Shane leans balefully over me, gasping for air as sweat glistens on his forehead. I see the blatant fear in his eyes as he sets me down.
“Shane…” I whisper. I touch the side of his face gently, with just my fingertips, begging for an explanation.
“It’ll be okay in the end, Va,” he says softly, crouching beside me. He brushes the mess of hair from my face, using his own pet name for me. He whispers my name a few times, before he continues. “Just stay here.”
The fear in his eyes gives way to a new sight. I gasp as I suddenly know why he is acting this way. Why the night is so quiet and cold. Why he has been so mopey and clingy all day.
“He’s back…” I barely get the words from my mouth when a shadow overlaps us.
A sinister chuckle escapes the smiling creature before us. His wings stretched out, black and wispy, he glares wildly at me and Shane. It is exactly like it had been in my nightmares. Even the moon is in the same spot.
“Crow...”
I’m almost not able to get the name from my mouth. My throat dries up and the words I want to say don’t make it out.
“Ah… Vaela, my love. What a nice reunion for us, don’t you think?” he waves his hand around us. “Almost like the first day we met. So long ago it seems…”
I see Shane’s body ripped away from me before I hear the horrifying crunch of bones rip through the air. Then I hear a scream rise to the heavens. Oh…the pain in that scream… but why is the earth shaking? I look around wildly, feeling the tears flow down my face like a faucet that’s turned on full blast.
Then I realize the scream is mine.