The wind screamed past Althea's ears as the ground rushed up to meet her.
She had maybe three seconds before the fall became irreversible. Her female elemental soul mass was tumbling alongside her, still partially formed, arms flailing as the dispersion of the Owl disrupted the careful equilibrium of energy Althea had maintained. Althea reached out through her soul, grasping for the Owl's mass as hard as she could, but found nothing. That channel was dead. Whatever Elias had done to it had been thorough.
Just as she was wondering how she would tackle her fall, something large and warm slammed into her from the side, knocking the remaining breath from her lungs.
