though something vital had ruptured. Nothing hadso overwhelmed him since his mother’s death. His Teachers’ voices snapped in hismind:
“Weak-willed child, you must maintain control!”
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