Rain lashed against her, soaking through tattered clothes, plastering her hair to her face. At last her strength gave out and she crumpled to the ground, her eyes fluttering shut. Thunder clapped in the distance, and the droplets traced down her face, blending with the blood and dirt.
Exhaustion took over, her mind slipping between clarity and darkness. In that haze, a familiar, gentle voice rose from memory. It was Gidion, answering the question she’d once asked.
“Ravens… aren’t they beautiful, intelligent creatures?” he had said. “One of the few animals that mate for life. Their love is eternal.”
“Eternal?” she remembered scoffing. “I find that hard to believe. Did you ever really believe it?”
“I’d like to hope,” he had replied. “And maybe, one day, you’ll see it too. A love that can survive any test.”
“But isn’t there only one Greed? One Raven?” she’d challenged. “I still don’t understand the point.”
Gidion’s playful ease had faded then. He’d lowered his gaze, the smile slipping away. “I hadn’t expected this, Your Highness… that one day you’d ask all the right questions. That one day we would…”
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
He stopped himself, swallowing whatever words remained. “It seems I wasn’t wrong about you, after all.”
She recalled narrowing her eyes in frustration. “For once, could you please just give me a straight answer?”
“Straightforward?” He had chuckled softly. “Now, what was the word… utterly boring, Your Highness?”
She had glared.
But his teasing grin had quickly vanished into an unusually solemn expression. “Your Highness, I’m sure you’ll know what to do when the time comes.”
When the time comes…
Eydis’s eyes snapped open to the present, her heart pounding as the rain continued to fall. What did you mean by that? she thought. Know what to do… when?
Ravens. A pair, mated for life. Eternally bound… eternally trapped.
Had this all been meant to happen? The creation of another Greed, two halves bound as one, was this what he’d intended all along? Had he always known she’d have to bind it this way?
The sounds of soft footsteps against damp grass jolted her alert. Ignoring the hot stab of pain in her abdomen, Eydis forced herself upright. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes found a figure emerging through the curtain of rain.
It couldn’t be…
Eyes like blood.
Like rubies.
Like roses in full bloom.
Like Astra’s.
The rain streaked down her face. Her lavender dress clung to her form, darkened by the storm, yet she seemed unbothered, untouched by the cold or the weight of the rain.
In her hands she gripped twin blades that gleamed like diamond. Hard. Droplets of water rolled along the blades and gathered at their tips.
Drip.
I'm curious, what's your favourite Sin?
