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I summon my gold wings, ripping my black tunic in half as they explode from my back.
My heart is in my stomach as I lunge over the edge of the rock.
Chapter Two
ADEENA
Ihear him yell for me as I dip out of view, free-falling toward the jeweled waters below. I watch above me, patiently waiting for him.
He does exactly what I predicted he would do. Dreyden’s head comes into view as he dives over the rock without a second thought. There’s fear in his eyes, and I can tell he regrets obeying my warning to stay back.
What a good mate.
A light-hearted chuckle passes through my lips as his eyes lock with his and he realizes what’s happening. His wings flex, spreading behind him like a parachute to stop his descent.
I’m flying, fluttering in place a few feet above the surface of the water. Not only that, but I’m also doing it withease. Flying has been my greatest physical challenge since becoming fae, and I’ve finally got a small grasp on it. Months of secret flying lessons with Geras have finally paid off.
Geras doesn’t even have wings, which made our training sessions even more difficult, but hedoeshave several hundred years of expertise in training, combat, and mentorship.
I won’t lie, it’s been incredibly testing. There have been way too many bruises and bumps along the way, and I’ve hidden the true reason behind when Dreyden asks by telling him they were from our regular training.
He is skeptical of my training, always threatening Geras behind my back, but Geras and I are closer than he knows. Each time Dreyden corners Geras, obnoxiously reminding him to pull back on the intensity of our training, Geras finds me almost immediately to warn me of Dreyden’s piss-poor mood and lack of ability to give me the space I need to find myself again. Dreyden brought Geras to Fire Court in the first place. The least he could do is let me use him as we originally planned.
Even though Dreyden comes on strong, I can’t help but love him so deeply it hurts. He’s possessive and an asshole, but he’smypossessive asshole. My mate. His heart is in the right place, but he doesn’t know how to trust me and trust that I know best for myself. I have my best interests at heart, and I know how to work through my extreme grief. It’s not going to be easy, but I know I can do it. It’s just going to take time.
Some people work better under stress and under pressure, and I’m one of them. Pushing my body to its limits physically exhausts me, allowing me to sleep better at night, and think through my problems. Wearing myself thin allows me to prioritize what I’m feeling. To Dreyden it may look like denial, and I know it does because of the familiar look I see in his eyes after a breakdown, but it’s not. It’s me prioritizing my emotions one at a time, working through them until I feel less and less. There’s nothing wrong with allowing myself to feel each emotion wholly and completely. I do it my way, and not many people understand it.
Geras gets it, and that’s why he doesn’t pull back on the intensity of our training when Dreyden throws a fit. He understands me on a deeper level, and I’ve begun looking at him as somewhat of a father figure in my life. No one will ever replace the biological father I cherished and loved, but Geras has been there and allowed me to do what I need to when no one else comprehends. Perhaps he looks at me like the daughter he never had, or maybe he sees a little bit of himself in me. Either way, I’m forever grateful for the amount of time he spends helping me perfect my magic, and for the never-ending patience he shows me day after day.
“You can fly?” Dreyden gasps in disbelief as his wings catch his fall. “Who taught you to fly?”
I watch his wide eyes, smiling as I respond, “Geras did. We’ve been working on it while you’ve been away in Tartarus. How do I look?”
I shift my body back and forth, pointing to the massive feather wings behind my back. Gold magic dust from Dreyden’s wings drifts over me as it falls from above, mixing with silver dust of my own.
The grin on Dreyden’s face is enough to make me die happy, and I swear I’ll never get enough of it. A giddy, butterfly feeling rolls through my heart, heating my cheeks as it makes me blush.
“You take my breath away, Adeena. It’s not often I’m caught speechless, but right now I’m struggling to find words to describe the view before me.” He flies lower, slowly approaching me as he is careful not to knock me off balance. “Can we go flying?”
Our eyes meet as he takes my hand in his, gently pulling me into his hard, now shirtless body. His intoxicating scent hits my nose, flowing through me as though it’s my blood.
“I thought you’d never ask,” I whisper against his cheek as I inhale the woodsy amber fragrance that was my mate.
Dreyden drifts back, stretching our arms to full length before allowing our grasps to carefully slip apart. “Lead the way,high lady,” he beams at me as he gestures toward the radiant sky above the Bloodred Forest.
Ever since the gods titled me High Lady of the Sky, he has resorted to calling me “high lady” every chance he gets. I haven’t told him, and I’m not sure I will, but his words have the same effect on me as when I call him “high lord.” The power behind those two short words gets a rise out of me, pulling at something deep within my core. The feeling is primal as it rolls off the tip of his tongue.
I give him an excited smile, his only indicator that I’m about to take off, shooting into the sky with almost as much grace as he has when he flies.
I tuck my chin, watching as he follows closely behind. He keeps up with ease as he watches the view ahead of him.
My ass. Orhisass as he likes to call it.
A sea of crimson foliage spreads below us, expanding far beyond the distant horizon. It’s high noon and the sun is blazing today, but the breeze between my wings feels magnificent as it slips over my feathers, cooling my body temperature.
Dreyden and I look like shooting stars as we blast through the sky, silver and gold orbs leaving a shimmery dust in our wake. The two of us create a small galaxy of stars, and someday I hope to illuminate our world further with our children. It’s a distant dream, but one I will hold onto until I’m ready to make it a reality. Untilweare ready to make it a reality.
Dreyden and I fly under and over each other, laughing and giggling like children as we soar through the sky.
