Page 59

We dipped and swooped through the clouds en route to Tromodia, the kingdom I’d never seen with my own eyes. Visions of the ocean my mother had shown me in art—when I was young and she was well—filled my mind’s eye. Would it be as blue as I imagined, like that of my prince’s eyes?

I curled into Torvo’s embrace, tracing a finger up his biceps and lightly brushing the inside part of his wing where it met his back. His grip stiffened slightly as I grew braver and followed the line where tissue and feather connected.

Just do what you feel, Nyah had said.

The rise and fall of Torvo’s chest against my cheek sped up, and I let the pads of my fingers flow over the soft down of his shining feathers. Gods he was beautiful and felt divine.

“Princess,” he said, voice throaty. “Now isn’t the best time.”

“Can you multitask?” I asked innocently, reaching around him with my other hand so I could explore more of his satiny feathers.

“I don’t know,” he whispered back.

“I can wield air,” I answered, so close to his luscious, full lips that our breath mingled in the air between us. “I will fly us if you can’t.”

My answer was a choked sound as I gently stroked the base of each wing, so soft compared to the hard muscles of his back. This was clearly new to him too, at least while in flight. That gave me courage. His feathers shuffled against my touch like I had made them react, and a jolt of pleasure rippled through my own body to my core.

When I lowered my face to the crook of his shoulder and ran the tip of my tongue over his skin, his control fell. My stomach swooped as we dropped a few inches. I giggled and corrected for him, calling to the air around us to help ruffle his wings as well.

“Rune,” he groaned as I increased my ministrations.

I looked up into his hooded eyes and smiled. I loved being able to make him feel this way. That was true power.

I thrust my hand through the underside of his wing and ran each individual feather between my thumb and fingers, rubbing the shafts up and down. I wondered what it would feel like if I tried that with other parts of him.

“I cannot reciprocate in the air,” he complained, adjusting his hold on me so that one hand cupped my arse, and the other tucked beneath my arm, settling on the side of my breast.

I gasped at the electric feel of his touch and tipped my head back, continuing my explorations. But I was doing this for him, not myself. Well not entirely.

“Look out!” Devira’s cry cut through the air, waking me from the spell I was under.

I grasped Torvo’s neck and took stock of our surroundings. Ash had lunged to the side, barely avoiding a collision with a firebird. But it wasn’t ours, and it had no one on its back.

Devira screamed as two more birds descended from the cloud cover like arrows from the heavens. Kendara deftly led her bird into a dive to the right to avoid a collision with extended talons. The bird let out a sound that turned my mind to mush for moment.

“To the ground,” Rivven yelled, aiming Ash toward one of the others, sword drawn.

“They’re being controlled,” Hymer called, coming around, his own weapon drawn as he hovered in the center of the chaos. “Look at their eyes. They’re asleep.”

“Dream magic,” Torvo said.

The bird closest to us had eyelids drooping over its pupils. With a burst of wind, I sent Rivven and Ash to the side so his blade wouldn’t open the poor thing’s stomach. “Don’t hurt them—it’s not their fault!” I yelled.

Torvo caught my hand. “We have to defend ourselves.”

Though he was right, I had another way.

“Get everyone to the ground,” I said.

Before he could react, I shoved away from him, flying up to where the enormous beasts were busy surrounding Rivven.

I raised my arms, and a cyclone stirred all around, leaving both myself and Ash in the calm center. The other birds fought the wind, pumping their wings to no avail as I spun them around and out of control.

Then I called on the magic I had only used on Nyah.

“Wake,” I commanded, my voice cutting through the whirlwind in a wave of its own.

The bird’s eyes popped open, crazed and confused as they whipped through the air.