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Evalle finished removing her clothes.
Haloke’s chant played in the gentle wind. The seer had said Evalle had to first shed her garments to be free of all restraint, which made sense before she met her gryphon again.
Shifting naked made the transition easier.
Next, she had to peel her inner being to the core, to find the true Evalle. Doing that reminded her what Adrianna called meditation.
Evalle had never been so at peace.
Her mind grasped a thought and let it go just as easily.
The world stretched far below her in a beautiful canyon, begging her to join the eagle. Air swirled around her in a hazy gray light getting brighter every few seconds.
Who are you, Evalle? Haloke’s voice asked all around her.
“I am me. I am Belador. I am Storm’s mate.”
Words swirled, flowing in and out of her head in Haloke’s voice. The seer had said she wouldn’t leave Evalle, that she’d be with her to the end.
What end?
Evalle waited for an answer, but Haloke’s voice filled her head again. You must not interrupt the healing, Evalle. This will only work once. You want to fly, right?
“Yes, I want to fly. I want to bond. I want to shift into my gryphon ... ” Evalle murmured, repeating the things Haloke had chanted with her until the desire took on a life.
A river of calm moved steadily through her chest, splitting off and pooling in her arms and legs. Warm air caressed her skin. Loose hair teased her face.
Evalle peered over the edge of the cliff into what Haloke had called the Grand Canyon and awaited her destiny.
Light continued to soften the darkness, just enough for her vision to make out the wide gulf of air between her and the cliffs she faced across the canyon. Still blurry, but that would clear up. The seer had said so.
A warning niggled at her.
Why? She closed her eyes with nothing to fear standing here with her body and soul free of the world.
No more fear.
That felt so good.
Haloke said to face her fears is to defeat them.
Must be true. Evalle had been scared of heights in the past but look at her now.
Opening her eyes, she glanced up, drawn to the silhouette of a lone eagle gliding across a sky on the edge of morning.
Evalle stood ready. She could only give rise to her gryphon at the rebirth of a new day.
Haloke had promised she’d soar under the sun’s warmth.
Sun. That word disturbed her thoughts.
She tried to push past her mental fog. Why should she worry about the sun? It gave life to plants, animals, and birds.
Gryphons, too.
The eagle called out, drawing her gaze back to the beautiful bird. Time to concentrate on the bird. Haloke said it would lead the way.
Her toes curled over the rock ledge.
Evalle opened her arms wide, unable to contain her excitement as the eagle banked left then right before heading toward her.
