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“Don’t worry about the heights,” I encourage. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. You know that.”
She nods her head but still squeezes her eyes closed tightly as I tense, preparing for takeoff. I flap my wings once and simultaneously jump off the ground, sending us into the air. Pumping my wings harder, we rise away from the ground and in seconds we’re above the mansion, staring out at the vast stretch of trees around us.
Devyn’s muscles tense and she grabs for my arm reflexively as we swoop forward, gliding through the air effortlessly. Despite the countless times I’ve flown, it never gets old. From the rush of wind against my skin to the way my stomach pitches when I drop too quickly—I enjoy every second of it. Even more so when Devyn is clutched tightly against my body.
So far so good.
Nothing seems amiss as we soar over the trees, heading for the open space ahead. My stomach turns a little when I think about what we might encounter past the boundary of our protected haven, what might have transpired since our last perimeter patrol. What might have happened in Havec to explain Ignatius’ abnormal silence.
I try to prepare myself for anything, like normal, but I can’t shake the nagging feeling clawing its way through me as we race forward.
I have a feeling I won’t like what we find waiting for us.
ChapterFour
DEVYN
Elio could fly me around every single day, and I doubt I’d ever get used to the feeling. I doubt even more that I’d ever enjoy it. It’s like riding on the back of a motorcycle with absolutely no safety precautions. Or vehicle. Or road. Basically a gravity-defying rush of constant adrenaline from the time we leave Rafe’s mansion to when we land outside of Havec.
My poor ribs are taking a beating from my frantic heartbeat and my stomach feels like a bowl of jelly.
“You can relax, Devyn,” Elio attempts to comfort me over the rush of wind blowing past us, but I still can’t manage to open my eyes.
It isn’t that I don’t trust Elio to not drop me—I trust him with my life—but I don’t trust myself right now not to throw up all over both of us if I take a peek at the distant ground below. Instead, I remain nestled against Elio’s chest and attempt to distract myself with thoughts of what will happen when we get to Havec.
Although it’s only been a few months, it feels like forever since we crept our way through the streets of the monster city. We’d been trying to figure out how I was able to survive the journey from the human realm to this one—why I hadn’t died when I first stepped through the portal.
Ignatius had been able to answer that for us.
I’m descended from warlocks. I have trace amounts of magic in my blood.
A fat lot of good it does me though—I can’t harness it at all or employ it for anything useful. All it’s been able to do so far is get me from one realm to the other unscathed, which I’m exceedingly grateful for, but I wish there was a way for me to utilize it. I could use it to set up wards around the mansion, rather than us having to hunt down Ignatius, or I could use it to fight the Malevs when the time comes.
But despite the times I’ve attempted to tap into it alone, I have no idea what I’m doing. I have no clue how to harness whatever small magical reservoir is trapped in me, or if it’s even possible. There’s a chance I have so little magic I’ll never be able to produce any spells, but I hope that’s not the case.
Yet another reason why I was so set to go on this venture with Azarius and Elio: I need Ignatius.
He’s the only person I know that can help me understand the capabilities of my magic being that he’s a warlock. He can teach me or at least point me in the right direction. He can help me in a way my mates can’t, if he’s willing.
My hopes are high.
Ignatius was so amiable and determined to help last time—he has a kind, positive soul. Surely he’ll be able to give me a few pointers or loan me a spell book so I can practice. I have so many questions, all churning through my mind at the same time, and I’m worried I’ll forget to ask some of them when we get there. It’s not like I can go to his house whenever I want. Getting there is a whole ordeal in and of itself. This might be my only shot for a very long time to get the answers I seek.
Elio must sense my unease because he squeezes me softly.
“Are you alright?” he asks over the wind. “Do we need to take a break and land?”
I consider his offer. It would be nice to have my feet on solid ground again, but that just means I’ll have to prepare for an extra takeoff and landing. The thought sours my stomach. I might as well suck it up and fly straight to Havec. The sooner we get there, the sooner I’ll be on the ground for good.
“No, I’m fine. Thank you,” I say, just loud enough for him to hear. “But I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.”
He laughs, his chest shaking against me, and dips his head to place his lips against my forehead. If the smell of the nesda bothers him, he doesn’t let on. My sense of smell has already adjusted and it’s faded to almost nothing, like a terrible perfume that disappears the longer you wear it.
“You might if we do it a bit more often.”
It’s my turn to laugh. Hell no. Not in a million years. “I’ll pass.”
“Would a distraction help?”
