by Rachel Jonas
I stared at two streaks of fire in the sky, Elise and Dallas. He chased after her and the sight of it made me so much more anxious to get up there on my own.
“Hold on tight,” Liam instructed, lifting my arms to his neck where I gripped him, knowing I’d need to if his takeoff was anything like Elise’s.
I stepped closer, chest to chest, face to face, body to body, feeling the smooth heat of his shoulders as I clung to them. My eyes followed his when he lowered just a few inches and I noted the devilish grin he wore just before the backs of my thighs warmed. His palms pressed into them as he hiked me up off the ground, locking my legs around his waist. The movement made a breath hitch in my throat, but my gaze never left his.
My heart thundered in my chest. Or maybe it was his. We were so close it became impossible to tell one from the other. That was us—a tangle of warm flesh, scorching emotion, and thundering hearts.
“Don’t let go. Getting off the ground can be kinda rough,” he warned, grazing my ear with a breath. “Then again ... I can’t recall rough ever being a problem for you.”
The words registered, but I barely had a chance to take note of their double meaning when the ground disappeared from beneath my feet. Snow-topped trees became greenish-gray smudges, roads reduced to winding streaks of dark thread. My stomach sank at the feel of being flung into the air, weightless.
“Breathe,” he said against my ear, making me aware that I hadn’t exhaled since leaving the ground.
My arms cinched his neck, forcing my cheek against his. The only thing that kept me from plummeting to the ground was his unwavering embrace—solid arms locked around my back, squeezing me to his bare chest.
Following the surge of power that went into getting us off the ground, it was easy to feel the instant we slowed, losing momentum as gravity took hold of us again. That churning in my stomach was back tenfold. Liam must have felt my body tense against his because he spoke to calm me, more whispered words, so soft they made no sense amidst this otherworldly experience.
“I’ve got you,” he promised, forcing me to suspend reality a moment as we drifted back toward Earth, sinking like stones in water.
When he first came back into my life, before I accepted that we were timeless, he often asked me to trust him. And I did. With my life, my future, my heart. So, despite feeling it’d be perfectly okay to panic right now, I didn’t. Because he had my trust now even without having to ask.
One word fell from his lips, one that sparked confusion. “Ready?”
Unable to speak, I only nodded, waiting with great anticipation. What more could he possibly show me? What more was there than flying?
And then, I got it, understood fully why he posed the question.
Brilliant orange and white light seeped through my closed lids, and when I opened them … beautiful.
Large wings that spanned nearly twenty-feet commanded the wind, moved it to-and-fro with authority. This space between heaven and Earth, it belonged to us. Heat cut through the cold, warming my face with every burst of movement. The elegance had me in awe, trying to imagine myself possessing something so stunning.
We reached the peak of Liam’s intended flying height. As we leveled off, the ground was no longer beneath my feet, but beneath my back. So I’d feel secure as he hovered above me, those solid arms were like bricks now, rigid as they locked me in. I’d never felt so alive, never more free than miles above the ground. It was a rush, like adrenaline times a thousand. My breathing was wild and erratic. Not from fear.
From excitement.
My face rested in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent—still potent to my heightened senses even as air whipped around us at a greater speed than I’d ever traveled. One might think the experience would be disorienting, but it was the opposite.
I was more aware of my dragon, more aware of Liam.
Especially … Liam.
He didn’t flinch when my mouth brushed the tender flesh beneath his ear, feeling his pulse surge against my lips on contact. They trailed the length of his broad jaw, desperately seeking more, suddenly needing to be closer. The motion was slow and unhurried, unrushed despite being in flight. When I found his lips, he released a tightly wound breath that breezed over me, telling of how much he was holding back, contradicting the incredible willpower he seemed to possess in every moment except this one.
We were weightless, drifting in this space like nothing else mattered. Because it didn’t. Our physical limbo mirrored that which we existed in emotionally every day—two hearts sure of the love they share, desperate to reconnect after so many years had been stolen away.
A tug to my bottom lip followed the sensation of teeth lightly grazing it. A jolt coursed through my limbs—a deepening hunger for him when I hadn’t realized such a thing was even possible.
He spoke and I swallowed the words greedily. “Are you ready?”
My head swirled and intentions were relative at the moment. Hence the reason I moaned a misguided, “Mmm hmm,” against his lips.
It was the sound of his deep laugh vibrating in his throat that alerted me we were talking about two totally different things.
“I’m asking if you’re ready to fly solo,” he clarified.
I should have been embarrassed he’d so thoroughly turned my head into a marvelous mess … but I wasn’t. There was no shame in feeling the way I felt for him. After all, we were mated and he was, technically, mine anyway.
Slightly more sober, I forced myself to abandon the kiss. Still, I couldn’t speak and only nodded against his cheek.
“Ok, good. When you’re ready … I’m gonna let go.”
That made my heart race even more than it already was. “You mean … we’re doing this way up here? We’re not starting on the ground?”
He shook his head. “It’d be too hard to synch up with you quickly enough if something were to go wrong. For now, just don’t let go and focus on bringing out your wings. I have to move my arms out of the way.”
I didn’t even know where to begin, but nodded anyway. He waited a moment before releasing me, but then cool air replaced his warm embrace. It was time for me to give this a try. I wriggled my back muscles, thinking I’d feel something instinctual that would help. But there was nothing—no feeling, no wings.
“It’s not working,” I sighed.
“It might be easier if you shift,” he suggested, but I didn’t want that.
He was … well … him. No flames to speak of aside from his wings. I wanted to know how to control my shift the way he could, choosing to allow certain parts of my body to burn while others didn’t.
“Okay,” he agreed, “but it’ll be harder that way.”
That was fine with me.
“Call up your dragon,” he instructed. The term made me imagine myself summoning her from a dark corner, seeing the faint light of her flames as they came into view, growing brighter with each step.
“Now, let her show you,” he went on. “Everything doesn’t have to be logical. In fact, the less things make sense, the better.”
I smiled at that, unable to help acknowledging how that statement also applied to the two of us.
“She’ll guide you if you let her.”
I closed my eyes again, surrendering to that side of myself, allowing the dragon within total control. I made a request and would wait for her to do the rest.
And, as always, she was happy to oblige.
A powerful thrust nearly ripped my arms from Liam’s Neck, but he seemed to expect it, grabbing my hands before I drifted away. He brought me in and slowed his speed until we weren’t moving at all, only hovering as his massive wings kept us both afloat.
My nerves were shot. Trusting him was one thing. Trusting myself was another. I got distracted by Elise and Dallas a good distance away, shaming my remedial dragon skills as they soared elegantly, swirling around one another in brilliant bursts of light.
“Focus,” Liam said firmly, bringing my eyes back toward him. His han
ds settled on my waist and I was painfully aware of the difference in how my wings moved compared to his. Mine weren’t in sync. They fluttered irregularly like a graceless baby bird. My chest heaved as I struggled not to panic.
“Breathe,” he said again gently.
“I am breathing,” I snapped, which brought a laugh out of him. “Breathing I can do. It’s this flying thing that’s scaring the crap out of me.”
He bit down on his bottom lip to keep from chuckling again. “Remember what I taught you,” he asserted. “Your dragon is more you than you’re you.”
I nodded, trying to convince myself.
‘She’s me and I’m her,’ I chanted inside my head hoping false confidence would be enough until the real thing kicked in.
But that left me as soon as I felt Liam’s grip loosening. I pawed him like a cat headed into the bathtub, flailing my arms and legs to get a better hold on him. He suppressed another laugh, but I didn’t care. It was a long way down from here and I wouldn’t depend on these clumsy wings to save me.
“Relax, Evangeline.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” I scoffed. “You’ve been doing this for hundreds of years.”
He grabbed my hands once again so I’d focus when he countered with, “So have you.”
Things shifted into perspective. He was right. Completely and totally right. Although, it’d been a while for me, I still had centuries of flying experience even if I didn’t remember it. My body had done this before. Maybe it was like what they say about riding a bike, how you never really forget. It might be like muscle memory. Maybe I just needed to try it and …
“Okay,” I blurted, knowing I’d lose the nerve quickly if I didn’t. “So … I should just … let go?”
Staring with certainty, Liam nodded. “Yes, and you’ll be fine.”
He’d never lied to me before, never steered me wrong. I had to trust he wouldn’t start now.
Deep breath.
Deep breath.
Slowly, I drew my hand away from his, feeling my balance tilt the moment I was no longer relying on his strength, but my own. I gasped, but with a nod, he assured me I wouldn’t die today.
“You’ve got this,” he insisted.
The tips of my fingers teetered on the ends of his … until it was just me. I was up here, hovering above the world … all on my own.
An elated laugh burst from my lungs and Liam smiled. I wanted to celebrate, wanted to scream, but I was too afraid I’d lose concentration if I did. Clamping my bottom lip between my teeth, I slowly reached for his hand again. All I needed was to prove to myself that I could do it. That was enough for today.
Retracting the wings was much simpler than spreading them. There was no longer a counter-wind pulling me from Liam as he held me close. I wrapped my legs around his waist again and our descent was slower than the takeoff. On the way down, I got to soak in the beauty from here, drifting among the falling snow.
We came close to a white pine and I reached to graze the needles, my heat melting snow from the tips on contact. It amazed me how much perspective changed the world, brightened it, made it seem wide open.
Liam’s boots hit the ground with a thud, sending snow shooting up into a plume of white that surrounded us, settling and melting on our hair and shoulders when it fell again. The massive wings tucked away gracefully, disappearing beneath the flesh like they’d never been there at all. With wide eyes, amazed, I ran my hands down his skin when I finally let go of his neck.
I was mildly aware of Elise, Dallas, and Hilda heading back inside, leaving the two of us alone in the worsening blizzard. But … you couldn’t have told me today wasn’t perfect. Couldn’t have convinced me the sun wasn’t out, shining against the bluest of skies, because for me, it was. Always. Whenever we were close.
Our lips met when the gravity that exists between us got to be too much. He’d shown me so much today, including another side of my abilities.
I barely remembered the time before him, back when each day was a little lonelier than the last. That feeling was so foreign to me now. The loneliness had been replaced by moments like these that made up for all the lost time.
In so many wonderful ways … he’d given me my life back.
—Chapter Seven—
Evie
Sleeping in a new bed, in a new house, took some getting used to. Twice I stopped myself from wandering into Liam’s head to talk, for comfort, but didn’t because I could hear him snoring across the hall. He was exhausted from the long drive, from the flying lesson. I couldn’t bring myself to wake him.
So, most of the night, I lie there staring at the ceiling, thinking.
Training sessions would be starting soon. Three evenings a week, those of us who returned to Seaton Falls from Damascus Facility, would meet to keep up our combat regimen. We were lucky enough to have Dallas and Liam to work with us—two highly skilled dragons. As for the other kids in other states? We could only hope they had similar resources.
Apparently, my tutor would be making his or her first visit in the coming days as well. Can’t say I was looking forward to it, but I understood. According to how Liam explained it on the way home, the decision was made after some blanketed threats Nick’s mother made to the Elders. Threats that she’d take matters into her own hands if they didn’t produce answers. Threats that she’d gladly go over their heads if they didn’t act quickly.
She was pointing a very suspicious finger toward me, suggesting I had something to do with his disappearance.
I could only guess what she meant by stating that she’d go over Council members’ heads, could only guess what her intentions might be, whose help she might consider enlisting.
That particular thought kept me up the latest.
This morning, Hilda was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed while I slumped over the table from my seat. Elise had her designer set up a work space just for Hilda and I. A large attic spanned from one end of the house to the other and had been decorated with the same furnishings as the main portion of the house. No shortcuts simply because it’d mostly be the two of us spending time up here. Elise had gone all out in this space just like all the others.
A tall, white bookcase already housed many of Hilda’s books—the ones she requested Liam and Dallas bring up last night. A shorter one beside it was where she kept the various herbs and other strange ingredients I mostly couldn’t pronounce. I sat at the long table directly in the middle of the room, holding down a seat at the head. Right in front of me, a box—the entire reason I was stuck up here. While Hilda rummaged through a large bag in the corner, I lifted the lid and peered inside. Six gold rings. It was hard to believe there were souls inside them. Hard to believe mine had once been held inside a similar stone.
“How’d Elise get them all?” I asked with a yawn, still feeling the effects of a poor night’s sleep.
Hilda glanced over her shoulder, and then turned back to the bag she’d been searching through. I’d wondered about that before. The only way my brothers’ souls would be inside was if they died. How on Earth had she managed to collect them all?
“It was simple really,” Hilda began to explain. “After you were taken and Liam recovered your necklace by some small miracle, Elise realized how close she came to losing you for good despite her efforts. She saw the flaw in her plan.” A heavy sigh left Hilda’s mouth and she stopped searching for a moment.
“She came back to me, asked if I’d alter the spell I’d already placed on the stones. This time, she wanted to ensure they’d be back in her possession if something were to happen to them,” she explained. “I cast a spell on that box you’re always poking around inside.”
At her stern words, I pulled my fingers away.
“It was designed to summon the rings of her sons should they be cut down. Unfortunately, almost immediately after Liam returned your necklace to your mother, he took off. She never had a chance to amend the spell cast on his, which was why, once tales of him in battle stopped reaching
her, she assumed he was dead.”
I fell silent at those words. The mere thought of him not existing made me shiver.
“One by one, as more supernatural battles raged on, the rings began to appear in the box. The Lunar War alone claimed three.” Hilda paused to replace items she removed from inside the bag before adding, “She even had one made for your father.”
My interest was piqued, and I was suddenly less tired than before. “So, he’s—”
“I didn’t mean to mislead you,” she cut in. “Your father is most certainly no longer with us. When Elise presented him with his, he had it destroyed right away. It was his belief that, should he die, it was his appointed time.”
He was an honorable man. Every time someone spoke of him, this fact was only confirmed. While I might not understand fully why he wouldn’t take the kind gesture Elise offered him, I respected the decision. However, there was one decision he made I still hadn’t wrapped my mind around … naming me heir to his throne.
“Were you present when he chose me?” I asked. “When he decided it was me he’d make his successor?”
Hilda gave a shallow nod as she approached the table with whatever she’d been looking for—a thin book she placed on the table.
“I was,” she confirmed. “And I agreed with the decision.”
Her response surprised me. Here I was thinking she perceived me to be at least as inadequate as I did.
I took a deep breath as I thought of it all—the role I was expected to one day fill.
“Why do I always feel so ill-equipped for whatever purpose my life is supposed to serve?” I asked the question rhetorically, so imagine my surprise when Hilda had an answer. A blunt one at that.
“Because you are ill-equipped.”
My eyes darted to hers. Somehow, her candor always caught me off guard, although I ought to expect it by now.
She caught the look I gave and held my gaze when she asked a question. “How can you expect to feel whole when you don’t embrace your full self?”