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I squealed as he dove. My stomach lurched, and I tightened my hold around Ryker’s neck. He nuzzled his head against me and my heart fluttered at the tenderness.
Ryker landed us at the edge of a cliff overlooking the expansive mountain range. He set me down and Odarum gracefully landed beside us, tucking his wings to his side while Ryker kept his relaxed but still out.
“Take off your jacket,” he commanded softly.
“What? No, it’s freezing,” I protested.
“If we can get your wings to manifest, they’ll tear right through it and it won’t feel pleasant.”
I sighed. Grumbling about the cold, I handed my jacket to him and quickly hugged myself, feeling the wind whip through my thin tank.
“Turn around.”
I did as he said.
“Close your eyes. Spread your arms. Relax.” He rubbed my arms.
I huffed out a breath and rolled my shoulders, closing my eyes and stretching my arms out to my sides.
“I want you to imagine yourself with wings.”
I pictured Odarum’s black feathered wings coming out of my back.
“Imagine the feel of the wind ruffling against them, lifting you into the air.”
I felt the air all around me, imagining it lifting me from beneath. I tried to concentrate on what that would feel like, but it was difficult.
Ryker leaned in behind me, his lips against my ear and whispered, “Trust it.”
“Breathe,”Odarum’s soft voice rumbled low in my head. I heard his wings rustling behind me, and I imagined they were mine.
Ryker’s lips brushed the soft spot below my ear. “Trustme.” His voice was still a low whisper.
Eyes still closed, my brows pinched together. Before I could open my mouth to speak, two large hands pushed against my back, sending me over the edge of the cliff.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ryker
Before the tips of her boots even left the rocky ledge, my wings were out, ready to go after her. I knew that pushing her was a cruel tactic, but I also knew that it was effective—having had the same done to me by a cranky scaled Spirit. Odarum had understood what I meant back at the training grounds and obviously didn’t tell Kya what I was planning. It was better if she thought the danger was real.
The gasp of fear that escaped Kya’s lips made me flinch. But if this worked, it would have been worth it. This was a test of instincts, hoping to force her shifting to manifest into wings in what she believed to be a life-threatening situation. I wouldn’t have let anything happen to her and neither would Odarum—that’s why he had come as well. He was her guardian after all and I had planned on pushing his Worthy off a mountain.
I dove after her as she plummeted through the cold air, I could feel her terror through the bond and it left a foul taste in my mouth. But she didn’t scream. Odarum had leapt as well and we were just slightly above her, far enough away that if her wings appeared, she wouldn’t hit us but close enough that we couldcatch her before she got too close to the ground. Our wings were tucked, allowing gravity alone to drag us down.
After what felt like the longest minute of my life, Kya’s voice howled through the air as two large wings, the color of onyx, ripped from her back. The first time was always painful. Despite the tense moment, pride swelled in my chest.
Kya continued to fall, arms and legs flailing, not knowing how to control her wings that were whipping limply through the force of the wind. I pumped my own as hard as I could, driving myself to get to her before she met the ground. But Odarum had larger and stronger wings than I, and he dove even faster, breaking to the side underneath her and catching her on top of his back in an elegant maneuver. Then they disappeared.
I grumbled the entire flight back to the palace, selfishly pissed off that he was the one that had caught her and took her away. Still brooding, I landed at the training grounds where the Spirit stood. Alone.
“Where is she?” I demanded calmly from him. Though my ego was bruised, I was still grateful that he kept her protected.
Odarum jerked his head toward the building, and I nodded once in thanks before I made the trek to the palace, grabbing my discarded clothes and circlet. I vanished my wings before I entered the palace and felt for the bond to direct me to her back to her bedchamber. Hers, so long as she didn’t leave for that stunt I had just pulled.
As I opened the door, an enraged petite body tackled me, wrestling me to the ground and pinning me there. I expected nothing less and I didn’t struggle against her hold. Kya’s pine-green eyes were fierce and filled with ire as she glared into mine. Her magnificent wings hung limply around us.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she spat. “Did you seriously just push me off a cliff and not have the decency tosave me?” She hit me in the shoulder, and I tried not to smile in amusement at how little it hurt.
