Page 125 of The Fifth Heir

Chapter 17

Talia

Rafe expected me to change my mind.

I knew because he gave me six opportunities.

The first came when we entered the hidden garden and found Torren waiting beside the crystal flowers.

Torren looked from me to Rafe. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I know,” I said.

Rafe leaned closer. “See? A perfectly reasonable chance to escape.”

“I’m not escaping.”

The second came when Leander joined us with a written list of safety conditions.

“You wrote rules for flying?” Rafe asked.

“I wrote rules for carrying an unshifted passenger.”

“Different activity entirely.”

Leander ignored him and handed me the page. “No steep ascents. No sudden turns. No entering cloud cover. You remain above academy property and within sight of the tower.”

Rafe read over my shoulder. “He forgot no fun.”

“I assumed that was covered by the rest,” Leander said.

Sebastian arrived last with a measuring cord and a leather harness borrowed from the flight instructors.

Rafe stared at it.

“No.”

“Talia needs a secondary restraint.”

“She’ll hold on.”

“Grip strength decreases under fear and prolonged wind exposure.”

“We’re taking one circuit around the tower.”

“She has never flown outside an air carriage.”

Rafe looked at me. “Do you want the harness?”

Four men waited for my answer.

None supplied it for me. Torren might distrust the flight, Leander might have rules enough to govern every wingbeat, and Sebastian might consider the risks measurable, but they all left the decision where it belonged.

“I don’t know.”

“That isn’t yes.”

“It isn’t no.”