Page 120 of Tailwind

‘Thanks, Quinn.’ I waved my goodbye as I shuffled out of the booth.

The moment the crowd covered us, I hooked a finger through one of Theo’s belt loops. I saw his shoulders flex in response.

We were definitely going to get into some trouble.

‘Bright yellow with frills.’ Theo had his charm switched on for the teenage keeper. ‘Hard to miss, just like the Boll that flies it.’

The kid was doing his best to act casual, but his eyes kept widening as he listened, completely won over. He wore a satin vest and bow tie, the uniform of the fancy aviary we stood in.

‘Uh, yeah. It’s here.’ The keeper ran a hand over his slicked-back hair, looking over at me as he did.

‘Think you could take a break for a while? Maybe until next shift?’ Theo pulled out his wallet and opened it up. ‘I can make it worth the risk, of course.’

‘It’s just a summer job.’ The teen shrugged, hands in his pockets, but clearly still fidgeting. ‘I go back to school next week. So, maybe …’

Theo let the silence fill the air.

‘An autograph?’ Suddenly the keeper looked even younger, shy to ask the Volitant rider for a memento.

If Theo was amused, he didn’t show it. As much as he liked to tease me, he knew how to treat his fans well. He pulled out two slips of money, signed one and handed them both over.

‘Enjoy the rest of your evening.’ Theo crossed the ground floor of the public aviary towards me, leaving behind the lanky teenage keeper. ‘Yeah, his wyvern is here.’

The kid stared at the autograph Theo had given him for a moment before hurrying down the corridor behind the stalls.

‘I convinced him to take a long break,’ he said, not stopping until we were only inches apart. ‘He doesn’t even care if Boll throws a fit. He goes back to school next week.’

‘Nice. That’s the best thing your fame has gotten us all night.’ I tilted my head back, looking up at the faraway ceiling of the tower. Seven open storeys, each one with a dozen stalls for the island’s most expensive wyverns. All so their riders could enjoy the city.

‘Mhm,’ he barely replied, too busy staring at the place where my neck met my shoulders.

‘Focus, Vaspre.’ I tugged at the collar of his shirt.

His hands came up and encircled my wrists. He held them there for a moment, his lids heavy over his eyes as he looked at me.

I swallowed, trying to follow my own advice and focus on the plan. It wasn’t easy.

‘Hey, I’m giving up a lot to do this, the least you could do is remember why we’re here.’ I twisted out of his grip and headed to the first flight of stairs.

‘Oh,’ he said, trailing after me with his hands in his pockets. ‘Please enlighten me on what you’ve given up.’

‘My other plans.’ I winked, making sure he knew exactly what those plans entailed.

I started checking the stalls – alcoves built into the outside wall with half-height doors keeping the occupants in. He followed, speeding up.

‘You know, you should really ask before involving me in that kind of thing, Paldon. It’s basic manners.’

I laughed. ‘Your ego is the most impressive thing about you. So bold to think you were being considered.’

Theo’s brows rose and he flexed his jaw to the side, doing a terrible job at not looking offended.

‘Found it!’

The bright yellow wyvern was hard to miss. Together we coaxed it out of the stall and led it up to another at the top of the tower. A simple enough prank, but one annoying enough to make Gordi lose his temper in front of his date.

‘It’s actually kind of cute …’ I said, settling the wyvern down. ‘In an overbred way that makes me want to look after it.’

‘No, Paldon.’