Windswept (The Airborne Saga)

by Constance Sharper

  She started slowly, propping herself up on her elbows and bringing herself closer to Mason’s face. Lifting an arm, she touched his chest as casually as she could but the feel of burning skin suddenly underneath her fingertips couldn’t have been that calming.

  “Aren’t we supposed to be going to sleep?” She traced her fingertips down the expanse of his chest. It was much firmer than she would have pinned for the boy being so thin and light.

  Mason leaned back, smirk leaving him, and the spark diminishing from his eyes. He’d thought he’d won. He’d thought he’d hit her breaking point.

  “Come on.” He made a gesture for her to straighten out and become more comfortable in a position that she’d actually sleep in. Avery didn’t.

  Taking one last breath, she mustered the next words.

  “What? You don’t expect me to sleep like this, do you?” The question almost sounded innocent. But she moved quickly. Grabbing the bottom of the cotton hem on her shirt, she pulled the fabric quickly over her head. The cool air current of the room rushed her but it probably wasn’t the only thing that made her skin prickle.

  Mason had seen her once before, when they were in a cave struggling to survive. Contrary to romance movies, nothing about staving off death at the time made it a hot scenario. But here in a bed—that was actually comfortable—with the boy she was dating, the gesture would be totally different.

  She didn’t meet his eyes but didn’t have to when she felt his gaze. She still wore a bra but not much of one, a lacy sheer thing that she’d picked specially a long while back.

  “Avery,” Mason suddenly croaked. She heard the difference in his voice, but looked up to confirm it. Mason had totally been thrown off guard. There was no cocky smirk left in him, but was taken over by a total gaping shock.

  A new rush of adrenaline slipped through her veins with a sweet aftermath. She’d definitely done it and still managed to leave him virtually speechless. Going in for the kill, Avery mustered her best cocky smile.

  “Too much?” she asked him.

  “Uh. Avery. You. I. Uh. Avery, you’re still hurt…” It hardly sounded strong or even believable. It was probably the only thing that Mason could manage to say, but Avery took it the wrong way anyways. Shooting up to a sitting position, she groaned at him again.

  “Mason, really?” She couldn’t get out another word. Mason finally did move, but this time it wasn’t in the wrong direction. He caught her in a kiss instantly, but kept up the momentum until she was pressed back against the sheets. Mason shifted quickly, his body now positioned on top of her and the abrupt feel of their skin pressed together came with it.

  Avery let out the breath she’d been holding when Mason turned his kisses to her neck, but it didn’t do much for her nerves. His hands kept moving, this time greedily roaming her exposed flesh. It brought every nerve to attention and warmed her body.

  Something did cross Avery’s mind. The situation was becoming hot and heavy and she could stop it now, before it got out of hand. This situation was something she probably should stop. But then on the other hand, Avery could only think about one thing. It was about time.

  Mason moved back up to her lips but sick of being passive, she raised her hips up against him. He let out a guttural moan in response. Shifting upward, she went to unclasp the bra that remained the only fabric between them on the top half of their bodies.

  Their eyes met again when she did and she could see for the first time, Mason asking direction. Maybe he didn’t know his way around a human girl. Maybe he didn’t want to ruin anything without her guidance.

  She shifted her hips again and this spurred him into actions. He found her lips, her cheeks, her chin and neck. As his lips slipped down to her newly exposed flesh, she screamed.

  Mason jerked backwards and crashed into the bed banister. Avery wobbled free, but the pain hadn’t gone. Her mind took a moment to catch up with the nauseating sensation that had rushed through her. A strong surge of the Willow magic had shocked her and remained radiating in her fingertips. But her mind clicked over to reach the second conclusion. The magic hadn’t come from her and she glanced at Mason.

  His face had also washed out white.

  “Eva,” he said.

  The ground suddenly rumbled and dust exploded from the cream ceilings. Chandeliers jangled with deafening force and the sound reminded Avery how to move. She dove for her shirt on the floor. Just as she clutched the fabric in her hands, the door shot up and spread across the floor as splinters of wood. The Guard rushed in. Fearing she’d be trampled, Avery dove to the corner.

  “Avery!” Mason barked her name as the Guard dove on him. In some semblance of a circle, they yanked and maneuvered him towards the door.

  Not a single one of the Guard ever looked towards Avery. But then she wasn’t the Prince. Slipping the shirt over her head, she then followed the bumbling crowd outside. The Guard’s wings all snapped open. They planned to go airborne.

  “Take Avery too,” Mason was demanding. “Avery, get over here!”

  His order came just as the waves of willow magic continued pulsing through the atmosphere. Wherever Eva was, she was using the magic strongly—too strongly. The results could be deadly to Eva eventually, potentially to Avery and Mason in the meantime. Those thoughts didn’t escape her when the ground beneath them vibrated from unseen chaos.

  She held her hand out but couldn’t break the circle without getting a certain injury.

  “We can’t bring her,” one of the Guard chirped. “You know why. Your Majesty, we need to get you to safety now, worry about the human later!”

  “Mason?” Avery reluctantly backed up. The harpies were catching wind and this many would probably cause a hurricane.

  “Damnit! Avery, she’s after you! Avery, she’s been asking for you!” Mason yelled. Avery didn’t hear anything more. When the first harpies took off, she couldn’t hear anything but the rest joining in suit. Mason probably wasn’t even flying himself but being dragged along by that many chaperones, he didn’t have a choice. Backpedaling again, she fell onto her backside in the dirt. It was the first time she became truly aware of her surroundings now and the words she’d just absorbed.

  Eva wanted her.

  This side of the mountain was empty. Night in the sky, only the weak light from the building lit up the area. The harpies disappeared and Avery really recognized that she was alone. Scrambling to her feet, she braced herself. The Willow magic always gave out an aura, especially when being used. So in theory, Avery should feel her coming.

  She closed her eyes and focused. The area had gone quiet. Even in the distance, she couldn’t hear panic and noise. The silence should have helped her concentrate but instead just made her impatient. Was Mason coming back? Had Eva taken off after him? And why did Eva even want Avery? It seemed a bit too reminiscent of Adalyn—this was what Adalyn had probably even warned her about. They’d take Avery first, and then go for Mason.

  Her feet made her move, and her head followed on a swivel. She finally felt the magic. But rather than nauseating waves, she felt weak traces until it led her straight to the raven-haired women.

  Eva was Mason’s sister, a notorious outlaw, and the woman who had once saved Avery’s life. She hovered near the deep crevasse, legs thrown over, as she rocked her body. Face turned away from Avery, Avery couldn’t see much besides bloodied wings where shackles had been.

  “Eva.” Avery said against her better judgment. Something made her say it though. Something about the situation just wasn’t right.

  “You… what have you done?” The voice was dark and raspy. The coldness in it made Avery stiff.

  “What?”

  “This magic. This was a mistake. But I had seen you. We’d all seen you—oh using it so very well. You didn’t see this coming though? Didn’t warn us? This magic is decomposing within my very body.” Eva shot up and turned towards Avery. Her mud-smeared face and furious green eyes were nothing against the black-webbed tattoo that peeke
d out beneath her clothes.

  “What do you mean decomposing?”

  “You tell me.” Eva gave her a pointed look. At least the women hadn’t rushed to attack. Her magic still pulsed but in an oddly controlled way. Like the simmering after the boiling. “I can barely feel your magic anymore. I can’t see it. I bet you can’t even use it. You’ve had this the longest—whatever is happening to us all will happen to you first.”

  “No. I just overused it. It’s just…” Avery’s argument faltered. Eva had begun to pace. Avery braced herself but Eva was right about one thing, she couldn’t fight. She couldn’t feel her own Willow magic and nothing to match the levels that she was throwing off. She had wit but that hadn’t been going too well yet. She shifted to face the harpie as the harpie circled.

  “Is that what you’ve been telling everyone? Are you trying to stop them from killing you? Oh now, once they find out you can’t defend yourself.”

  “But not you” —Avery caught onto something and kept on—“because soon you’ll have my same problem. You can’t control the Band like that. I guess the magic didn’t reset every time it changed persons, huh?”

  “I still have so much longer than you. And Mason. Our bloody royal line should, for once, help us instead of getting us killed.”

  The distinctive sound of wings could be heard in the distance. Knowing time was running out, Avery jabbed in one last question.

  “Why were you asking for me?”

  “I was hoping you had answers. I was hoping you had hope. But you have neither, do you? Adalyn warned you, right? Better heed it, girlie. You will be the first to die.

  Avery heard the very last comment. And that’s when the harpies attacked.

  Ten

  They dive-bombed, slashing and swooping at the same time. Avery sprung backwards and felt the rush of wind as they skirted over her. Eva didn’t stay in the position to be a waiting target. For her sluggish and slow movements earlier, the woman was quick to dart backwards. Avery felt it all the way through her navel when Eva summoned a jolt of Willow magic. She threw it out in the air and knocked the attacking harpies right out of the sky.

  One of those harpies landed next to Avery with crimson tarnishing his blue suit from the rough landing. The other corrected and went back in for the attack. Suddenly urging her feet to obey, she stood and reached the fallen harpie’s side. This much Willow magic would level the town. Her fingers barely grazed the rough fabric of his collar before the harpie’s eyes snapped open. His hands lashed out and caught Avery. She yelped when the talons dug in and the harpie jolted to a stand dragging Avery along like a rag doll.

  “Lemme go. I’m not the enemy!” she yelled. In the corner of her eye she saw Eva take flight. The harpie was trying to escape, the other police not letting her, and that meant Eva would be desperate in the next few moments. Her gut turned again from the stirring of magic. She pulled her wrist more frantically. “I’m human. I’m Avery. Mason’s Avery!”

  His brown eyes concentrated on her but the thoughts behind them remained indistinguishable. The sweat on his twitching brow and the intensity of his stare convinced Avery the harpie wasn’t on this same planet. Just before Avery could get another word in, his head abruptly swiveled. She followed his erratic stare but saw nothing but other than the harpies battling in the sky. He moved before she got the chance to turn back around.

  “Hey,” she barked when he pushed her. She backpedaled but when the back of her heel met nothing but air, her heart stopped. He’d pushed her forward and knocked her into the crevasse. She didn’t get the chance to scream when she plummeted, or when her knees met the jagged deformity in the mountain. It brought her to a quick halt with a surge of agony. She rolled on her back as a gasping cry escaped her.

  A face poked over the edge, and she quieted immediately. The harpie that had knocked her in followed her expected path with his eyes. Something instinctual made her stay not only silent but to edge up against the rock wall the best she could. She’d maybe fallen...ten feet? Twenty? Enough that the darkness of the hole would shade her while the lights of the starry night had the harpie stand out.

  Too afraid to move enough to cradle her knees, she waited. The Willow magic in her body once healed her, helped her become something almost superhuman. The ache that remained in her bones was unusual, and it scared her. She felt one more tug in her chest, but it wasn’t her use of the magic. Eva shot off another blast and she heard the impact, the scream of police harpies. Nothing was left but silence.

  Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited. Wings at a time like this would have been perfect. She had to sit and wait. The pain was making her dizzy. The quiet was making her uneasy. A seeming eternity passed until she heard the call for help. It came in a voice barely recognizable.

  “Don’t budge,” he said and swept her out of the crevasse. Only after unclear minutes of flying did she recognize him.

  “Mr. Anti-social Guard member.” She smiled at that, but it could have just been from the delusional fog that was starting to eat away at her head. The comment made him look more concerned than angry.

  “My name is Leon. And it’s just part of my duty to keep my allegiances only to protecting our Prince, Ms. Zane. It’s nothing personal.”

  “Our Prince, huh? Where is he? Are you bringing me to him?” She stole a glance backwards but regretted it immediately. This was not the height for her stomach to stay intact.

  “He was taken to another safe location. Eva has escaped, but I suspect she won’t be returning.”

  “Yeah, I suspect.” But that wasn’t what bothered Avery. “I’m glad you guys thought about coming back.”

  “I’m sorry,” he actually apologized as the first part of his speech. “But it is our job. In the light of the threat and the area, we must secure the Prince first. Prince Mason demanded enough I rushed here immediately after.”

  “Thanks. I guess. If you tell off the cop that threw me into the ravine straight...he had a better shot at killing me than Eva.”

  Leon’s eyes connected with hers but moved on quickly.

  “Not every officer here is so well versed in your identity. It was a mistake...but I’ll be sure to see he’s reprimanded for his careless conduct.” Though he spoke in a polite way, his words never left much room to argue. It hadn’t seemed like a mistake when the harpie tossed her backwards but to be fair, if he’d been trying to kill her, there were much more effective ways than that. She forced herself to put it out of her mind and it wasn’t very hard. When Leon landed them, Mason was on her.

  She yelped with the ambush, but recognizing his arms and scent around her, she calmed. Mason pulled away and stared her down.

  “You’re an idiot,” he hissed.

  “Thanks for the concern,” she snipped but regretted it. The pain showed clearly in his eyes and his hands on her shoulders loosened considerably.

  “Look, I’m okay. I’m alive,” she amended carefully. The disbelief stayed clear on his face, but he turned and led her by the hand. The safe location Leon had spoken of was essentially a hole in the ground. Cinderblock walls built into the foot of the mountain, it wasn’t terribly far off from the actual city. The exits were more easily controllable and the structure probably stronger. Mason led her down an incline, passed the Guard members that stood at alert, and through a door.

  “This place is laced with magic,” Mason said the second before Avery felt it. The aura of magic came in the form of a wave of nausea that came and went at the doorway. Inside, the small building was nothing more than a room. Only one Guard member stood inside and faced the walls providing some sentiment of privacy. With Mason’s help, Avery wobbled into the chair and hissed when her muscles relaxed again.

  “What happened? What did you hurt?” His eyes were on her again but his hands hovered in the air, uncertain.

  “Just a rough landing on my back. Seriously Mason, it was just a good jolt. Nothing that I need to go to the hospital over.” She’d brush it off just so he would. Ac
hes and pains were familiar in this life, though the fact that it was sticking around longer than usual was a bummer.

  Mason finally settled on his knees before her and his wings crossed behind him.

  “Avery...”

  “When were you planning to tell me Eva was looking for me?”

  “Never! Avery...”

  “What happened to this being a team? Seems like something I should know. Especially when the Guard’s going to leave me to have a chat with her.”

  “Avery!” His tone spiked so suddenly that even the Guard member looked over. She shut her mouth with a click feeling the heavy atmosphere of tension join the room. “Don’t you dare accuse me of allowing something like this to happen again. I am so angry with the Guard for leaving you behind. But I am equally angry at you for being an idiot and running out of the house and after Eva. I told you she’d be looking for you to prevent such stupid behavior.