Her eyes roamed back and forth between me and Nox for a few moments before she finally let out a breath. “We’re all going to die.”
She stepped out from our side and stomped over to the wyvern, who warily watched her as she approached.
“Fuck, this is going to be so fun,” Gage said as he followed after her.
Jace stepped up next to me as we watched the two of them try to figure out how to get into the saddle.
“You truly believe he can carry the weight of the four of us?” he asked.
My eyes roamed over my wyvern. He had grown significantly since we escaped the Islan dungeons all those weeks ago. It was as if a proper diet and using the muscles of his wings had allowed him to rapidly grow into the colossal, powerful creature he should have always been.
“Of course. He’ll be fine. Besides, I’m praying to the gods it will be a quick victory. None of us are getting off of him,” I said as I took a step forward, but he reached out and grabbed my wrist.
“Promise me, Lia.” His authoritative tone sent a pool of heat between my thighs.
I turned to face him. “Hmm?”
“That you won’t do anything reckless and that you willactuallystay on Nox and let him do the work.”
There was no room for argument in his tone.
I leaned up on my tiptoes and kissed his scar that crossed the bridge of his nose. My hand drifted, and I grabbed my bow that he held in his other hand for me. “Come on, let’sgo before Nox gets too annoyed with them before we’re even in the air.”
Jace grumbled a retort I didn’t care to listen to as we stalked over to the wyvern. Right after we arrived, Gage had managed to pull himself up using the straps of the saddle that hung down at Nox’s sides. He lowered his hand, and Zaela grabbed it, allowing him to heave her up into the saddle with him.
I halted at Nox’s back foot as he slowly lowered the front of his body down, allowing me easier access to climb onto him.
“Oh, come on!” Gage yelled.
“He couldn’t have done that for us?” Zaela grumbled.
I laughed as I crawled up into the saddle with Jace following behind me. “You should’ve asked him for help.” I shrugged.
“You’re kidding me, right?” Zaela sighed.
I pulled my bow over my head and allowed it to rest over my shoulder as I settled myself into my seat.
“I forgot how enormous this saddle is,” Gage observed, and I turned back to face him. “What have you guys done on here, huh?” He fluttered his eyebrows as he glanced back and forth between me and Jace.
“You think we’ve had a chance to do anything? The second I surprised her with it, it’s been nothing but absolute fucking chaos,” Jace said, annoyed.
“So therewereintentions of what I insinuated.”
A snort slipped from me. “You know that thought never crossed my mind, for some reason. Thank you for the idea, Gage,” I said as I turned back to him and winked.
“Anything for you, my lady.”
“For the love of the gods, you two,” Jace huffed at us. I then felt his arm wrap around me as he secured the saddle’s belt for each of us.
“Thank you, Mother Jace,” Gage joked.
My mate sighed, and I knew we were pushing our luck with him at this point, but I couldn’t help but cackle along with the other two, desperately trying to push my nerves down for what was to come.
“Listen, you haveno ideahow high we are about to be. See those clouds?” He gestured to the sky, and all of our gazes followed. “We are going to be there. Think falling from that is fun?”
Gage went to open his mouth, but Jace cut him off. “On second thought, don’t answer that.”
I glanced down and admired the intricate designs in the saddle as their bickering continued in the background. With my back turned to them, I allowed the mask I had been wearing the past hour to slip.
