Carina curled into a small, tight ball and cursed herself. She was not this weak, could not be this weak. Everything rested on her, and she was ready to fall for someone over a little bit of wing preening. That could not be, she could not allow herself to be Carina. She was the Soul of the Flight and that was all she would ever be.

Ishaan slid closer to her, and she felt his fingers on her feathers, gently digging in and straightening them. “Come back, Carina. I can feel you, ...