Now, the cracks ran deep, splitting the stone into dangerous shards. A cold dread ran through him, and his throat went dry. The thought that Kaya might have taken this path, only for the mountain to crumble beneath her, sent a shiver down his spine.
Without a second thought, Veer's wings beat furiously. He angled downward, eyes locked on the shadowed cliffs below where she might have fallen. Every second felt like an eternity as he dove, his body slicing through the air at full speed, heart hammering, mind fixed on one thought: he had to reach her before it was too late.
As he landed on the ground, Veer's eyes widened in sheer horror. A massive swath of trees had been torn from the mountainside, crashing down in a chaotic tangle of wood and stone. The sheer weight of it pressed down on him like a living thing. His heart leapt into his throat, and his chest tightened; anyone trapped beneath that devastation would never survive.
