I crash through the trees with all the elegance of a whale learning to fly. That is to say, not much. A visually exhausted and seemingly injured Quinn leads me forward. I lean heavily on my spear, using it as a walking staff. My injury is sapping my strength at an astounding rate.

“We have to find a river,” Quinn shouts back at me.

“Why?” I ask.

“Because they’re not going to let this go!” She informs me. “They’ll send goblins to track us down. We need to get to a river so they lose our scent!”

I nod my affirmation, before realizing she can’t see me because I’m behind her. Dumbass. Doesn’t help that night is falling. Serves us fucking right for attacking in the late afternoon.

“Okay,” I gasp. “You, uh, wouldn’t happen to have any healing magic, would you?”

“No,” her short reply dashes my hopes. “But I’ll patch you up once we get to safety.”

I project my thoughts toward Nevasca. I use images to ask her to rush ahead and find a river.

Quinn pauses for a moment, allowing me to catch up. Without a word, she pulls my arm over her shoulders and helps me support my weight. Our mad dash through the thick forest continues. I find the time in my thoughts to feel thankful to Honey, for putting me through the torture that is that fucking obstacle course.

Shouts in a harsh sounding language resound from behind us. They come from several different directions. They are searching for us in a grid pattern.

‘Clever monsters,’ I think. ‘Probably making sure that we didn’t separate or that the trail isn’t a decoy. Speaking of separating, where is Ra’hel?’

Before I can ask Quinn about Ra’hel she interrupts me. I mean, she didn’t technically interrupt me because I wasn’t talking. Still, it felt rude.

“The map I got from the Guild,” she says, her bountiful chest heaving. “Said that there was a river this way. We should be getting close!”

“Did you know?” The words escape my mouth, accusingly before I can even consider them.

Her arm tightens around my waist for a moment, before relaxing.

“I’ll explain everything once we get out of here alive,” she says.

I accept her proclamation as the best deal I’m gonna get due to the circumstances. We stumble forward, forever forward.

Images of carnage flash in my mind every time I blink my eyes. Goblins fiercely defending the retreat of their women and children. The eyes of goblins giving their lives for even just another second to allow their families to escape. Ra’hel feeding.

The thoughts cloud my mind. Shudders of self-revulsion are added to my already shaking and heaving body. My thoughts turn even darker.

‘Should I just let them catch me?’ I ask myself. ‘Surely I deserve it?’

I begin to seriously consider the question. Is there even any way to redeem myself? Before I can fully submerge myself into a spiraling vortex of despair, Nevasca returns.

Her feathery tail lashes restlessly when she catches sight of me in Quinn’s embrace. I smile a bit at that. Poor Nevasca, so jealous. What would she ever do without me? The thoughts of suicide by ogre fall from my mind.

Adorably irritated Nevasca leads us in a slightly different direction. The ground begins to slope downhill. The shouts behind us grow louder. Quinn and I struggle for air. Our wounds drag us down, but we lean on each other. We stumble forward, gravity aiding our momentum. The jaws of death snap at our heels.

Without warning, Nevasca plants her forefeet on the ground. In one smooth motion, her forward momentum brings her body around in a 180-degree arc. She gathers her weight beneath her and pounces. Flashing past us she lands in the bushes.

Quinn and I pause to see what is happening. Nevasca drags a struggling goblin into view. With a pair of powerful jaws to the neck, she ends its plight. Blood drips from her muzzle. She looks to me for affirmation.

“Good girl,” I wheeze, still trying to catch my breath.

“We have to hurry,” Quinn urges me.

Nevasca prances back to the head of our little expedition. The spring in her step as she leads us makes it clear she is very susceptible to praise. A forgivable weakness, if you ask me.

The light, an orange glow as night descends, grows stronger through the forest. The gentle downward slope becomes steeper. Gravity carries Quinn forward and Quinn practically carries me. Our energy is now mostly spent on trying to stay on our feet.

The crashing of the branches as we burst through the trees is loud, but behind us the crashing is louder. Something huge is storming this way. Maybe several somethings.

We burst through the trees into a clearing. In front of us is a cliff, about 20 feet tall. Looking down, at the foot of the cliff a river full of white water rushes at breakneck speeds. The sun sets before. A vast wilderness lays before our eyes, red and orange lighting the way forward.

Before I can suggest finding a way to climb down the cliff, Quinn reacts. She wraps both her arms firmly around my waist. I take a moment to appreciate the feel of her firm, shapely body pressed against mine. I drop my spear reflexively and return the embrace. My moment passes all too soon. Quinn launches us into open space. Her injured wings spread to soften our fall even a little.

Looking up at her as we fall, I appreciate her beauty. Silky blonde hair spread in the wind. Soul piercing green eyes bore through me. The light of the setting sun catches her delicate features, throwing enticing shadows across her lips.

Out of the corner of my eye I glimpse Nevasca swan diving off the cliff behind us. The sound of roaring surrounds me. I’m not sure if it is the ogres, the river, or the blood rushing through my skull. Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. We hit the water and everything turns to darkness.

***

My consciousness swims up from the darkness. In my chest, I feel a burning sensation building. The feeling fills my consciousness and I open my mouth to force it out. Coughs wrack my frame. My eyes flutter as I try to figure out the sensations around me. Underneath my head is something soft and warm. At my back is… also something soft and warm? Did I get eaten? The thought brings a thought rising from the depths of my repressed memory.

My body thrashes in an involuntary bout of panic. That poor fucking baby got swallowed alive and whole by Ra’hel. The thought of me following that particular path of doom is too disturbing to ignore. The thrashing is restrained by the softness around me and hissing fills my ears.

I force my eyes open, determined to see my fate.

“Shhhh,” Quinn whispers. Her voice is the hissing I had heard. I am held in her embrace. Our heads rest on Nevasca. My panic recedes and I relax into her hold. Until I have another disturbing thought.

I jerk again, my hand reaching up to Nevasca. There is no way in hell that she’d let Quinn rest on her! She is much too jealous for that! A warm and slimy tongue meets my searching hand. My eyes well with tears of relief.

I don’t know what I would do without her.

‘They must’ve bonded without me,’ I decide.

“We’re safe now,” Quinn comforts me. “Sleep now, I’ll explain everything later.”

The darkness retakes me.

***

I awoke in a cave. Nevasca in my arms provides both a pillow and a heat source. I gently stroke her fur and feathers, thanking the ‘powers that be’ for the luck to be bonded to such an amazing companion.

I glance around the cave, taking in the feng shui, as lacking as it is. A small-ish cave. Looks to be naturally carved out of… whatever rock this is. My line of sight lines up with the entrance of the tunnel, just in time to see Quinn return.

A smile blossoms across her face when she sees me, and I swear that her step got saucier. Not wanting to be laying down to greet her, I swiftly sit up. Feeling a bit weak, I lean my back against the cave wall. Nevasca shifts to lay next to me with a cute little huff.

“You’re awake,” Quinn beams. “I was just thinking about going out to find food, but if you’re awake we should probably talk plans.”

“Where are we? What happened?” I interrogate her. Suavely, if you ask me.

“Well, long story short,” she begins. Her long legs, still clad in skin tight pants, stretch appealing before her as she takes a seat next to me. Her fingers, surprisingly, run through Navesca’s pelt. Her chest is clad in… my shirt? I glance down to see my midriff wrapped in the long white strips of cloth that had once contained her breast. Now they are used to contain my blood and guts.

“We were washed away by the river. We are now in a cave a few miles up a creek,” she finishes.

“Is that it?” I ask, incredulously.

“Well, there is the part about the brave heroine carrying the damsel in distress to safety. Her harrowing journey gone unsung by the bards,” she retorts with a cheeky grin.

I roll my eyes at her, but can’t keep the smile off my face.

“Thank you, M’lady,” I sarcastically reply. I adopt a tone that mockingly echoes that of a bard. “How might this lord repay you? I but a poor man, bereft of my lands and inheritance. I have naught but my body to gift you.”

“I might take you up on that,” she says with a sly look in her eye. “But first, we should probably clear some things between us.”

My mood sobers at her words. Well, there is that trembling spark of hope that she is serious about taking me up on my half-sarcastic offer, but I push that down.

“Did you know?” I ask, echoing my question from earlier.

“No, I didn’t,” her firm response. “But I’m not surprised.”

She pauses there, but I keep silent. I figure she is just deciding her words and how to explain. A few moments of silence proved me right.

“This sort of thing isn’t that unusual for the Guild,” she tells me. “You must know by now that the Guildmaster is a man of wealth and power. As all such men, he is not content with what he has, but seeks more.”

She sneaks a peek at me out of the corner of her eye. Seeing me looking at her, she looks away, almost guiltily.

“The ogres have been trading with us for a while now,” her story goes on. “I knew that they traded metal for things. If I had thought about it, I could have pieced together the puzzle.”

She takes a deep breath before carrying on. “I’m sure the Guildmaster wanted us to wipe them out so that he could have slaves work the mines. It would be… cheaper. I guess.”

“Isn’t there something better for us than this?!” I mutter, anger gnawing at my belly. I’m not mad at her per se, but at the situation in general.

“I know how you feel,” she murmurs, her hand resting gently on mine. “I’m an Angel. Do you think I want to be doing the Guild’s murderous bidding? I have to. Just like you, I am living one step above true slavery.”

Her words placate me a smidge. Seeking ease, I turn my hand to entwine my fingers with hers.

“Let me tell you a secret,” she whispers. Her head and body leaning across Nevasca to rest against me. “I can’t fly.”

“Why?” I ask, barely containing my brimming curiosity.

“The laws of this world,” she replies. “My bones are too thick and my wings are too small. It takes magic to fly here, and I don’t know how to use Source to make it happen. All I want is freedom.”

“I feel the same,” my words echo her sentiment. “Not about the flying. But the freedom. I feel like that’s why I came to this world in the first place. To escape the destiny set for me and to forge my own.”

I can feel her head turn toward me, and I turn mine to look her in the eyes. Our lips brush together. We both pause for a moment, and then our lips seek each other. I politely, but firmly send images to Nevasca, asking her to guard the cave entrance.

With a disgruntled growl, she gets up and paces out. Like water, our bodies fill the gap left by her absence.

My eyes closed, I can feel her hungry lips against mine. They part and a warm softness enters my mouth. Our tongues entwine. My fingers trace the line of her jaw before becoming entangled in her hair. I grip her silky soft locks at the back of her head. Pulling down, I leverage her lips upwards and rise, angling my lips and body down, to meet them.

Our bodies entangle and fall to the floor. Her lips begin to wander, as do my hands. One hand cups and hefts the firm and soft weight of her breast. My fingers tease her nipple. Her lips and tongue dance on my neck, traveling down to my collarbone where they send shivers through my body.

My other hand slides down her waist, pass those delicious dimples on her lower back. My hand reaches down to grab her well-toned ass. Her legs twist around my waist. With nervous giggles, we fumble at the buckles of our pants.

Our hours were well spent exploring each other’s bodies with the sort of carnal pleasure I had no idea an Angel would be so in to. Worries about why she would want me were dismissed as I enjoyed the moments that turned into hours. Our hunger and dire straits forgotten, we sought pleasure, and found it.

In conclusion, you would not believe the kind of leverage you can get by grabbing the base of an Angel’s wings.