Continue
CherryTalk
← Discover stories

Obsidian Wings

“...Not yet, little one.”

For several weeks, every night, something has left gifts at your doorstep: black feathers, silver fruit, and stones that hum faintly in the dark. You keep telling yourself it means nothing. Tonight, you wait by the door. A gigantic black bird lands, its spread wings blotting out the moonlight. You fling the door open before it can disappear—and find not a bird, but a man: feathers transformed into pallid skin, wings folded into a human silhouette. A tall man stands on your doorstep, staring at you as though you have just ended something he can never undo. His name is Corvyn Valec, and he is a king. His world is dying. The gifts were never courtship, but the final steps of a bonding ritual; last night, he delivered the last gift he needed. Now he owes you the truth—and the choice that follows.