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“Looking good up there,” Raven called. It wasn’t a lie either. Bianca looked fierce on the back of the Alicorn, which gamely spread its wings and bowed its head lightly, while Bianca held one fist in the air.
“I’m going to have a painting made of you like this,” Seamus said. “Is it bad that I’m turned on right now?”
“I’d expect nothing less.” Bianca blew him a kiss.
“Let’s get you up there before this turns into foreplay.” Kellen cupped his hands and crouched.
“What are you doing?” Raven narrowed her eyes at him.
“Put your foot in my hand. I’m helping you up.”
“Oh, right.” She did as he asked, and in moments she was settled astride Riker. “Do I need a saddle or like a halter or something? How am I not going to fall off?”
It had been one thing to ride an Alicorn when Kellen was holding her tightly, but now, when she was on her own? Nerves kicked in, causing her stomach to twist.
A picture of a waterfall popped into her head.
“Why is he sending me waterfall images?” Raven asked, her stomach twisting even more as Riker shifted lightly beneath her. Her world swayed, as she adjusted to being on the back of a massive animal.
“That’s his calming image. It’s one of his favorite places to visit. It’s just his attempt to soothe you.”
Riker was trying to take care of her? Her heart melted into one goopy puddle in her chest.
Kellen reached up and took her hand, threading it into Riker’s mane.
“Hold here. Then, clench your thighs.”
At his order, Raven clenched, and a deliciously dirty image shot through her mind. Knowing Riker could pick up on thoughts, she shoved that away and focused on Kellen’s words.
“If you slip, feel scared, uncertain…anything of that nature, tell Riker. He’ll adjust to you. Even if you fall? He’ll catch you. But he won’t let you fall. And I’ll be right by your side.”
“Right. So hold tight and…how do I steer?”
“You don’t. You just ask Riker to take you where you want to go. One thing about Alicorns? They do what they want. If he decides he doesn’t want to go there—for whatever reason that may be—you’ll have to trust him. He’s in charge. But you’re his partner. Got it?”
“Oh, right. So I don’t have to like, order him around and stuff?”
“You can try it.” Kellen laughed softly running his hand down Riker’s flank. “He’ll not likely listen.”
“That’s fine. He knows more about this world than I do. I’ll trust his judgment.”
“Ready to fly then?”
“I don’t actually know how to answer that?” Raven’s sentence ended in a squeak as Riker made the decision for her, flapping his large wings and taking off from the ground with just a few running steps. Raven closed her eyes and gripped his mane, clenching her legs around his muscular body as hard as she could, as she broke out into sweat.
“Breathe,” Kellen shouted from somewhere next to her, and her stomach twisted as Riker dipped in the air.
“I am breathing,” Raven cried.
“Open your eyes.”
“I can’t,” Raven said, trying to count her breaths as the wind danced across her cheeks.
“You can.” Kellen sounded much closer now. Taking a deep breath, Raven pried one eye open and then the other. Her world tilted as she could just make out Ireland far below them, and panic rose. She slid lightly across Riker’s back, twisting, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be back on land. The waterfall image appeared in her head again, and Riker slowed, until they all but hovered in the air, while Raven adjusted her seat. “Take a moment. Don’t look down. Look forward. At the horizon.”
“How do you get used to this?” Raven muttered. She wanted so desperately to love this, but now, when she was on her own, fear gripped her.
“We learn at a young age.”
