Escape

“I’m going to kill them all.”

The words echoed in Ylfa’s head. One look at Jere’s face told her he meant every syllable. Her voice shook.
“W-who falls into that category…?”

His expression remained unchanged, his tone flat.
“Everyone who isn’t you.”

He was serious. He desired to kill everyone. Ylfa’s heart lurched - she had to act quickly. She threw herself forward in the dark, leaping out of bed and pressing against his chest, arms locking tightly around him. She held on with all her strength, careful to avoid the wings and the sharp blades lining their edges. Jere froze, uncertain how to respond.

“Don’t,” she whispered into his ear, her voice trembling. “Please. For me.”

His voice softened, though the confusion in it was clear.
“Why? Logically, you should hate them the most.”

His arms came up slowly, returning her embrace as she answered.
“I won’t be able to look at you the same if you slaughter them all. No matter how much I hate them.”

A pause. Then he nodded.
“Okay. I won’t. But we still need to leave. They’ll just keep coming.”

She nodded quickly.
“Okay. Let me pack my stuff.”

It didn’t take long. Their belongings amounted to little: a bundle of Ylfa’s clothes they had bought together, the bag of gems, and Jere’s MP3 player. Most fit easily into her pockets; the rest she tucked into a small shoulder bag. She gave a faint, steadying smile.
“Okay. Let’s go.”

He nodded, and they stepped into the corridor, moving quickly down the stairs.

Halfway down, a shadow detached itself from the wall with a yell, dagger flashing in the gloom. The man lunged - only to be met by the lancing thrust of Jere’s wing. The blade punched clean through his chest; he gave a strangled gasp and dropped the weapon. With a flick, Jere hurled him aside, his body slamming into the far wall.

Neither of them spoke. They pressed on, pushing through the inn’s front door - straight into an ambush. Shapes melted out of the darkness, a dozen or more assailants raising their weapons as war cries split the night.

A fireball seared across the cobblestones. With a blinding flash and a thunderous detonation, the attackers vanished in smoke and flame.

Ylfa glanced at Jere, her voice firm.
“Let’s go.”

He nodded, folding his wings partway to let her slip around and cling to his neck. Then, with a single powerful beat, he launched them skyward. The night wind tore past as they climbed higher and higher, the burning street and their enemies shrinking below.

They travelled in silence until the city faded into the distance. The rushing wind tugged at Ylfa’s ears and pressed her bag flat against her body. She pulled herself closer, mouth near Jere’s ear to be heard over the slipstream.
“Where are we going to go?”

Jere’s processors had been running scenarios since they’d taken flight, but no conclusion satisfied him.
“I don’t know. Do you know anywhere?”

She thought for a moment before shaking her head.
“Only rumours of safe havens. Nothing certain.”

He nodded once.
“Where are these rumoured places?”

She sighed.
“No one knows. Supposedly, you just wander until you find one.”

“Then we might as well try.” His tone was flat, decisive. “There’s nowhere else?”

“Not if the King has put a bounty on our heads,” she said quietly. “And whatever reward he’s offered… it’s enough to make people forget their fear.”

He nodded again. He’d questioned the same thing. If people were attacking them with kitchen knives in the dead of night, then the price on their heads had to be enormous - enough to drown out caution, enough to stoke old hatreds until murder seemed the only path forward.

Jere adjusted his course, wings tilting slightly. His map showed swathes of empty terrain - no towns, no markers, just blank space. Logically, if something was hidden, it would be there. The trouble was there were too many blank spaces. He selected the largest and angled toward it in a wide, steady arc.

Ylfa let out a sigh near his ear.
“What are we going to do? It’s us against the world.”

His gaze stayed fixed ahead, but his voice was softer than usual.
“I don’t know. I guess we only have each other from here on out.”

Her heart skipped. She stammered, a blush heating her cheeks despite the rushing wind.
“Y-yeah. Just you and me.”

Then she sighed again, but this time the sound was light, almost happy.
“Maybe this won’t be so bad.”

He didn’t answer, processors turning her words over and over. He didn’t understand the source of her sudden contentment, but something in him liked the thought of being alone with her. He couldn’t place why, but the pieces were starting to connect.

The sun rose, painting the land below in long shadows. Ylfa watched it with half-lidded eyes, content to simply cling to Jere’s neck. She wasn’t hungry - she’d eaten well the night before - and her kind didn’t need much food to begin with. Magic energy sustained her thirst. The sky stretched above them, pale and empty, not a cloud in sight.

Then a sudden gust slammed into them. Ylfa clutched tighter as turbulence rippled through Jere’s wings. They flexed and twisted, countering the invisible currents. Another violent jolt shook him mid-beat. Ylfa gasped - her arms slipped loose.

Her breath caught, her face went numb, and then there was nothing beneath her.

She fell.

Air roared past her ears, flipping her over and over until the ground steadied in her vision - a vast green canopy rushing closer. She screamed, her voice snatched away by the wind, mind rattling between panic and disbelief. She fought for control, arms flailing, but there was nothing to grab, no handhold in the endless sky.

A sharp cry split the air above. Ylfa glanced up just in time to see a black shadow slash overhead, wings knifing through the light. A second passed. Then another.

And then - sudden, wrenching force. Her body jerked sideways, fall transforming into flight. Strong arms locked around her waist. Her back pressed against solid warmth. Jere’s face appeared above hers, upside down in her vision, eyes steady despite the wind.

“Are you alright?”

She dragged in several shaky breaths. Even speaking was hard against the rush of air.
“Y-yeah… I’m okay. Th-thank you.”

He nodded, attention flicking back to his wings as he stabilized their flight. But something foreign pulsed through him, demanding notice. His heart thundered. His blood had gone cold in the instant she slipped, his face numb. He had never known such a sensation.

He glanced down at her again.
“You wouldn’t happen to know what it’s called… when your face goes numb like that?”

Her lips curved faintly.
“That’s fear.”

He processed it, tested the word against the feeling. It fit.

“Were you scared for me?” she asked, eyes searching his.

He thought for a beat, then nodded. She was right. He had been terrified of losing her.

Her smile softened into something warmer, brighter.
“That’s good to know. I like knowing someone cares about me.”

He tightened his grip on her, almost unconsciously. His processors logged it away as fact: he did not want to lose her. Ever.

A giggle bubbled out of Ylfa, shaky but genuine as she tried to mask the tremor still lingering in her own body.
“You know, if you wanted me in your arms, you only had to ask.”

He blinked, uncertain how to respond.

She only smiled, sighing into the wind.
“One day you’ll understand.”

He nodded. He wanted to. But she wasn’t going to hand him the answer. He would have to find it himself.

By the time the sun stood high overhead, Jere’s eyes hadn’t left the ground. He scanned every patch of land, every shadow between trees. He didn’t know what he was searching for, only that he had to keep looking.

His arms remained wrapped firmly around Ylfa’s middle. It was only after hours of holding her that his processors fully registered the detail: his hands were against bare skin, fitting perfectly into the space between her cropped top and skirt. Heat flooded his chest. His heart stuttered, racing. His face burned.

He didn’t say a word. Luckily, Ylfa hadn’t reacted. At least, not outwardly. In truth, she was just as flustered. His arms felt impossibly strong against her, his touch steady even as the wind buffeted them. She bit her lip, keeping her thoughts to herself. Maybe - just maybe - it was affecting him too. She hoped so.

They flew on in silence until Jere broke it, voice carried by the rushing air.
“There are demons attacking something down there.”

Ylfa squinted, following his gaze. Far below, the forest parted around a winding road, where only tiny specks marked a struggle.
“What’s going on?”

His eyes narrowed, sensors sharpening the scene.
“There’s a string of horse-drawn carriages. Most of them are destroyed. The horses are dead. Bodies everywhere. A handful of knights are trying to protect a woman and a child. They’re surrounded. A pack of imps - eight of them.”

She couldn’t see what he did, but the words were enough. Her breath caught.
“We should save them.”

Jere turned his head, surprise flickering in his expression.
“Save them?”

She nodded firmly.
“Yeah. Save them.”

He frowned, puzzled.
“Why?”

“Because there’s a mother and child about to die down there!”

He stared at her, helpless, as if the reasoning didn’t compute.
“Why does that matter to you?”

Her ears flattened. She nearly growled his name.
“Jere.”

That alone was enough. He nodded once.
“Alright. We’ll go rescue them.”

Without another word he rolled inverted, wings snapping open as he tipped into the dive. They dropped soundlessly, a black shadow racing down toward the chaos below.