heavily padded feet and a deep-throated growl.
Her body was first to react; her heart beat faster, her lungs were harder to fill. Even though she was afraid of what was before her, separating her from freedom, she had to look. And when her gaze met the bright yellow eyes of a large Hellhound, she screamed.
Stumbling backwards, she clawed at the ground trying to find something to help her up. The hound pressed ever nearer. This was it; she was so close to freedom, and now she was going to die. Lark dove into her side, gaining her attention, and then flew out an opening in the side of the cave. She struggled to her feet and began climbing the side of the wall following after him.
There was no need to turn around to see if the hound was close. She could smell his putrid stench and hear his loud breathing. Finding the last of her courage to fuel her climb, she made it to the opening and pulled herself out. The grey claws of the beast pulled at her leg, threatening to drag her back down. She kicked at him and caught him square in the jaw. Yellow teeth snarled and snapped at her as the beast tried to shove his large muzzle through the opening.
With the guard’s sword, Sollara swung at the beast and caught his jaw. He howled in pain and pulled his head back into the cave. Sollara turned and ran, knowing she only had a few moments to gain an advance. Her best chance of freedom now was flight not fight.
Even though she had seen it before, the beauty of the sky was still so raw for her. It was how she pictured the afterlife to be — so full of endless possibilities and wonders that no one would ever be able to see and do everything. The splendor of it was almost enough to stop her in her tracks. But she knew she had to keep going; she needed to taste freedom before she could truly enjoy beauty.
The blur of blue skies, green trees, and large boulders swirled around her as she ran down the slopes of the mountain. They were now descending what had taken them the last few hours to climb.
She ran behind Lark until the sky started changing colors. The breathtaking beauty of it stopped her. She had read about sunsets but never had imagined them to be so alive. The thought of losing light seemed so depressing — like her life had been in the Deep Kingdom. But this was not at all what she had imagined it to be. She climbed up one of the nearby boulders, scouring the area to see if the guards had followed them. When she couldn't see anyone, she allowed herself to mentally relax, crouching down for extra precaution.
The sky turned from light blue to hues of pink, then exploded in an array of every color imaginable. Sollara thought whatever god was tasked to paint the evening sky was a genius. It was more beautiful than any of the original works of art adorning the walls of the Deep Kingdom.
Her senses were working overtime. Everywhere she looked she was s urprised to see something new — n ew tastes, new sounds, new smells. She wondered how people got anything done when such beauty surrounded them. The darkness overtook the light, and soon the starry sky was glistening before her very eyes. She didn't know which sky was more striking, the one of day or the one of night. As she watched she started to cry, overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. Tears came as she lay back and fell under the immensity of the sky.
She laughed as she wondered what someone would think if they saw her sprawled on the top of a boulder crying.
Lark rested next to her on the branch of a tree that hung over a portion of the rock. He twitched his head from side to side as he watched the vast collection of her expressions.
“Isn't it just so beautiful?” she asked.
The Lark didn’t budge at the question but stayed nestled into the nook of a branch and stared down at her.
“I can’t wait to see Asima.”
He perked up his head and tilted it toward her, as if the mention of Asima had upset him. She was going to ask him what happened between them, but a
Her body was first to react; her heart beat faster, her lungs were harder to fill. Even though she was afraid of what was before her, separating her from freedom, she had to look. And when her gaze met the bright yellow eyes of a large Hellhound, she screamed.
Stumbling backwards, she clawed at the ground trying to find something to help her up. The hound pressed ever nearer. This was it; she was so close to freedom, and now she was going to die. Lark dove into her side, gaining her attention, and then flew out an opening in the side of the cave. She struggled to her feet and began climbing the side of the wall following after him.
There was no need to turn around to see if the hound was close. She could smell his putrid stench and hear his loud breathing. Finding the last of her courage to fuel her climb, she made it to the opening and pulled herself out. The grey claws of the beast pulled at her leg, threatening to drag her back down. She kicked at him and caught him square in the jaw. Yellow teeth snarled and snapped at her as the beast tried to shove his large muzzle through the opening.
With the guard’s sword, Sollara swung at the beast and caught his jaw. He howled in pain and pulled his head back into the cave. Sollara turned and ran, knowing she only had a few moments to gain an advance. Her best chance of freedom now was flight not fight.
Even though she had seen it before, the beauty of the sky was still so raw for her. It was how she pictured the afterlife to be — so full of endless possibilities and wonders that no one would ever be able to see and do everything. The splendor of it was almost enough to stop her in her tracks. But she knew she had to keep going; she needed to taste freedom before she could truly enjoy beauty.
The blur of blue skies, green trees, and large boulders swirled around her as she ran down the slopes of the mountain. They were now descending what had taken them the last few hours to climb.
She ran behind Lark until the sky started changing colors. The breathtaking beauty of it stopped her. She had read about sunsets but never had imagined them to be so alive. The thought of losing light seemed so depressing — like her life had been in the Deep Kingdom. But this was not at all what she had imagined it to be. She climbed up one of the nearby boulders, scouring the area to see if the guards had followed them. When she couldn't see anyone, she allowed herself to mentally relax, crouching down for extra precaution.
The sky turned from light blue to hues of pink, then exploded in an array of every color imaginable. Sollara thought whatever god was tasked to paint the evening sky was a genius. It was more beautiful than any of the original works of art adorning the walls of the Deep Kingdom.
Her senses were working overtime. Everywhere she looked she was s urprised to see something new — n ew tastes, new sounds, new smells. She wondered how people got anything done when such beauty surrounded them. The darkness overtook the light, and soon the starry sky was glistening before her very eyes. She didn't know which sky was more striking, the one of day or the one of night. As she watched she started to cry, overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. Tears came as she lay back and fell under the immensity of the sky.
She laughed as she wondered what someone would think if they saw her sprawled on the top of a boulder crying.
Lark rested next to her on the branch of a tree that hung over a portion of the rock. He twitched his head from side to side as he watched the vast collection of her expressions.
“Isn't it just so beautiful?” she asked.
The Lark didn’t budge at the question but stayed nestled into the nook of a branch and stared down at her.
“I can’t wait to see Asima.”
He perked up his head and tilted it toward her, as if the mention of Asima had upset him. She was going to ask him what happened between them, but a
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