Page 129 of The Fifth Heir

Rafe lifted his head.

The movement raised me several feet above the ground.

My hands tightened.

He waited.

“I’m ready,” I said.

That was the fifth opportunity.

Rafe rose slowly onto all four feet.

The garden dropped below me. I leaned forward over his neck, trying not to pull against the ridges.

He walked one circle around the clearing before opening his wings.

Wind filled the garden.

The crystal flowers bent outward, sending divided light across the walls. The opening overhead cleared until I could see the academy tower above us.

Rafe crouched.

The sixth opportunity.

His head turned enough for one silver eye to look back at me.

I could still climb down.

Instead, I loosened one hand long enough to touch the side of his neck.

“Go.”

He launched.

The first beat of his wings forced the breath from me.

The garden fell away as Rafe climbed through the opening. Air struck my face, cold and sharp. I flattened myself against his neck and held on while the harness pulled tight around my waist.

He rose above the Fifth Wing.

The academy spread beneath us.

Crown Tower stood at the center, surrounded by training fields, dormitories, archives, and the dark line of the mountain containing the First Trial. From the ground, the buildings had always seemed enormous. From the air, I could see how they connected—paths, courtyards, and stone bridges forming a pattern I had never noticed.

Rafe leveled his wings.

The violent wind disappeared.

Storm magic formed a smooth current around us, carrying the worst of the air away from my body. I could still feel his speed, but I no longer struggled to breathe.

I lifted my head.

We were flying.

The realization opened something in my chest. For years I had watched dragons rise from the academy fields and trained myself not to imagine the world from between their wings. Now there was nothing beneath me but Rafe and the air he commanded.

Not enclosed behind the walls of an air carriage. Nothing blocked my view or separated me from the open sky. Rafe’s wings extended on either side of me, smoky membranes tightening with every change in the air.